Cypress Talks Big Changes to Election Money Rules

Cypress is looking at some big changes to how money flows in local elections. The city council recently talked about lowering the maximum donation a candidate can get, from $5, 900 to $500. This idea came from Mayor David Burke, who thinks too much special interest money is influencing elections and making people doubt the decisions being made. But not everyone agreed. Councilmember Bonnie Peat wanted to push the discussion to next year, saying she didn't get enough time to review the presentation. Burke insisted he shared the presentation early, but it didn't get attached to the agenda until the day of the meeting. He made it clear they wouldn't be voting on anything right away, just talking about the ideas. One of the main points Burke made was that Cypress's donation limits are way higher than many states. He pointed out that someone running for city council here can get more money from a single donor than a gubernatorial candidate in states like Colorado or Massachusetts. This seems unfair to many. Cypress is also in the middle of switching to single-member districts, a change that came after a lawsuit claimed the old system was unfair to Asian American voters. The city paid a lot to settle that lawsuit, and now, with districts in place, Democrats hold the majority on the council, even though they only have a small edge in voter registration. Burke also wants to make it clearer who's funding political ads. Right now, political action committees (PACs) only have to disclose their own name, not the top donors. Burke wants to change that, especially after a PAC spent nearly $50, 000 in the last election, with big donations from a trash company and a development firm. Peat disagreed with how Burke presented the numbers, saying it made it seem like candidates took the money directly, which isn't true. Councilmember Kyle Chang supported continuing the discussion next year after a new councilmember is appointed. In the end, the council decided 3-1 to draft new rules for the donation limits and donor disclosures, with Peat against it.