Political candidates in San Luis Obispo County are allowed to accept campaign donations of up to $25,000. Now, there’s an effort to lower that amount to $5,500.
In 2020, the SLO County Board of Supervisors raised the campaign contribution limit up to $25,000, much higher than the state’s limit of $5,500.
But the board’s newly-elected progressive majority decided in January to revisit the issue and directed the County Council to draft a new ordinance lowering the limit back down to the state’s limit.
The San Luis Obispo League of Women Voters is supporting this move. Vice President Vallerie Steenson said the organization believes large donations corrupt the election process.
“Large money donations from corporations and individuals and, in particular, the dark money that comes in when the donor is not required to disclose who they are- that really distorts our democratic process,” said Steenson.
The League of Women Voters argues these dark money transactions fuel public distrust of government institutions and voter apathy. The organization has opposed the $25,000 campaign donation limit since it passed in 2020.
District 5 Supervisor Debbie Arnold was one of the conservative supervisors who voted in favor of the ordinance. Arnold said she believes imposing a lower limit will further muddle campaign donor transparency.
“I think what a vote like this would do, if we started restricting or putting caps and limits, is it drives people into donating to candidates through tax or ways harder to identify,” Arnold said, “Where did this money really come from?”
Arnold said she believes there shouldn’t be a limit to begin with.
In January, newly-elected progressive Supervisor Jimmy Paulding pushed for the board to consider lowering the limit back down to $5,500.
“I was proud as a new supervisor to ask that our staff bring back a repeal of that policy to lower the campaign contribution limit back to state law and work toward the goal of getting big money out of our local politics,” Paulding said.
Paulding said the County Council has now drafted the proposed ordinance lowering the donation limit, but that the board has not set a date to vote on the policy.
