Residents ask Springfield City Council to enact campaign finance reform for city races

An effort by Springfield City Councilmember Craig Hosmer to pursue campaign finance reform for council and mayor positions received support from three city residents at its meeting Oct. 6.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, the residents – Laura Ransin, Kevin Dwight Richardson and Rachel Jamieson – spoke up to advocate campaign finance reform.

Richardson requested that council have a hearing on the issue, while Jamieson said Springfield stands as an anomaly in having no limit at all on campaign contributions.

All three speakers wore matching T-shirts identifying them as members of Missouri Jobs with Justice Voter Action, an affiliation they verified after the meeting. Missouri Jobs with Justice Voter Action is a 501(c)4 organization that is a companion to Missouri Jobs with Justice, according to its website.

The website outlines the larger organization’s purpose: “Missouri Jobs with Justice is a place for people who want to stop the wealthy few from mistreating and dividing us – and who want to start getting the dignity we deserve.”

On Aug. 25, council referred to its Plans and Policies Committee Hosmer’s proposal that would limit donations by individuals and organizations to council candidates.

Councilmember Brandon Jenson spoke up at that meeting to support a campaign finance reform measure.

“I think it is increasingly important to limit the ability to influence politics by how big your pocketbook is and ensure that we’re operating transparently and accountably,” he said at the time. “I think that is a great step in that direction.”

At the Oct. 6 meeting, Richardson implored council to bring the matter quickly out of committee and back to council for a vote.

Councilmember Abe McGull, who chairs the Plans and Policies Committee, raised a concern.

“As chairman of that committee, I have to play the devil’s advocate and look at both sides of the issue,” he said. “The only concern that could be is that limiting campaign contributions favors the incumbent. In other words, we’ve got a lot of people in Congress right now who are benefiting from that.”

He added it’s hard to unseat an incumbent when campaign funds are limited.

Jamieson said she was surprised to learn that Springfield doesn’t cap campaign contributions for council and mayoral races.

“This was further surprising to me when I found out that other cities in Missouri, including St. Louis and Kansas City, do have campaign contribution limits at the local level, as do Springfield’s peer cities in Bentonville and Fayetteville, Arkansas,” she said. “Not only that, but the state of Missouri has campaign contribution limits for state representatives, state senators and governor. So Springfield currently stands as an anomaly.”

She said it is crucial for council to pass the measure soon.

“Right now, there are no limits for what one entity can contribute,” she said. “One person, corporation or special interest group can donate thousands of dollars, even $100,000 or more, for someone running for mayor or City Council, and this can allow said donor to have vastly disproportionate influence on our elections and even in policymaking.”

When campaign contribution limits are passed, everyday constituents are motivated to get involved, Jamieson said.

“As research shows, these limits encourage more small-dollar contributions,” she said.

Research from the Brennan Center for Justice backs up Jamieson’s claim. It reported that contribution limits lead to more competitive elections, and lower contribution limits of $500 or below increases the likelihood that challengers will beat incumbents.

McGull told Jamieson that if a government entity has campaign contribution limits, it should also have term limits.

“Right now, the incumbents on council can run and run and run again,” he said. “We’ll be tackling that issue in committee.”

According to past Springfield Business Journal reporting released April 7, the day before the most recent municipal election, the mayoral race, which did not have an incumbent candidate, was a lopsided one in terms of donations: Mary Collette, with campaign funds of about $7,000, was defeated by now-Mayor Jeff Schrag with $135,000.

For the Zone 4 candidates, incumbent Matthew Simpson raised $25,000 and was defeated by Bruce Adib-Yazdi with $11,000.

In General Seat A, incumbent Heather Hardinger raised $22,000 and defeated Eric Pauly with $3,900.