Tag Archives: Campaign Finance
Judge declares city campaign contribution blackout period unconstitutional
U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman on Wednesday declared an Austin regulation on campaign fundraising unconstitutional. The regulation prohibits candidates for City Council seats from seeking or accepting campaign contributions more than a year before an election. Pitman issued his ruling…
Austin • By Jo Clifton • Sep 1, 2023
Lawsuit challenging city decision on Fair Campaign money fails
A Travis County judge has denied a temporary restraining order request from two City Council candidates who claim they were wrongly disqualified from receiving public campaign funds. District 3 candidate José Velásquez and District 5 candidate Ryan Alter filed the…
Elections • By Nina Hernandez • Nov 22, 2022
Which candidates will receive the city’s Fair Campaign money?
Runoff candidates who followed the rules for receiving disbursements from Austin’s Fair Campaign Finance Fund are expecting to receive thousands of dollars to help them in the Dec. 13 runoff election. Those candidates include Daniela Silva and Linda Guerrero and…
Elections • By Jo Clifton • Nov 15, 2022
Reports show wide disparities in fundraising among candidates
Last week, candidates running for City Council submitted their final campaign finance reports before Tuesday’s election, revealing a wide array of funds across campaigns and districts. DISTRICT 9 With Council Member Kathie Tovo stepping down, numerous people are vying to…
Elections • By Jo Clifton • Nov 7, 2022
Reports show Watson spending far ahead of the pack
Mayoral candidate Kirk Watson, who wishes to claim the center seat again, has raised and spent far more money than any other candidate in his race – or any of the others up for election next week. Watson, a former…
Elections • By Jo Clifton • Nov 3, 2022
Campaign finance reports show who’s got the money
With less than a month to go before Election Day, the latest campaign finance reports show that in the mayor’s race, former senator and mayor Kirk Watson continues to outraise his opponents by large margins. According to records filed Tuesday,…
Elections • By Jo Clifton • Oct 17, 2022
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Local campaign contribution limits to rise ahead of November election
Inflation isn’t only driving up mortgage interest rates, gas prices and the city’s living wage. It’s also behind proposed increases to the city’s campaign contribution limits, which cap how much money City Council candidates can accept from individual and out-of-town…
Elections • By Emma Freer • Jul 29, 2022
Watson had help from bundlers, but not that much
In his campaign to become Austin’s next mayor, Kirk Watson has already gained the title of the city’s most prodigious fundraiser for a political race. He raised more than $997,000 in time for the July 15 report. Although he had…
Elections • By Jo Clifton • Jul 20, 2022
First financial reports offer a glimpse into City Council campaigns
It’s that time of year again. Candidates for city elections late last week shared how much money they’ve raised so far in accordance with the city’s campaign finance reporting deadline on July 15. Here, we’ll break down the results from…
Elections • By Jonathan Lee • Jul 18, 2022
Judge denies Virden's request for injunction
Federal District Judge Robert Pitman has denied political candidate Jennifer Virden’s request for a preliminary injunction to prevent the city from enforcing its campaign finance law. Virden immediately filed an appeal. Virden, who lost in a runoff last December to…
Local Politics • By Jo Clifton • Jul 2, 2021
Ballot item backers report $100K in donations
Austinites for Progressive Reform, the group that’s sponsoring propositions D, E, F, G and H on the May 1 ballot, has reported raising more than $100,000 since the beginning of the year to fund its campaigns. The group has spent…
Elections • By Jo Clifton • Apr 2, 2021
Small group funding push for strong mayor
Andrew Allison, founder and treasurer of the political action committee seeking to replace Austin’s Council-manager form of government with a strong-mayor system, has contributed $25,000 to the committee and loaned it $92,000, according to documents filed with the Austin city…
Local Politics • By Jo Clifton • Jan 21, 2021
