The Los Angeles City Council approved a motion Tuesday to study the feasibility of establishing a Democracy Vouchers program to give residents the ability to donate to candidates of their choosing, with the aim of increasing engagement between Angelenos and the city’s political process.

Organizers who campaigned for an Oakland measure that gives voters $100 to donate to candidates say that Mayor Sheng Thao’s budget proposal eliminates funding for the program. The democracy dollars measure is meant to enable a broader range of Oaklanders to support their preferred candidates.

Seattle voters are about to get their democracy vouchers for this year’s city council elections: envelopes of $25 gift cards that voters direct to their choice of local political campaigns. Every February of municipal election years, Seattle voters receive four $25 “democracy vouchers” — blue slips of paper totaling $100 on which voters can write in candidates and direct public funds to those campaigns.

Janani Ramachandran is the youngest Oakland councilmember, and the first South Asian and queer woman of color to serve on the council. Ramachandran, who was sworn into office in January, represents District 4, which includes Dimond, Oakmore, Glenview, Laurel, Redwood Heights, Montclair, Allendale, and other neighborhoods.

The Oakland City Council meets today at 1 p.m. for a special study session to examine Mayor Sheng Thao’s budget plan for the next two years. The $4.2 billion budget Thao unveiled last month balances out a historic $360 million shortfall in the city’s general fund. To do this without laying off any city employees, Thao has proposed major cuts across city services, including police and fire, and merging several departments for efficiency. Smaller programs like cultural affairs and the Public Ethics Commission will lose money for core programs and initiatives. The budget would freeze approximately 325 vacant budgeted positions.

Regarding “Oakland’s budget would cut public campaign finance. That would be a mistake” (Open Forum, SFChronicle.com, May 24): Bravo to Charlotte Hill and Ryan Micik for their trenchant Open Forum piece about Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao’s proposed cuts to the voter-approved Democracy Dollars program.

In November of last year, Oakland voters approved an innovative public campaign financing program known as “Democracy Dollars” for city elections. The program was the centerpiece of the Oakland Fair Elections Act, on the ballot as Measure W, which passed with 74% in favor. But the launch of Oakland’s democracy dollars for the 2024 election cycle is jeopardized under new Mayor Sheng Thao’s proposed budget, unveiled on May 1 in response to a deficit caused by a decline in tax revenues. The mayor’s $4.2 billion two-year budget plan would postpone funding for the democracy dollars program until the 2026 election cycle—specifically, by withholding $4 million in funding for redeemable vouchers meant to come from the general fund.

Earlier this month, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao released her $4.2 billion two-year budget proposal, establishing a plan for the city’s near future that also addresses the $360 million deficit in the city’s general purpose fund, the largest in city history. As part of cost-cutting measures, Mayor Thao proposed eliminating funding necessary for the voter-approved Democracy Dollars program to take effect next year in time for the 2024 election cycle. Doing so would be a mistake.

Oakland’s political watchdog commission has brought on a new executive director to guide the organization through a challenging period. The Public Ethics Commission announced on Tuesday the hiring of Nicolas Heidorn as its new executive director. Heidorn will lead the commission’s six-person staff in overseeing the administration and enforcement of city campaign finance, lobbying, government ethics laws, and transparency programs. He will also preside over the implementation of the new Fair Elections Act, which created the Democracy Dollars program.

Advocates elsewhere in California are looking to Oakland as an example. Los Angeles and San Diego have each had their respective campaigns for democracy dollars in place for some time, and in a recent editorial in the Los Angeles Times, the editorial board offered up these vouchers as one of several tools that could be used to restore LA voters’ confidence in local government shaken by the racist comments made city council leaders on a leaked tape.

Last month, Oakland voters made their city the first in California to adopt a program of public campaign financing for elections known as “Democracy Dollars.” Advocates in other California cities say the Oakland measure’s success could help spur similar efforts in their areas, toward leveling the playing field in local elections. Oakland’s democracy dollars program was approved on Election Day as the centerpiece of Measure W, a ballot measure that passed with 74% of city voters in favor. The measure will establish a program that sends four $25 vouchers to every Oakland registered voter, which voters can then donate to qualifying candidates for city office and school board. The candidates would then redeem the vouchers for public campaign funding, starting in the 2024 cycle.

In last month’s election, an overwhelming majority of Oakland voters said “yes” to Measure W, a public financing program to curb big money influence in local elections and foster political participation. The measure repeals the Limited Public Financing Act, a modest public financing program solely for City Council elections, and adopts the Fair Elections Act that will establish a “Democracy Dollars Program,” extending public financing to all city elections. Oakland’s Public Ethics Commission will implement the measure by hiring staff and creating infrastructure.

Oakland, California, passed a measure that gives residents taxpayer-funded "Democracy Dollars" to donate to political campaigns in a bid to increase voter turnout and to broaden campaign opportunities to candidates who lack deep financial resources. "We deserve a government that prioritizes the needs of Oakland residents, rather than wealthy special interests," Fair Elections Oakland says on its website. "We need to know that our local elected officials are fighting for us—that they’re working to create affordable housing, improve our schools, and keep the streets safe—instead of helping out their wealthy campaign funders."

“We focused on supporting candidates and issues that drive a progressive agenda for working-class residents, immigrants, and communities of color living in the flatlands, and our team worked hard to turn out voters for the November midterm election. While many campaign consultants ignore BIPOC, working-class, immigrant, and formerly incarcerated community members, ORA believes that these are the people who will bring about the systemic change they are fighting for in Oakland and beyond,” said Jon Bean, Deputy Director, Oakland Rising Action.

The financing of election campaigns, and their results, have been increasingly dominated by a small number of wealthy donors. But a newly approved ballot measure in Oakland is likely to give everyday people more of a voice in future elections, judging from results in the only other U.S. city with such a law.

Voters just elected a new mayor, city attorney and city controller, plus several new council members, all of them City Hall newcomers. Angelenos are talking and ideas are flowing: What about fully publicly financed elections, to enable Angelenos with skill and integrity, but little money, to run for office? Or “democracy dollars”

Voters in Oakland, California also opted to require donor disclosure on political ads. The city’s successful Measure W will also restrict former elected officials’ lobbying capacity, cap campaign contributions, and allocate democracy vouchers to local voters, who can then publicly finance candidates at their discretion.

At the local level, voters adopted a variety of innovations in campaign and voting procedures, with an eye to revitalizing democracy. Oakland, California passed a measure to revamp campaign finance and implement a democracy vouchers program in future local elections. It leads with 69 percent of the vote as of publication.

The goal of the measure is to make participation in campaign financing more equitable. Oakland Rising-- one of the main supporters of the initiative, says it will shift the current power imbalance in elections funding. Voters will now see greater transparency in who funds elections. At the same time, all Oakland residents will have a chance to contribute toward a candidate of their choice.