Allegheny County Council voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to limit the amount of money donors can contribute to candidates for county office.
The bill would set limits that matched regulations at the federal level for candidates running for county executive, county council members, county treasurer, controller, district attorney and sheriff.
The measure’s approval comes just a week after a season of contentious and expensive primary elections came to an end. It passed with 13 council members voting in favor, and only Republican Sam DeMarco and Democrat Jack Betkowski opposed.
A spokesperson for County Executive Rich Fitzgerald declined to comment after the vote. In February, Fitzgerald told Public Source he would likely veto the bill. He said campaign finance limits should come from the state legislature, and that locally imposed limits could put county politicians at a disadvantage if they decided to run for higher office.
If support for the proposal holds up in council, however, it could override the veto with support from at least 10 of the body’s 15 members.
“How campaigns and candidates are being funded is the foundation of the decisions we make in this room,” Duerr said before the vote. “The question we’re faced with right now is: Do we want to send a message to the residents of this county that our elections are for sale, that our candidates are for sale to the highest bidder?”
The ordinance would impose Federal Election Commission contribution guidelines on candidates running for county offices. Those guidelines are adjusted for inflation every two years, but individual financial contributions are currently capped at $3,300, while political action committee contributions are set at $5,000 per election cycle.
The county legislation doesn’t limit a candidate’s ability to donate to his or her own campaign – a restriction that would likely be tossed out in court. But if a candidate were to donate $100,000 or more to his or her own campaign or related political action committee, the limit on donations in the race would double.
The rule would go into effect after the November election, meaning that this year’s elections – which saw six-digit sums being donated to candidates in the Democratic primary – might be the last county races to feature contributions of that size. The ordinance would not, however, prohibit unlimited spending on so-called “independent expenditures” by outside groups on behalf of a candidate they supported.
The city of Pittsburgh previously implemented similar restrictions. But prior to the vote, DeMarco worried that the bill only partially solves the issue of outside financial influences on local elections.
“My concern is we’re just cutting off avenues in one direction, but we're not addressing in totality the problem … to create a level playing field for everyone,” he said, citing concerns that candidates would be at a disadvantage when facing self-funded candidates.
Betkowski said that although he supports the intent of the bill, it’s outside of council’s authority.
The “elephant in the room,” Duerr said in response, was government’s inability to limit independent expenditures thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling in Citizens United. But he said his legislation was a step forward.
“It's meant to uplift the candidates who are more indicative of the voters that they are looking to represent,” he said, “and cast a light on the candidates who are being funded primarily by a few small sources.”
The bill also requires county candidates to file an additional campaign finance report six weeks before a primary or general election. That gives added transparency to campaign financing: Currently, local candidates are only required to file a finance report less than two weeks before the election. .
Council also voted 14-1 to allow candidates to use campaign funds to pay for child and family care incurred while they’re seeking office. Betkowski was the lone “no” vote.
If Fitzgerald chooses to issue a veto, he has seven days from the vote to do so. Council would then have 30 days to conduct an override vote.
