Updating Public Campaign Finance Code (Memo)

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Date: June 30, 2026
To: Governing Body and Finance Committee
From: Geralyn F. Cardenas, City Clerk
RE: Updating the Campaign Finance Code
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The proposed bill would amend Chapter 9-3 of the City of Santa Fe’s Public Campaign Finance Code to
increase the amount of public financing available to candidates for municipal office. Specifically, the bill would
increase the annual appropriation to the Public Campaign Finance Fund from one hundred fifty thousand dollars
($150,000.00) to three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000.00). It would also increase public financing for
candidates in contested races, raising the amount available to mayoral candidates from sixty thousand dollars
($60,000.00) to one hundred twenty thousand dollars ($120,000.00) and to city councilor and municipal judge
candidates from fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000.00) to thirty thousand dollars ($30,000.00). In addition, the
bill would repeal Section 9-3.12, “Qualified Small Contributions,” and Section 9-3.13, “Additional Reports of
Qualified Small Contributions; Additional Matching Payments from the Fund”.
BACKGROUND:
The current amounts distributed to qualified public campaign finance candidates by the City of Santa Fe is a
lower amount in comparison to other municipalities that participate in public campaign financing. This is an
effort to give the City’s public campaign financing candidates a fairer opportunity to run against a privately
financed candidate in the Regular Local Election. Additionally, this would eliminate the need for a public
financed candidate to solicit additional funds such as the Qualifies Small Contributions.
ATTACHMENTS:
Bill
Fiscal Impact Report