Austin Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison broke campaign finance law, suit shows

Six months after midyear campaign finance reports revealed that Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison violated fundraising laws, the Ethics Review Commission voted to send the Council member a letter of admonition.

As Council members are prohibited from raising money outside a one-year window that ended in December, she was in violation of the ordinance.

The maximum penalty that could have been levied was a class C misdemeanor charge, which is punishable by a fine of up to $500 for each contribution.

In the letter of admonition, the commission called for the Council member to be mindful of campaign finance rules moving forward and to revise her January and July campaign finance reports to accurately reflect the campaign’s debt as well as the reimbursement of the funds donated after the fundraising period.

García Davidson told commissioners it was not just the late donations that indicated a violation of city ordinances. She explained that there were inconsistencies between the Council member claiming debt at the end of her campaign and what was filed in the reports.

Commissioner Betsy Greenberg similarly pointed out that there was money in the bank at the end of the campaign and that the campaign listed expenditures. “You said you didn’t spend the money and yet there are political expenditures on the July form.”