Voluntary Spending Limits

When you file the paperwork to run for state offices in Colorado you have the option to accept spending limits for your campaign called (creatively enough) the “Voluntary Spending Limits.”

For a Colorado Senate campaign the voluntary limit is $102,500. Both the Democrat (John Kefalas) and Republican (Syndi Anderson) who are in the 14^th Senate District race with me did not accept the spending limits.

I plotted out a campaign budget getting everything I could dream of and I did not come anywhere close to the limit. Couple that with the fact that I don’t expect to raise six-figures to spend on the campaign…it became clear that there was absolutely no downside for me to accept the limit.

The benefits of accepting the limit, however, are numerous.

For one thing, we should question the wisdom of Mr. Kefalas and Mrs. Anderson and whether or not they think they can buy political office. I doubt that is their motivation, but someone should ask them why they want to spend that much money on their campaigns and why they do not want to adhere to spending limits.

The limits help make campaigns fair. Period. I don’t know Mrs. Anderson at all but John Kefalas has a solid reputation for fairness. I was actually disappointed that he did not want the limit, it’s frankly not his style.

However, John came through for me on another front. Because I accepted the limit and because he has raised 10% of the limit, the contribution limits for my campaign double. It’s a rarely used Colorado campaign finance law.

While that may sound pretty great at first, it actually just levels the playing field. The partisan candidates can receive (from individuals) $200 for the primary and $200 for the general election for a total of $400. If I had not accepted the limit I would have only been able to collect $200 for the general because, as an independent, I will not appear in a primary. Because I accepted the limit I can collect $400 for the entire campaign, which is the same limit as the other two candidates.

If you’re on the edge of your chair with this stuff I don’t blame you, it’s pretty exciting.

The moral of the story is that spending limits are good and I am comfortable being the candidate that does not think money should buy an election. Money has a place in the process, I want people to have the freedom to contribute and participate in the way that they want, but let us keep some perspective: a cap on how much we can spend is not related to how much people can donate. The spending limit only helps people mean more than money in an election. 

I am still waiting for a counter-argument to emerge.