Candidates seeking office at Houston City Hall will now face no limits on using campaign funds to repay themselves for loans they make to their own campaign accounts.
The change was initiated by Council Member Edward Pollard, who has long been rumored to be running for mayor – and who has loaned more than $1 million to his campaign account. The mayor, controller and all 16 council seats will be on the ballot next year.
Previously, the mayor, controller and at-large council members could repay themselves no more than $75,000 and district council members no more than $50,000. The new policy, approved unanimously without discussion during Wednesday’s council meeting, removes those caps.
Pollard would in theory be able to use campaign contributions to fully recoup the $1,040,000 he has loaned his campaign. Pollard said that having cash in politics was simply the way of the game.
“If someone has the thought to possibly run for office, they have to either raise a lot of money, or they have to loan themselves a lot of money,” Pollard said. “There’s only two things you can do.”
The District J council member did not say which office he might seek when his term as a council member ends next year.
Pollard has noted the change aligns the city with a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling on campaign loans.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in 2019 sued the Federal Election Commission, claiming a law prohibiting candidates from repaying themselves more than $250,000 in campaign loans violated the First Amendment. The justices ultimately ruled repayment limits unconstitutional.
I don’t care for this – if nothing else, there was no need to take this action now, not when no one has filed a lawsuit over the city’s current ordinance – but I’m not sure it makes that much difference. The kind of person that can loan their campaign that kind of money likely doesn’t really need it to be paid back. I’m sure they’d prefer it, but it’s not a need-to-have. Plus, you actually have to win the race to be in a position to fundraise out of the loan, and there’s no guarantee of that. It’s not great and it is an advantage for wealthier candidates, but they’re already at an advantage. I’m not convinced this moves the ball that much. Ask me again in a decade or so and we’ll see how foolish I look for saying that.
(Also, Pollard is obviously running for Mayor. Come on.)