Campaign Finance Reform - Small Donor Matching Fund

Money is drying up democracy in Ann Arbor. It takes too much cash for the average Ann Arbor resident to run for City Council or mayor. The result? The cost of running for office discourages potential candidates—and voters see fewer choices on their ballots.

Even running for local office has become a race for money. In 2018, successful candidates for Council each received an average of just over $12,000 for their campaigns. In 2022, successful candidates raised an average of about $35,000.

And more of the money is coming from PACs, big donors, and contributions from outside Ann Arbor and even Michigan.

Under Michigan law, PACS can give ten times the amounts of individuals. In 2018, contributions from PACs totaled $3,800; by 2022, they skyrocketed to $25,750. Also in 2022, PAC money skyrocketed to $25,750. The 2022 election season saw 42 donors each contributing more than $1,000 to the campaigns of successful candidates, with 16 donors each donating more than $2,000. All told, big donors contributed more than $92,000 to these campaigns and 35% of all contributions came from outside of Ann Arbor.

Evanston recently adopted a small-donor matching program to help open doors and make sure that any qualified person can run for local office, not just the well-connected supported by deep pockets. Other progressive cities that have adopted similar local election finance reforms include Denver, Portland (OR), Portland (ME), and Seattle.

By directing only 3/10 of 1% of the city’s annual general fund budget to a Fair Elections Fund, we can protect our democracy and become a leader among progressive-minded cities.

With a Fair Elections Fund, candidates will be able to receive matching money for donations of up to $50. To qualify they must agree to not accept PAC money. And to limit other donations from individuals to no more than about $300 for Council candidates and $600 for mayor (25% of current Michigan campaign donation limits).

Campaign finance reform is a smart investment for the public good. Ann Arbor can become the first Michigan municipality to implement this affordable, common-sense step to help make our electoral process more open and inclusive and our democracy stronger.