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Spokane Mayor Explains Veto Of Campaign Finance Ordinance

City of Spokane

Next week Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart will ask his colleagues to override Mayor David Condon’s veto of Stuckart’s campaign finance ordinance.

The mayor issued his veto in a press release last Friday. That came as a surprise to Stuckart, who says the mayor hadn’t voiced his concerns to him during any of several conversations over the last few months.

This week, we asked Mayor Condon about his veto.

The proposal written by Stuckart and Councilman Breean Beggs halves the maximum contribution limits to city candidate races from $1,000 to $500. It defines when candidates can raise money. Council candidates running in 2019 could not accept donations until this week. Certain entities, such as public sector unions and companies that contract with the city, would face bans or limitations on contributions. Companies with more than $50,000 in city contracts over a two-year period are forbidden from giving money to candidates. Stuckart says, for legal reasons, the city can’t prohibit union contributions, but it can require those contributions be publicly disclosed. And it would have the city monitor donations to candidates.

 

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