AUSTIN (KXAN) — In a hearing last week where Austin’s Ethics Review Commission weighed complaints filed against both Austin Mayor Kirk Watson and one of his mayoral challengers, Doug Greco, a possible loophole in how donations are tracked and presented to the public — as it relates to Austin’s rule about taking only a certain amount of money from voters outside city limits — became a point of contention.
The complaints allege that Watson and Greco both exceeded the amount of money they can take from donors who are not eligible voters in Austin. Filed by former Ethics Review Commission Member Betsy Greenberg, the complaint uses publicly available campaign finance records to show both candidates went over the $46,000 cap set by the city.
The idea to cap outside donations was brought forward by an activist group called “Austinites for a little less corruption” in the form of a citizen-initiated petition in the late 90’s. According to Greenberg, it passed with 72% of the vote in 1997…