Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and Councilmember Tom Rasmussen recently proposed legislation that would strengthen election and ethics rules. The legislation amends existing law to explicitly prohibit campaign activities at, or adjacent to, official City sponsored events.
“City Hall should be – and is – a forum for ideas and civic conversation, but taxpayer-funded events should never supplement or support outside campaign activities,” said Murray. “We need to ensure public resources are not being used for political purposes. Electioneering and fundraising have no place at, or during, City-sponsored events.”
According to Murray, the existing ethics rules currently prohibit the use of City stationary, postage, vehicles, equipment, and staff for election purposes. The proposal would further clarify the rule by explicitly prohibiting an elected official, or their representatives, to engage in campaign activities at or nearby any official City event that was organized by that elected official or their City staff.
“This is common sense legislation,” said Rasmussen, the bill’s Council sponsor. “Campaign activities must be separate from official public activities that are organized by City staff and paid for by the taxpayers. We need to make that clear in our Ethics and Elections Code.”
