Candidates running for city council in Aliso Viejo will now be able to accept thousands of more dollars in campaign contributions per donor ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
During a city council meeting on Dec. 3, Aliso Viejo officials voted to increase the city’s campaign contribution limit to match the state’s default. That vote came without any discussion as part of the city’s consent calendar, which includes several items considered routine business.
Aliso Viejo previously had an $1,000 limit, meaning council candidates could only accept donations toward their campaign up to $1,000 — per donor, per election. Councilmembers previously voted to create that limit in 2022.
[Read: Aliso Viejo Lowers Campaign Contributions Limit, Capping it at $1,000 Per Election Per Donor]
Under California law, the default limit is $5,900 per donor, per election.
City council members voted 4-1 in an initial vote on Nov. 19 to remove the city’s limit, changing it to align with the state’s default limit — nearly six times greater. Mayor Tiffany Ackley voted no during that meeting.
“Local politics is meant to stay local,” Ackley said at the Nov. 19 meeting. “It’s meant so that you don’t have a buddy who can give you $5,900 and his wife can give you $5,900 and their two kids can give you $5,900.”
“If we get rid of this ordinance, we are one of the very few cities around that would not have one,” she continued. “Irvine has one, Laguna Niguel has one, Mission Viejo has one — they all have one. Why are we looking to get rid of it?”
The change was brought forward by Councilmember Mike Munzing, who argued that the lower limit makes it unfair when competing against large independent expenditures and opponents who are generating tens of thousands of dollars in support from political action committees.
“A lot of what I believe in is obviously transparency, and with our filed public Form 460s, we have to disclose exactly what we get from every source that we get contributions for,” he said, referring to legally required campaign finance disclosures.
“When I’m limited to $1,000 and $80,000 comes in on their favor … The only fair thing to do is to get us back to the state limit, which numerous other cities have done,” Munzing said at the Nov. 19 meeting.
Councilmember Max Duncan, who was chosen to serve as the city’s mayor for 2026, agreed with Munzing.
“As Mike says, when you’re getting attacked by $80,000 of I.E.s [independent expenditures] and you’re constrained to raising $1,000 to try to combat back, that’s not fair,” he said.
Ackley called the change “insincere” and said her colleagues have all benefited from independent expenditures.
“I’m really, really disappointed that we’re here reconsidering this three years later,” she said.
The change comes as other cities are also taking a closer look at local campaign finance laws.
In Cypress, council members are talking about lowering their contribution cap from the $5,900 state limit to just $500 — officials are expected to vote on that change in early 2026.
In Orange, officials are reinstating a ban on candidate committees transferring money to the committees of other candidates. It comes after city officials narrowly lifted the ban last year while increasing the campaign contribution limits for regular elections from $1,000 per donor to $1,500.
[Read: Three OC Cities Eye Changing Campaign Finance Laws Ahead of 2026 Elections]
Aliso Viejo’s Dec. 3 meeting was one of Ackley’s last as mayor.
During that meeting’s public comment portion, resident Julie Colombero praised her for her stance on the campaign contribution issue.
“In the last meeting, there was a vote to limit the campaign contributions from $1,000 to $5,900,” Colombero said. “She expressed concern that not one local city has campaign contributions at that higher level, and I’m concerned that a larger campaign contribution will result in drowning the voices of those who do not have deep pockets.”
Angelina Hicks is the Voice of OC Collegiate News Service Editor. Contact her at ahicks@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @angelinahicks13.