Austin council member Paige Ellis may have violated campaign finance rules again

Austin City Council member Paige Ellis has again accepted campaign contributions that appear to exceed city limits, according to recent campaign finance reports, raising questions about compliance with local election law as she seeks a third term representing Southwest Austin.

Under current city rules, candidates for City Council or mayor may not accept more than $450 per contributor per election. The limit applies to individual donors, with exceptions only for the candidate and small-donor political committees.

Campaign finance reports filed in July 2025 and January 2026 show Ellis accepted nearly $2,500 in contributions that exceeded the $450 individual cap. At least 12 donors gave more than the legal limit, either through single donations above $450 or through multiple contributions across the reporting period that cumulatively exceeded the cap.

In some cases, donors made two or more contributions during the reporting period that, when combined, pushed their total giving beyond the limit. In other instances, donors appeared to list themselves both individually and jointly with a spouse or partner in ways that resulted in total contributions exceeding what is allowed.

Ellis’ campaign manager, Mykle Tomlinson, said he was aware of the $450 cap for individual contributors. Ellis and Tomlinson both said they believed married couples could contribute up to $900 combined, based on each spouse being allowed to give $450.

“As long as the couple hasn’t given over $900, it’s within the limits,” Ellis said. She added that this interpretation applies even when one spouse gives jointly and then later gives individually, calling it a “working definition” that campaigns have followed for years.

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Ellis said she personally knows the donors and is aware of which contributors are married, even if both spouses’ names are not listed on campaign finance forms.

However, official guidance from both the Texas Ethics Commission and the City of Austin requires contributors to list their full name on campaign finance reports.

“If a finance report listed an amount above $450 with only one name, that would be an issue for the city’s Ethics Review Commission to review,” city spokesperson Jenny LaCoste-Caputo said in a statement Wednesday.

Central Texas-based ethics attorney Andrew Cates called it “common sense” to list contributions under two names from a married couple to clarify that those donations come from both people, adding that the whole reporting system is in place so there is no confusion about where the money is coming from.

“If it’s combined, then say it’s combined,” he said. “It’s not that hard.”

City rules state that the candidate is responsible for filing required reports.

Campaign finance violations are reviewed by the city’s Ethics Review Commission. Ellis’ husband, Edward Espinoza, served on the commission from July 2023 through March 2025. He also previously served as Ellis’ campaign treasurer.

Asked whether Espinoza’s service on the commission posed a conflict of interest, Tomlinson said Ellis recused herself during Espinoza’s appointment by the mayor. He added that the commission often struggled to achieve a quorum during that period and that other council members supported Espinoza’s appointment.

“It doesn’t seem like anyone thought it was a conflict of interest,” Tomlinson said.

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This is not the first time Ellis has faced scrutiny over campaign finance practices. In 2022, the Ethics Review Commission considered a complaint alleging 56 violations related to her campaign, including accepting contributions above city limits and failing to provide required donor employment information.

Commissioners dismissed the allegations related to donor information but found that Ellis had accepted excessive contributions. Ellis acknowledged the violations and was sanctioned with a letter of notification. She later issued refunds for the amounts in question.

In a written statement, Tomlinson said the commission “dismissed the lion’s share of complaints” and found that seven transactions — totaling about $20 — exceeded contribution limits by small amounts. Those funds were refunded and reflected in a subsequent campaign finance report, he said.

Ellis is running for re-election to a third term representing District 8. Because city rules generally limit members to two terms, she will have to collect signatures from at least 5% of eligible voters in her district to appear on the ballot. 

So far, Ellis has drawn one challenger: Selena Xie, a former Austin EMS Association president, EMS commander and ICU nurse, who announced her candidacy in July. 

Voters will decide the District 8 race in the Nov. 3 election. Council districts 1, 3, 5 and 9 will also be on the ballot this November.