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A debate about how much public campaign money certain council candidates should get continued at the Albuquerque City Council’s Monday meeting but was quickly deferred for a second time.
During the council’s Sept. 16 meeting, Councilor Joaquín Baca — at the request of the City Clerk’s Office — introduced a proposal to “clean up” campaign finance sections of the city’s charter.
The debate on Monday surrounded an amendment Councilor Klarissa Peña proposed at the last meeting. Peña suggested council candidates receive a set amount of public money, rather than an amount that varies based on the number of registered voters in their district.
Council candidates currently receive $1 per registered voter in the district they’re running in. Mayoral candidates receive $1.75 per registered voter in the entire city. The proposal would raise the amounts by $0.25.
Council President Dan Lewis said Monday the current public financing system is logical because it is based on registered voters and that he is “not convinced there is an inequity in that regard.”
“For me to be comfortable with replacing this, I think we need to have some logical reasons instead of just throwing out a number,” Lewis said.
After failing to decide on the best campaign financing policy, Councilor Brook Bassan called for a deferral and councilors unanimously voted to defer the bill for two weeks.
“I absolutely don’t think on the fly, out of the hat, with our tax paying dollars, at the last minute with all of us just now reading it while arguing and not understanding it is the best way to do it,” Bassan said.
The proposal would also set a new contribution limit for privately financed candidates. Read more about the proposal here.
The City Council will convene again on Oct. 21.
