BURBANK, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 09: TV personality Farrah Abraham attends the 2016 MTV Movie Awards at Warner Bros. Studios on April 9, 2016 in Burbank, California. MTV Movie Awards airs April 10, 2016 at 8pm ET/PT. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Austin 360
Reality TV star and newly minted Austin City Council candidate Farrah Abraham is already soliciting campaign donations, but her fundraising website lets supporters give more than the city’s legal limit.
The site, which features a photo of Abraham posed in front of an American flag, includes preset donation buttons as high as $1,000 – double Austin’s $500 cap for individual contributions. The $500 button also includes a $20.51 processing fee, which would push the donation over the allowed limit.
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“The website has automated buttons but the allowance is $500,” Abraham’s executive coordinator, Joy Hollum, said in a written statement.
Abraham posted a screenshot on social media of an American-Statesman reporter’s inquiry about the donation limits, captioning it: “Did the reporter see [t]he buttons were limited?”
The Statesman followed up with questions about what Abraham meant.
“It does not allow donations of that amount- it abide by the rule,” Hollum said.
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Hollum later added: “The 1k button doesn’t work- we do not create the platform, we do not own platforms and these are donations not payments. Limits do match what is and not allowed.”
Does Farrah Abraham live in Austin’s District 5?
Known for her role on MTV’s “16 and Pregnant” and its spinoff, “Teen Mom,” Abraham originally announced her candidacy for Austin mayor before learning in an interview with TMZ that the race wasn’t until 2028. She then announced she would be running for City Council District 5. But a Statesman analysis found that Abraham did not live in District 5, which would make her ineligible to run for the seat.
In response to questions about Abraham’s eligibility to run for District 5, city spokesperson Erik Johnson cited city code that council candidates must have lived in their district for six months before the regular filing deadline for a council candidate’s application for a place on the ballot. The filing deadline is Aug. 17, meaning Abraham would have just five days to move to one of the council district seats up for election in November: Districts 1, 3, 5, 8 and 9.
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“Teen Mom” star Farrah Abraham greets her customers and fans at the opening of the new Froco frozen yogurt shop in Lakeway on Tuesday, May 31, 2016.
Austin American-Statesman
Campaign finance questions extend beyond ‘Teen Mom’ star
Though council races are less than a year away, campaign finances have already proven messy — for both candidates and the city itself.
Abraham is not the only candidate whose campaign contributions appear to violate city policy. District 8 Council Member Paige Ellis, who is running for a third term representing Southwest Austin, appeared to have received donations over the city limit for the second time in her council career.
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District 8 Austin City Council member and mayor pro tem Paige Ellis speaks at a Rethink35 rally at Sanchez Elementary School on Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023 in Austin. Rethink35 is a nonprofit organization opposing the Austin I-35 expansion project.
Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman
Ellis and her campaign manager have insisted that none of the contributions exceeded the limit because the donations came from married couples, and donating on behalf of both spouses is permitted. However, both the city and an ethics expert told the Statesman the donations were still problematic, with ethics attorney Andrew Cates saying each spouse should have been listed separately.
Austin corrects misinformation about campaign donation cap
As for the city, officials appeared confused about their own campaign finance rules.
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City officials repeatedly told the Statesman that Austin’s individual campaign contribution limit was $450 before later acknowledging the information was incorrect and that the actual cap is $500 after the Statesman raised questions about the limit.
The city has said the error stemmed from outdated guidance provided by staff, even as the incorrect figure was confirmed multiple times on the record. One day after the Statesman first reported on Ellis’ donations, city staff quietly changed the city’s campaign finance website to update the limit to $500 from $450.
The city said it will not notify candidates of the changes until it sends out candidate packets in May. In the meantime, candidates will only learn of the update by checking the city’s website, and those who already raised funds will be left to consider whether to return to contributors to ask for an extra $50 given the new cap.
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Ellis said she was unaware of the campaign finance changes.