Austin mayoral candidate Doug Greco is suing the city over its campaign finance rules that limit how much a candidate can raise from outside city limits.
The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday, names the City of Austin, City Manager T.C. Broadnax and Deborah Thomas, Austin's interim city attorney.
City rules say a candidate cannot raise more than $47,000 outside of Austin city limits during an election. A city spokesperson said the contribution limit was part of a voter-led initiative in the late 1990s to maintain the integrity of the city’s local council elections. Greco and his campaign allege that the rule is unconstitutional.
The crux of the lawsuit alleges the current rules silence people outside of Austin who want to support a campaign and therefore violate their first amendment rights.
Holt Major Lackey, an attorney representing Greco, said this rule “protects Austin incumbents, insiders and big donor establishments of West Austin and other favored zip codes.”
Greco's lawsuit comes after ethics complaints were filed against Greco and Mayor Kirk Watson in July. The complaints allege both candidates had exceeded the out-of-Austin contributions limit.
Greco said he is not disputing whether the campaign is over the limit, rather that the law has hindered his ability to continue to get his message out just weeks ahead of the election.
“I don't have the rich friends that Kirk Watson does, and I can’t loan my own campaign substantial amounts of money like two of the other challengers have done and can continue to do without legal limits,” he said. “I should be able to run a grassroots fundraising campaign from allies, supporters, colleagues, friends and family from inside and outside of Austin, so I can continue to fight for working families and stand up to [Gov.] Greg Abbott against his attacks on our civil rights.”
Greco grew up in Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania, but moved to Austin in the mid-90s. He spent time as a high school teacher in East Austin and was the former director of Central Texas Interfaith, a nonprofit faith and community-based organization for social change.
He said that while he has built networks and alliances over the years, his support also lies beyond Austin’s city limits — mostly from family, friends and colleagues who live across the country.
“The law itself hinders my ability to continue to leverage my networks,” he told KUT. “For example, I received the endorsement of a national LGBTQ+ victory fund, and part of that is that they aid in fundraising… but that's difficult to do now because I’ve hit this limit making it difficult for me to fundraise.”
But not everyone agrees the law should be challenged.
Former council member Katie Tovo, who is also running for mayor, said she supported the cap.
"Austin voters passed this campaign reform rule overwhelmingly because they didn’t want our city politics dominated by outside special interests," Tovo said. "Austin’s campaign rules were passed to protect the power of voters. We need reform to give Austinites more of a voice, not to open the doors to outside money."
With just two months before Austinites head to the polls, Lackey said they have filed a temporary injunction asking the court to act as quickly as possible. He said they have asked the court to issue an order by Oct. 4.
“So that donors can participate in this election and the Greco campaign can be put on an even footing before November 5th,” Lackey said.
The city said it would respond to the lawsuit through the appropriate court process.
Greco is not the only candidate to face campaign finance challenges. KUT reported in July that Carmen Llanes Pulido, who is also running for mayor, was found to have spent nearly $400 of her campaign contributions on clothing and beauty supplies.
Greco has raised more than $88,000 for his campaign — the second most in the race behind Watson, according to campaign finance reports from July 15.
The mayor’s race includes Greco, Watson, Llanes Pulido, Tovo and Jeffery Bowen.
