EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) - The Community First Coalition (CFC), a nonpartisan network of over 25 organizations, voiced its concerns about the dangers of big money in local politics in a press conference held Monday morning, Nov. 4 in front of the El Paso County Courthouse. Photos by Anthony Pina - KTSM Retired political science professor and CFC founder, Kathleen Staudt, said four of the eight mayoral candidates have raised considerable amounts of money in this election -- some of them through loans to themselves. But one of them has raised almost $1 million, which is twice as much as what previous mayoral candidates have done. Staudt, along with Oscar Martinez and Carmen Rodriguez, also founders of CFC, analyzed big donors and the benefits gained in the book titled "Who Rules El Paso? Private Gain, Public Policy, and the Community Interest" (2020). According to the book, "Donations for one of the previous mayors totaled $400,000, a third of which came from a small number of wealthy donors who invested large amounts not only in his election but also in some council representatives' campaigns, heavily dependent on a smaller number of big donors rather than on a larger cross-section of people making smaller donations." For the current election, amounts raised for one mayoral candidate are double the amounts that mayors raised in previous elections. Staudt did not single any candidates out by name. "The special dangers of that amount of money have to do with PACs, political action committees, that are out of town, that are in Central Texas. One of them is called Protective Serve and is not a law enforcement PAC. The other one is called Project Red Texas. The purpose is to flip local government to Republican rule," Staudt said. Staudt said El Paso can pride itself in having a nonpartisan election, voting for the best person and not for the political party. However, when there's big money, the donors can expect and ask for some special favors such as tax breaks, corporate welfare and special subsidies that the community doesn't enjoy but have to pay for. This means that residential taxpayers are burdened with higher and higher property taxes. "Over the last few years, Justicia Fronteriza, a grassroots organization, collected over 11,000 signatures in a petition drive to put caps on campaign contributions. Council representatives refused to pass an ordinance. Campaign finance caps are in place in the better-governed cities of Texas," read a news release sent by CFC. CFC said Justicia Fronteriza leaders went back to most council representatives about support for a $1,000 cap on individual donations and a $5,000 cap on PAC donations. Yet a majority of the eight council representatives said they would not support such an ordinance.  CFC is aiming for the next council to "put some checks and balances in place to create a more level playing field."