HOUSTON – Three Houston City Council Members are proposing to repeal a city ethics ordinance that limits how much campaign money candidates can use to repay personal loans made to their own campaigns.
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Council Members Edward Pollard, Carolyn Evans-Shabazz, and Tiffany Thomas have signed onto a council item scheduled for discussion next week that would repeal Section 18-37 of Houston’s Code of Ordinances.
Campaign finance records show Pollard loaned his campaign $1 million in 2025 at a 0% interest rate. Records also show Thomas contributed $214 in personal funds to her campaign, while Evans-Shabazz did not report contributing personal funds to hers.
When KPRC 2 News asked Pollard’s office about the $1 million campaign loan, his office said it had no further comment.
The ordinance currently places caps on how much candidates can reimburse themselves using campaign contributions after personally loaning money to their campaigns.
Under the current city code:
- Mayoral candidates cannot repay themselves more than $75,000 from campaign contributions.
- Candidates for other citywide offices, including controller and at-large council seats, are capped at $15,000.
- District council candidates are limited to $5,000.
The ordinance also states the repayment limits apply whether the personal loans were made before or after the rule was adopted.
The proposal argues the ordinance is no longer legally sustainable following a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Federal Election Commission v. Ted Cruz for Senate.
In that case, the Supreme Court struck down a federal restriction that limited how much candidates could repay themselves with post-election campaign donations, ruling the restriction violated First Amendment protections.
Pollard said the proposal is intended to align Houston’s ordinance with federal constitutional guidance.
“The Prop A item is about bringing Houston’s ordinance in line with federal law,” Pollard told us. “The U.S. Supreme Court made it clear that caps like this raise constitutional concerns and violate the freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment. Our goal is to make sure the City of Houston isn’t out of step with that guidance.”
KPRC 2 News requested comments from Evans-Shabazz and Thomas but did not receive a response.
The proposal is expected to be discussed during next week’s council meeting.