The battle over District 3’s seat on the Seattle City Council is the city’s most expensive. Some of that money — $75,000 of it, to be exact — is why candidate Logan Bowers has achieved a milestone first for the district. Bowers is now the first D3 Democracy Voucher recipient to be released from the program’s fundraising cap.

“With the latest round of Democracy Vouchers currently being processed, I’ll hit the $75k limit,” Bowers explained to CHS. “By raising $76k herself through last month alone, Kshama has pushed the price tag on a fair election even higher.”

Incumbent Kshama Sawant’s campaign has drawn criticism for its decision to forego the voucher program citing concerns a $150,000 cap across the primary and the November general election would hinder her run against any possible “big business” backed candidates.

Now Bowers says that Sawant is the one pushing District 3’s fundraising into overdrive.

With more than $183,000 in contributions through mid-April, the race has so far received more cash than any other in the city.

Under the Democracy Voucher program, total fundraising for a participating campaign is limited to $75,000 in the primary and another $75,000 in the general. But if a candidate not participating in the program raises more, the cap can be lifted with an appeal to the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission.

In addition to his swipes at Sawant, Bowers touts that 40% of his financial support comes from within the district “and over 84% from within the city” — demonstrating, he says, “that the residents of the city are ready for new leadership.”

“I think you will see that even without the caps, my support will continue to come from the people that live and work here while Kshama chooses to be financially accountable to those living outside the city and outside the State,” Bowers writes.

So far, Bowers, a pot store entrepreneur and housing development proponent, has kept on pace with Sawant in terms of the number of individual contributors with 782 to the Socialist Alternative candidate’s 830 through April 14th.

The freshest entrant in the D3 race, meanwhile, also has reached a Democracy Voucher milestone. Zachary DeWolf announced Thursday that his campaign had collected the 150 signatures and 150 donations of $10 or more needed to qualify for the program only nine days after announcing his candidacy. DeWolf said the qualification was “one of the fastest turnarounds of any of the 57 declared candidates.”

Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce head and PrideFest organizer Egan Orion’s campaign also says its candidate has completed the Democracy Voucher application process.

We’ll see how the fundraising efforts for the two latest D3 race entrants are shaping up in terms of dollar amounts with the next update of contribution totals.

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