My statement on outside spending by the political action committee (PAC) funded by the Realtors Association of South Central Wisconsin (RASCW) "RASCW Housing Advocacy Fund"

Neighbors, family, and friends,

This article (‘Unprecedented’ spending in Madison city council elections) goes into more detail, but a PAC is spending ~$19,000 per race to send out mailers, do online advertisements, etc. for nine common council candidates around the city. District 12 is one of those races, and they have reported spending $20,000 "on behalf" of my campaign. We just got their first mailer tonight. By law, the PAC is not allowed to coordinate with any campaigns, or even inform us of these decisions, and nothing sent out by them has been authorized by me or my campaign.

I found out about the PAC Sunday (3/19) evening after seeing a post about excessive outside spending in this spring’s Common Council races. As a first-time candidate the idea of this magnitude of money being put into the District 12 race from an outside entity was and still is unfathomable. This was absolutely not something I asked for and not something I wanted.

The amount just coming into District 12 is almost an entire year’s worth of rent for me and my partner.

In total, this money citywide could have been used in more meaningful ways to have an actual positive impact on those struggling to find stable and affordable housing!

My messaging has been consistent throughout the campaign, promoting the need for affordable housing, and also a mix of all types of housing to meet the needs of current residents and prepare for incoming growth. You can see written candidate questionnaires and interviews below.

There was no written questionnaire for the Realtors Association, but my answers given during a live interview were no different than my written answers for Progressive Dane and displayed my progressive values.

Throughout my campaign I have been trying to have conversations with all types of people and groups to learn more about all perspectives.

I got an email last week informing me of the Realtors Association endorsement. Although I was completely unaware of this PAC money at that time, you will be able to see a $400 contribution from the Realtors Association of South Central Wisconsin on my Spring Pre-Election campaign finance report.

$400 seemed like a reasonable amount of money to accept to help get out the vote, but is obviously in a completely different realm from 20k.

This is a great example of why we need campaign finance reform!

Our campaign has been extremely transparent about our finances from the very start. All campaign finance reports have been completed in a timely manner and are now available below. Out of state donations are from loved ones except for a few resulting from my being endorsed by Run For Something (a National org).

Although new to politics, I am here to serve the people and community who will elect me. I am not here to serve any outside interests regardless of money spent without my authorization or knowledge.

Please reach out with any questions or concerns you may have. My email is juliamatthewsfor12@gmail.com and my phone number is 608-571-2692!

Sincerely,

Julia Matthews

Additional public comment

“This situation is frustrating because I didn’t know about it, I didn’t ask for it, but it’s going to put a mark on my campaign regardless of what happens on April 4.”

WORT FM ~ “Developer Group Spending Big Money in Madison Council Elections” (March 21)