The Rio Grande Foundation recently discussed its lawsuit and action being taken by Santa Fe’s City Council regarding the City’s disputed campaign finance law. Specifically, quoting here from Matt Grubbs of the Santa Fe Reporter, “The city is faced with the potential of a court battle that city attorneys think they are likely to lose, and officials appear ready to back down. The City Council is set to vote next month on a bill that would completely eliminate the requirement for ‘independent expenditure groups’ to report on contributions that pay for ballot measure advocacy.”
The full article from the Reporter is worth a read, but the gist of it is that the City and its legal staff seems to realize that we’re right on the merits of the case, so, rather than going through the legal costs and getting beat, just create a carve-out for ballot measures within the campaign finance law.
Regardless of what happens at Santa Fe City Council, we at the Rio Grande Foundation will be tracking the situation. And, we feel pretty good about the outcome.
Photo credit: Anson Stevens-Bollen
If the City of Santa Fe wants to settle, be sure to get costs and attorneys’ fees as a condition of dismissal. If the City gets tagged with some substantial litigation expenses, it may be be more careful in the future when it drafts ordinances.
Thanks, yes, I believe the folks at Goldwater put this in the original lawsuit, but I’m not in charge of that aspect.