Cleveland City Council President Blaine Griffin is moving to double the amount of money that supporters can give to council campaigns. 

Griffin’s legislation raising contribution limits could come up for a vote as soon as Monday. That is council’s last meeting before its reduced summer schedule begins. 

The measure would allow an individual to give as much as $3,000 annually to a council campaign, twice the $1,500 currently set by city code. A council campaign could accept as much as $6,000 per year from a political action committee. The current limit is $3,000. 

Griffin said he was proposing to raise limits to keep up with rising prices, as happens at the state level. Council last increased contribution limits in 2016. Plus, council members will need more money to run in larger wards in 2025 after redistricting cuts membership from 17 to 15, he said. 

“The main answer is inflation,” he said. “The cost of doing mailings and the cost of a stamp and the cost of doing business and running campaigns have increased significantly since 2016.” 

The proposal brings council contribution limits closer to those of mayoral candidates. A mayoral hopeful can raise $5,000 from individuals and $7,500 from PACs in a calendar year. Griffin’s legislation would leave the mayoral limits intact 

Asked why he isn’t proposing to raise limits for the mayor, Griffin replied: “He hasn’t said anything to me about it. This is something that council has said to do. If the mayor has a conversation, then that’s something that council will consider.” 

Council will likely vote Monday on the legislation, Griffin said. That would put members in the best position possible as they get ready for their reelection campaigns next year, he said.

Viewed for years as a potential mayoral contender, Griffin has not said whether he’ll challenge Mayor Justin Bibb in 2025. If Griffin were planning to run, the higher council contribution limits would make it easier for him to raise money before he declares himself a candidate for mayor in financial paperwork with the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections. 

The council president dismissed that idea. 

“No, that’s not a factor,” he said. “Right now I’m just trying to be the best council president and the best Ward 6 council person that I can be.” 

Although the filing deadline for Cleveland’s 2025 races isn’t for another year, Bibb is already turning the wheels on his reelection campaign. The mayor has been holding small-scale neighborhood meetings with supporters around the city. His campaign routinely circulates email fundraising appeals. 

Bibb started the year with $233,688 in campaign cash on hand, while Griffin began 2024 with $168,377. They won’t have to disclose their fundraising numbers again until the end of July. 

Donors looking to avoid contribution limits in Cleveland races have another option: federal super PACs, which can accept checks of any size. Several super PACs spent money in the 2021 mayoral race. Because of the federal filing schedule, they didn’t have to reveal their donors until months after the election.