Houston invested just over $1 million in a new campaign finance management tool, aiming to improve accuracy and fiscal accountability in local elections.
In a nutshell
City Council approved the purchase Feb. 4, and several council members called the initiative a long-overdue replacement of the city’s dated campaign finance management system. Mayor John Whitmire also voiced support for the accountability aspects of the new tool.
“This is an ongoing issue—how you hold people accountable when they have their rights to run for office,” Whitmire said. “At the state level, you’ve got people who hold significant fines to the Ethics Commission, and we still allow them to file and run for office when they’re delinquent in their fines.”
The city will purchase the tool from RFD & Associates—the company behind the Texas Ethics Commission’s electronic filing platform—a popular resource for tracking campaign finance contributions statewide.
Houston’s new platform will incorporate web-based and mobile options for disclosure of campaign finance, lobbying and personal financial statement filings, aligning the city’s system with those of state agencies and clerk’s offices, agenda documents show. Voters will be able to more easily monitor fundraising for candidates seeking city office, as well as money donated to local policy initiatives and political parties.
The new tool will be implemented in two phases, the first focusing on campaign contributions and the second devoted to lobbying and personal finance, said Mary Benton, the mayor’s chief of communications.
Some context
State law mandates that all candidates running for City Council and other city offices must file campaign contributions with the city secretary’s office. Additionally, the city of Houston’s code of ordinances requires candidates to file electronically through the city’s online system, aside from a couple of exceptions.
Houston’s current platform for filing and searching through electronic records dates back to 2007, and several council members said the dated technology has created challenges for accurate tracking and enforcement of filing requirements.
“[The new tool] helps us as folks in these spaces to be able to do it a lot easier, but it’s also more accessible to the community as well,” said council member Jaoquin Martinez, who chairs the Ethics and Governance Committee, which oversees campaign finance violations.
What they’re saying
Council members Mario Castillo and Julian Ramirez said the investment creates a much-needed opportunity to improve accountability for those who miss deadlines or file incorrectly.
“This system is absolutely in need of an upgrade,” Castillo said. “The lobbying forms are still done in person on paper—that just tells you how antiquated the system is. But I will also say we should be also looking at how we enforce the requirements around the filings and folks that don’t file.”
Similarly, council member Twila Carter, who serves as vice chair of the Ethics and Governance Committee, said there isn’t enough clarity about how the Committee should respond to violations and there needs to be a better arm of enforcement.
“We need to really take a look at practicing what we preach,” she said.
Council member Abbie Kamin also noted the current system’s failure to account for lobbyists and blackout periods, which are legally mandated timeframes when officeholders are prohibited from accepting political contributions.
Looking forward
Benton said the campaign finance tool is anticipated to go live on the city’s website within 60 days, with additional components for lobbying and personal finance disclosures set to launch within 180 days.