Date: 09-07-2001

Case Style: Rick Homans v. City of Albuquerque, et al.

Case Number: 01-2271

Judge: Per Curiam

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

Plaintiff's Attorney: Thomas C. Bird and Richard L. Alvidrez, of Keleher & McLeod, P.A., Albuquerque, New Mexico, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Defendant's Attorney: Randy M. Autio and Daniel E. Ramczyk, Assistant City Attorneys, Albuquerque, New Mexico; Brenda Wright and John C. Bonifaz, of National Voting Rights Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, for Defendants-Appellees.

Description: Plaintiff-Appellant Rick Homans has filed an emergency motion for an injunction pending appeal, Fed. R. App. P. 8; 10th Cir. R. 8.1 & 8.2, and an alternative motion for suspension of the appellate rules and expedited review of the district court's denial of his application for a preliminary injunction, Fed. R. App. P. 2, 10th Cir. R. 2 We find that the emergency motion for an injunction pending appeal is well taken and should be granted thereby obviating the need to decide the alternative motion.

Plaintiff-Appellant, Rick Homans is a duly qualified mayoral candidate in the upcoming October 2, 2001, Albuquerque mayoral election. He brought this action against Defendants-Appellees, the City of Albuquerque, and Margie Baca Archuleta, Clerk of the City of Albuquerque, seeking declaratory relief that Article XIII, Section 4(d)(2) of the Albuquerque City Charter violates the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. He also sought a preliminary and permanent injunction against the City and the Clerk enjoining them from enforcing the provision. That provision limits the acceptance of campaign contributions and expenditures by mayoral candidates to $174,720.00.

The district court found that under the terms of the City Charter, Mr. Homans is subject to a $500 fine for each violation of the expenditure limitations and, if Mr. Homans is successful in his bid for mayor, a potential public reprimand and removal from office by the Albuquerque City Council. D. Ct. Memo. Op. & Order at 2. Mr. Homans does not challenge the limitation on individual campaign contributions of no more than 5% of the mayor's annual salary contained in Article XIII , Section 4(e) of the Albuquerque City Charter. I App. Doc. 3 at 1 n.1.

After a hearing, the district court granted Mr. Homans a temporary restraining order. Ten days later, the district court held another hearing, receiving further evidence, and denied a preliminary injunction. The district court acknowledged that the Supreme Court had invalidated, on First Amendment grounds, certain federal provisions limiting campaign expenditures, while upholding other provisions limiting campaign contributions. D. Ct. Memo. Op. & Order at 10 (citing Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1 (1976) (per curiam)). However, the district court was persuaded to read the holding of Buckley v. Valeo narrowly based not only on the passage of time, but also by "[t]he abundance of judicial commentary on compelling governmental interests which fall outside the ambit of Buckley . . . ." Memo. Op. & Order at 10. The district court determined that the expenditure limits were narrowly tailored to meet compelling governmental interests, specifically, preserving faith in democracy and reducing the appearance of corruption. The district court found an inverse relationship between voter turnout and campaign expenditures, at least in Albuquerque. It also determined that the public favors spending limits as improving the fairness of elections and insuring that all may become candidates, regardless of financial resources, without becoming beholden to special interests.

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Click the case caption above for the full text of the Court's opinion.

Outcome: Because all of the requirements have been satisfied for an injunction pending appeal, Defendants City of Albuquerque and Defendant Margie Baca Archuleta, in her capacity of Clerk of the City of Albuquerque, are hereby enjoined from further enforcing Article XIII, Section 4(d)(2) of the Albuquerque City Charter, pending further order of this court.

Plaintiff's Experts: Unknown

Defendant's Experts: Unknown

Comments: None