Seattle mayoral candidates released from spending limit as PAC funds continue flowing

Both Seattle mayoral candidates have been officially dismissed from the parliamentary election spending cap as Bruce Harrell and Lorena Gonzalez continue to raise funds.

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Seattle’s mayoral candidates are typically capped at $ 800,000 put together between primaries and general elections, but may apply to the city’s Ethics and Electoral Commission (SEEC) to lift that cap.

💸 Candidates running for mayor in this Seattle city election are subject to a “spending limit” of $ 800,000.

However, candidates can also apply to be exempt from these spending limits and continue to raise funds for their campaign.

Learn more: https://t.co/MM0zuM8wca pic.twitter.com/ptARfgEvs0

– Democracy voucher program (@sea_elections) September 30, 2021

By September 27, Harrell had raised nearly $ 915,000 in campaign contributions while Gonzalez raised nearly $ 663,000. While Harrell leads the way in total funds, Gonzalez leads the way in Democracy Vouchers, with their contributions coming in the form of $ 642,525 vouchers.

The SEEC this week accepted petitions from both campaigns to lift the spending limit. This means that they can no longer accept democracy vouchers, but can continue to collect individual contributions.

In addition to the self-raised money, there are independent spending committees (IEC) that support both candidates. IECs function as city-level political action committees capable of raising and spending large sums of money to support anyone of their choosing, provided they do not coordinate themselves with the candidates.

An IEC registered as Bruce Harrell for Seattle’s future has raised nearly $ 800,000 since the spring, thanks to sizeable donations from local real estate chief and prominent Donald Trump donor George Petrie, Petrie’s business associate John Goodman and his wife Alyssa Petrie.

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A separate IEC registered as Essential Workers for Lorena has raised nearly $ 828,000, with all contributions from working groups. This includes a donation of $ 450,000 from Unite Here Tip, a PAC that “contributes and expenditures the election of candidates who support the rights and interests of working people and their families” to state and city elections in the United States.

In the run-up to the August primaries, Harrell and Gonzalez both defended their support for the IECs in the face of criticism from other candidates. For Harrell, his campaign stated that he was “running a strong grassroots fundraiser and participating in the publicly funded Democracy Voucher Program.”

“More than 1,400 individuals have given democracy tokens in support of Bruce’s positive vision to unite Seattle and make real progress on the challenges we face,” added a spokesman for Harrell’s campaign.

Gonzalez made a distinction between the Harrell for Seattle’s Future Group and the Essential Workers for Lorena IEC.

“Bruce Harrell has stood with great business people throughout his career who are an overwhelming influence on City Hall,” said Alex Koren, campaign manager at Gonzalez. “Lorena has always stood up for important workers and unions and is proud of their support.”

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