Here’s a Press Release from the Community First Coalition, announcing a Press Conference Monday, November 4, at 11 am outside, in front of County Courthouse.
In El Paso´s city elections, big-money donors have contributed unprecedented amounts to candidates, approaching nearly a million dollars for one candidate alone. Voters should be concerned about what wealthy corporations and PACs expect in return for these investments. When city council subsidizes corporations and provides them special tax relief, also known as ¨corporate welfare,¨ residential taxpayers are burdened with higher and higher property taxes. .
The Community First Coalition (CFC), a nonpartisan network of over 25 organizations, will hold a press conference Monday, November 4th at 11 am, on the exorbitant amounts of money in the mayoral and city council elections. While many donations are above board and easily found on the city´s website*, the names of individual donors are difficult to find in PACs (Political Action Committees), or PACs that donate to other PACs outside of El Paso. The non-transparent DARK MONEY donations have been well documented at elpasotaxpayerrevolt.com. Semi-secret donations are dangerous, both for democracy and the wise use of precious public money.
Put in brief historical perspective, coauthors Oscar Martinez, Carmen Rodriguez, and Kathleen Staudt, also founders of the CFC, analyzed big donors and the benefits gained in Who Rules El Paso? Private Gain, Public Policy, and the Community Interest (2020). Donations for one of the previous mayors totalled ~$400,000, a third of which came from a small number of wealthy donors who invested large amounts not only in his election but also in some council representatives’ campaigns, heavily dependent on a smaller number of big donors rather than on a larger cross-section of people making smaller donations. For the current election, amounts raised for one mayoral candidate are double the amounts that mayors raised in previous elections!
Over the last few years, Justicia Fronteriza, a grassroots organization, collected over 11,000 signatures in a petition drive to put caps on campaign contributions. Council representatives refused to pass an ordinance. Campaign finance caps are in place in the better-governed cities of Texas. Justicia leaders went back to most council representatives about support for a $1,000 cap on individual donations and a $5,000 cap on PAC donations. Yet a majority (5+) of the 8 council representatives said they would not support such an ordinance.
As the outrageously high donations show, it is high time for the next council to put some checks and balances in place to create a more level playing field. Let´s avoid the widespread perception that our elected officials in the city are the ‘best that money can buy.’
Contact: Kathy Staudt, staudtkathy@gmail.com(915 240 5826)
*See multiple reports on https://www2.elpasotexas.gov/municipal-clerk/CCElectionDocs/campaign%20finance%20reports/cfr-2024-11-05.php
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