Wichita’s fresh council members strive to overturn finance rule.

TLDR:

Newly elected members of the Wichita City Council are seeking to reverse a recent campaign finance rule that bans corporations or LLCs from contributing to local candidates. The council members argue that there is already an ethics policy in place that addresses and protects campaign finance issues, and they believe that the current rule puts Wichita officials at a disadvantage compared to the rest of the state. The city council is expected to reconsider the issue at its next meeting and may vote to reverse the ordinance.

Wichita’s newest city council members, Becky Tuttle, Dalton Glasscock, and JV Johnston, have joined Mayor Lily Wu in opposing a campaign finance measure that was recently passed. The measure, which was enacted during the final council meeting of former mayor Brandon Whipple, bans corporations or LLCs from contributing to local candidates. Glasscock pointed out that the Wichita City Council already has an ethics policy in place that addresses campaign finance issues and argued that the new rule puts them at a disadvantage compared to other elected officials in the state.

The city council will reconsider the campaign finance ordinance at its next meeting and may vote to reverse it. The motion to revisit the ordinance passed 4-3, with council members Brandon Johnson, Maggie Ballard, and Mike Hoheisel voting against revisiting the issue. The council members who are seeking to reverse the rule believe that the current ethics policy adequately addresses campaign finance concerns and that the new rule is unnecessary and puts them in a unique position compared to the rest of the state.