Mayoral candidate Allan Domb has triggered the ‘millionaire’s amendment’ for campaign fund-raising

Mayoral candidate and real estate magnate Allan Domb has triggered the “millionaire’s amendment” of Philadelphia’s political fund-raising rules, which doubles the annual limits on how much money campaigns can raise from donors if any candidates give their campaign $250,000 or more out of their own pocket.

Domb, a former City Council member, notified the Philadelphia Board of Ethics that he has given at least that amount to his own campaign at about 12 a.m. Wednesday, said Shane Creamer, the board’s executive director.

The provision doubles the annual limits on contributions from individuals from $3,100 to $6,200, and on contributions from political committees from $12,600 to $25,200. The provision stays in effect even if Domb drops out of the race or his campaign returns the money to him.

Domb exceeded the $250,000 threshold on Dec. 30, Creamer said. Candidates are required to alert the board within two business days of triggering the provision.

“Allan’s contribution is an indication of how important it is to him that Philadelphia has new leadership that will make the city safer for everyone,” Domb spokesperson Jared Leopold said in a statement. “Allan is choosing to put his own money into this race, and he will never be beholden to special interests.”

The campaign declined to disclose how much Domb has donated. Candidates are not required to file their campaign finance reports for 2022 until the end of January.

Domb was widely expected to wait until the waning moments of 2022 to trigger the provision because doing so prevented his rivals from taking advantage of the doubled contribution levels by squeezing more money out of their donors last year.

Now, candidates can only collect contributions at the increased rates in 2023.

» READ MORE: ‘Condo King’ Allan Domb owns more than 400 properties. What happens if he becomes mayor?

There are no limits on contributions for independent expenditure committees, the outside groups such as “super PACs” that are prohibited from coordinating with the campaigns they are boosting.

As was the case in the last open mayoral election — when Mayor Jim Kenney in 2015 defeated State Sen. Tony Williams (D., Phila.) — ad spending by independent expenditure campaigns this year is expected to surpass what the campaigns themselves can muster.

Leopold, Domb’s spokesperson, criticized other candidates in the race for appearing to court outside spending.

“Many of his opponents are coordinating with SuperPACs to bolster their mayoral campaigns,” Leopold said. “Allan donated his city council paycheck to Philadelphia schools and education programs, and he is fully committed to fighting for the people of Philadelphia to make the city we love safer and stronger.”

Leopold didn’t name names, but several candidates are expected to benefit from super PAC spending. A group called Philadelphians for Our Future is soliciting donations in an effort to boost former Councilmember Cherelle Parker. And New York real estate developer Marty Burger has spread word of a $5 million outside spending campaign to help the mayoral bid of State Rep. Amen Brown (D., Phila.), sources told The Inquirer.

Despite the role super PACs are expected to play, candidate fund-raising remains important, both to pay for key campaign functions and as a measuring stick of which candidates are seen as viable.

» READ MORE: Who's running for Philadelphia mayor in 2023?

In the 2007 mayor’s race, billionaire Tom Knox triggered the provision by putting millions into his campaign and finishing second to former Mayor Michael A. Nutter.

Domb is a highly successful real estate broker who specializes in the Center City condo market and has amassed a portfolio of more than 400 properties of his own in the city. He is the wealthiest candidate in the race and was widely expected to self-fund his mayoral bid after giving hundreds of thousands to his Council campaigns in 2015 and 2019.

In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a similar “millionaire’s amendment” in the federal Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, better known as the McCain-Feingold Act. In Davis v. FEC, the justices found that allowing other candidates to use increased contribution limits was unfair to self-funding candidates, who were prohibited from taking advantage of the higher limits themselves.

But Philadelphia’s law has not been struck down, and it includes key differences. Self-funding candidates, for instance, can also take advantage of the doubled contribution limits in city races.