Local Campaign Contribution Limits and Voluntary Expenditures

Preserving integrity and openness in the political process is a matter of highest public interest. The people of the City of Redwood City can be better served through a more informed electorate and the trust of the people is essential to representative government. Regulation of campaign contributions is necessary to promote public confidence in government and to protect the integrity of the electoral process.

In February 2020, the City Council adopted an ordinance placing mandatory limits on campaign contributions to City Council candidates and set voluntary overall expenditure limits on campaigns. The ordinance is designed to allow City Council candidates and incumbent City Councilmembers to spend less of their time on fundraising, and more of their time communicating on issues of importance to voters and constituents. The City Council adopted a revised ordinance in February 2022 to further reduce barriers to running for office and to increase the Voluntary Expenditure Limit based on the Consumer Price Index.  View the revised ordinance here.

Archived campaign statements filed with the City can be viewed here.

Contribution Limits

For any particular election, including a recall election, no individual or organization shall make, and no candidate, candidate committee, treasurer, or other person acting on behalf of a candidate committee shall solicit or accept from any individual or organization, any contribution that will cause the total amount contributed by such individual or organization to exceed $1,000 (Section 2.153(A)). The contribution limit is not applicable to personal funds, as specified.

Enforcement of Campaign Contribution Limits

Any person who knowingly or willfully violates the campaign contribution limit (Section 2.153) in the ordinance is guilty of a misdemeanor and may be subject to prosecution within four (4) years of the date on which the violation occurred. Any contribution or portion thereof that exceeds the campaign contribution limit shall be returned to the contributor within 72 hours of receipt.

In addition to other penalties provided by law, a fine of $1,000 for each violation of the campaign contribution limit may be imposed. If evidence of a violation is presented to the City Clerk, the City Clerk shall send written notice to the candidate or committee of the alleged violation and request its correction within three (3) business days of the date on the written notice. If no correction is made within the allotted time, the candidate or committee shall cease and desist all contributions, expenditures, and campaign communications, and pay the fine set forth by the ordinance to the City’s General Fund.

Voluntary Expenditure Limits for November 5, 2024 City Council Elections 

A candidate for district City Councilmember who voluntarily agrees to expenditure ceilings shall not make qualified expenditures exceeding two dollars and forty-five cents ($2.45) per resident in the electoral district for each election in which the candidate is seeking elective office. Residency of each electoral district shall be determined by the latest decennial census population figures available for that district.

In accordance with Redwood City Municipal Code Section 2.154, subsection (E)(2), the City Clerk is required to publish notice of an increase in the expenditure ceiling amount for candidates for district City Councilmembers who voluntarily agree to expenditure ceilings. Beginning on January 1, 2024, the City Clerk shall in even-numbered years increase the expenditure ceiling amounts based upon a finding that the cost of living in the immediate San Francisco Bay Area, as shown on the CPI for all items in the San Francisco Bay Area as published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Statistics, has increased. The adjustment called for by this section shall be the cost of living adjustment (COLA) computed by reference to the CPI as indexed from a base year that commences in October 2021. The increase shall be rounded to the nearest thousand.

Candidates who agree to limit campaign expenditures in accordance with the ordinance, and who comply with all aspects of the ordinance, are allowed to submit a candidate statement, in addition to the statement that will appear in the County Voter Guide.

Enforcement of Campaign Contribution Limits

Candidates who agree to limit campaign contributions and expenditures but subsequently violate the ordinance shall, within seventy-two (72) hours of the City’s knowledge of the violation:

1. Have notice of the violation forwarded to a newspaper of general circulation for publication
2. Have notice of the violation posted on the City’s website
3. Have notice of the violation posted at a reasonably accessible location at City Hall
4. Result in the removal of the 400-word written candidate statement from the City’s website, unless a fee is paid in which case the statement will then be relocated below statements from candidates that agree to voluntary expenditure limits, in accordance with Section 2.154(D)

To report a suspected violation, please contact the City Clerk at (650) 780-7220 or by email at ycastro@redwoodcity.org.