November 2022: Passage of the Fair Elections Act:
In November 2022, 74% of Oakland voters supported Measure W, also known as the Oakland Fair Elections Act (FEA), which established, among other reforms, the nation’s second-ever Democracy Dollars program for funding candidates in local elections. However, success at the ballot box is just the first step toward implementation.
June 2023: Budget allocation for partial implementation:
Given Oakland’s historic budget deficit, neither the Mayor nor the City Council identified sufficient resources to fully launch the FEA in the 2024 elections.*
Some reforms established in the FEA will be implemented in all future elections. These include 1) lowering contribution limits to reduce candidates’ reliance on wealthier donors or special interests, 2) extending the time officials must wait after completing a term of elected office before registering as a lobbyist, and 3) enforcing stronger rules on transparency for political ads from candidates and independent expenditure groups.
It is implementation of the voucher program known as Democracy Dollars that will be delayed until 2026. The June 2023 budget ultimately included two elements to fund initial preparations for a rollout of vouchers in 2026:
- approximately $525,000 and
- a full time staff person.
2023 PEC obtains grant funding for one full time position
The PEC sought and obtained $210,000 in private grant funding for one full time person to begin planning and full and equitable rollout of the Democracy Dollars voucher program.
June 2024 Requests for additional funding as part of mid-cycle budget:
The future of the Democracy Dollars component of the FEA is not assured given the forecasts of ongoing budget challenges in Oakland.
Mid-cycle budget adjustments in June 2024 are critical for keeping implementation on track for the 2026 elections. The Public Ethics Commission has submitted a request for an additional staff person as part of the budget adjustments. In part, that request states:
Currently, the PEC has just one budgeted staffer to launch this administratively complex Program, out of the four required under Measure W (2022). The PEC will need additional senior staff to roll-out the policies, procedures, and core infrastructure of the Program well before March 2026, when vouchers will be mailed out. However, this will not be possible if these positions are not funded until July 2025 (the start of the next two-year budget cycle) and if they take several months to fill. The PEC needs at least one budgeted Ethics Analyst II beginning no later than January 2025 to ensure that person is on boarded at least six months to one year before vouchers are issued.
Update (June 2025)
While the June 2025 budget did provide some resources to the Public Ethics Commission, specific funding for fully launching a robust public campaign financing program, colloquially known as Democracy Dollars, is not yet available in Oakland’s constrained financial circumstances. The Administration has been charged with providing suggestions for ways to fund the campaign financing through other avenues than the City’s general fund. We anticipate further discussion by the City Council in 2025-26 of the possibilities.
Learn more at: https://democracydollarsoakland.org/
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*Legislation often includes clauses which permit Oakland to declare a fiscal emergency and postpone expenditures otherwise required by legislation. The City Council made that declaration in the recent budget cycle with respect to the full FEA funding and other expenditures the City would otherwise be required to make.
**The Bay Area Political Equality Collaborative includes the ACLU of Northern California, California Common Cause, League of Women Voters Oakland, Oakland Rising, BayRising, Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Asian Law Caucus, Maplight, and others.