24-05-2025
Should Columbia adopt campaign contribution limits? City Council exploring possibility
Candidates for Columbia City Council could face stricter campaign finance restrictions in the future. It all depends on what an eventual report from city staff says.
Ward 3 council member Jacque Sample is seeking information from staff about adopting local ordinances that limit municipal campaign contributions. Rather than a candidate receiving multiple donations from a single person or group, they would be limited to one donation. She also is seeking information on how this could be enforced locally, such as through a local ethics committee.
"I believe this has been done in Kansas City and St. Louis and Springfield recently passed or they are at least working on it," she said.
This idea was met with pushback from Ward 5 and Ward 6 council members Don Waterman and Betsy Peters, respectively.
Waterman said the proposal appeared linked to the April 8 election, during which Blair Murphy raised more than $250,000, compared to Mayor Barbara Buffaloe's campaign that raised about $70,000 and Tanya Heath roughly $5,000. There was a significant fundraising split for the Ward 4 race, too, in which Ron Graves raised about $30,000 to Ward 4 council member Nick Foster's $7,000. Sample ran unopposed and did not raise or expend more than $500.
"I think as was demonstrated at least in Columbia, it doesn't really matter (how much you raise)," Waterman said. "You can't buy the election, it's a matter of policies and personalities."
Even so, he still was interested in what metrics and limits the city may consider. Peters said there are more pertinent items for the city and council to focus on than campaign finance reform.
While the council has asked for many reports, something like campaign contribution limits are important for Columbia, said Ward 1 council member Valerie Carroll.
"It's going to come up and it's going to keep coming up. We are going to have another election soon. I think it puts unnecessary pressure on people even if it didn't turn out to matter in this one," she said. "At least, even if it didn't turn out to change the outcome, it did change the way the race was run and I think it changes the way elections and campaigns are done in Columbia. I would hate for that to be a lasting impact.
"I don't know that all of our citizens and all of our candidates can bear that amount of fundraising."
More: Columbia mayoral candidate raises 7 times more than closest competitor. Who's donating
St. Louis and Kansas City have ethics commissions that review quarterly campaign finance filings with the state, said City Attorney Nancy Thompson. These municipal commissions are necessary as an enforcement tool as the Missouri Ethics Commission currently is unable to enforce state campaign finance laws or respond to complaints because there are not enough board members for a quorum as of last month, Missouri Independent reported.
If Columbia were to adopt municipal campaign finance limits, "there would certainly have to be a method of enforcement," Thompson said, alluding to an ethics commission, or a staff member within the city clerk's office whose job would be to monitor finance reports and contributions.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Columbia exploring campaign contribution limits ordinance
