The city council of the city of Sacramento finds and declares as follows:
A. The policy of this city is to protect the integrity of the electoral process.
B. Monetary contributions to political campaigns are a legitimate form of participation in the political process, but the financial strength of certain individuals or organizations should not permit them to exercise a disproportionate or controlling influence on the election of candidates for municipal office. The increasing amounts of expenditures in political campaigns have forced many candidates for elective office to raise larger and larger sums from individuals or interest groups with a specific financial stake in city matters. This can cause the public perception that the votes of city council members and decisions of elected officials are being improperly influenced by monetary contributions. Such a perception can undermine the credibility of the city council and the governmental process.
C. The best interests of the citizens of the city of Sacramento are served by reducing the direct and indirect costs of campaigns.
D. The city finds that limitations on contributions of money, services and materials by individuals or groups to municipal election campaigns should be imposed by law to protect the public health, safety and welfare. These limitations, however, should be reasonable so as not to discourage personal expression or participation in the political process.
E. Campaign spending for municipal office campaigns is escalating to dangerous and unreasonable levels.
F. The constant pressure to raise contributions during both election years and off-election years is distracting elected municipal officials from addressing the needs of the community.
G. Some elected municipal officials are responding to high campaign costs by raising large amounts of money in off-election years to either pay off campaign debts previously incurred or to accumulate campaign funds for future use. This fundraising distracts elected officials from important public matters, encourages contributions which may have a corrupting influence or, at the very least, the appearance of improper influence, and gives incumbent elected officials an unfair fundraising advantage over potential challengers.
H. The integrity of the legislative process and public confidence in elected municipal officials are all diminishing.
I. The public has the right to ensure the fullest and most thorough discussion and debate of public issues during an election campaign by expending public funds to secure the widest possible dissemination of information from diverse and opposing sources to assure an unfettered interchange of ideas.
J. The city finds that voluntary campaign expenditure limitations, coupled with the provision of public funds for campaign purposes, are necessary to further these public interests at a reasonable cost to the city, and that such a program should therefore be established. (Ord. 2003-046 § 1)