A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed against the City of Austin over its campaign finance rule that caps how much a candidate can raise from outside city limits on Friday.
City rules say a candidate cannot raise more than $47,000 outside of Austin city limits during an election. A city spokesperson told KUT the contribution limit was part of a voter-led initiative in the late-1990s to maintain the integrity of local council elections.
Austin mayoral candidate Doug Greco filed a lawsuit in September naming the city, City Manager T.C. Broadnax and Deborah Thomas, Austin's interim city attorney. He and his campaign allege that the rule is unconstitutional.
Greco said he feels the current rule silences people outside of Austin who want to support a campaign, and therefore violates their first amendment rights.
In a September press conference, Greco’s attorney Holt Major Lackey said the rule “protects Austin incumbents, insiders and big donor establishments of West Austin and other favored zip codes.”
The lawsuit came after ethics complaints were filed against Greco and Mayor Kirk Watson in July. The complaints allege both candidates exceeded the out-of-Austin contributions limit.
Greco has not disputed that the campaign is over the limit, rather that the law has hindered his ability to continue to get his message out ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
But the federal judge declined to weigh in on the matter for the time being.
U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman dismissed the case saying the city’s cap could be unconstitutional, but that is up to the city’s Ethics Review Commission to decide.
“Under the procedures and rules of [Austin] City Code, the Ethics Review Commission has duties to enforce campaign finance rules….,” the lawsuit states. “The Ethics Review Commission makes its final decision by a preponderance of credible evidence in the record.”
Because the case is set to be heard before the commission next week, a federal court “should abstain from cases that are pending in state proceedings," according to a judicial rule called the younger doctrine.
Greco said the Ethics Review Commissions should not be considered a state proceeding but accepts the outcome of Pitman’s ruling, adding that it does leave the door open for future legal action against the city.
"If the process plays out and we disagree with it, then the judge says we can go back and sue," Greco told KUT.
Regardless, Greco said he is going to use the next several weeks to continue to focus on his campaign.
“While the court hasn’t yet decided on the constitutionality of this rule which protects wealthy, self-funded candidates and vengeful incumbents like the Mayor who raised nearly half his money from just 3 affluent West Austin zip codes, our focus has been running a grassroots campaign for working families and making Watson answer for his guilt in Austin’s skyrocketing cost of living since he was first elected mayor in 1997,” Greco said in a written statement.
Greco, who is the former director of Central Texas Interfaith, has raised $98,414. That is the third most in the mayor’s race. Watson has continued to outfundraise his opponents. Greco said his total does not include 25 donations he had to turn away because they were from outside the city limits. A portion of his donations also includes money he sequestered from exceeding the out of city limits cap.
“So I think we have shown a good faith effort here,” Greco said. “We haven't spent any extra money or intended to use it until the legal process played out. I feel like we have been transparent through the process.”
Greco is set to make his case before the commission on Wednesday.
