Individuals running for Springfield mayor and city council seats are now limited to a total of $2,825 in both monetary and in-kind contributions.
City Council approved a measure Monday night limiting how much a candidate may receive.
Resident Chase Blackburn said he supports the bill because it moves the city toward a fairer system.
"Limits on campaign contributions help make sure regular people have a real chance to run and a real chance to be heard," said Blackburn.
Speaking before the meeting, Liz Vanevery, with MO Jobs with Justice, said her group has been advocating for the changes since council began looking into putting forth a bill.
"And now we're here to really hopefully level the playing field in Springfield and make it possible for folks that don't have big donors behind them to still run the race," said Vanevery.
Councilman Brandon Jenson said the passage of a substitute bill at the last regular meeting resulted in a fundamentally weaker policy and reduced the gain in trust he’d hoped to achieve with the community. But he said he believes the bill passed Monday night is better than no bill and that he hopes this is just the first step. Councilman Craig Hosmer echoed Jenson’s comments.
