Before the Gavel (Part II): Trigger Option on Campaign Finance Contribution Ordinance May Not Be Viable

It’s 1 p.m. and Pasadena Now has posted three important stories so far today.1. Reminder: City Council Meetings Now Begin at 6 p.m. 2. Before the Gavel: Trigger Option on Campaign Finance Contribution Ordinance May Not be Viable 3. Before the Gavel: Locals Urging City Council to Pass First Reading of Contribution Ordinance

Pasadena Now will provide coverage of tonight’s City Council meeting.

Pasadena Now has learned that the City, to date, has not yet found a viable trigger option that could be implemented into the campaign finance ordinance.

The City Council is scheduled to hold the first reading on a campaign finance reform ordinance that would limit contributions to $1,000 for candidates.

However, that ordinance cannot limit self-funding to campaigns.

Councilmember Jason Lyon expressed support for a trigger option that would remove the campaign finance limits if a candidate self-funded their campaign over a certain limit.

The City Council was set to hold that discussion at a later date.

“I remain concerned about the ability of wealthy candidates to make limitless contributions to their own campaigns,” Lyon told Pasadena Now ahead of Monday’s meeting. “However, having explored the legal and practical implications of various proposals to discourage self-funding, including a trigger to override the contribution limits, it is my understanding that we have not yet come up with a proposal that is likely to be both effective and lawful under the Supreme Court’s current framework.”

Currently, individual campaign donations cannot exceed $5,500.

It is not known if the trigger discussion will still take place.