Baltimore City mayoral candidate Thiru Vignarajah publicly endorsed one of his opponents in the race on Wednesday. Mr. Vignarajah’s campaign used the City’s new small donor public financing program, which is available for the first time this election cycle.

The Fair Elections law says if a candidate withdraws from the program, they need to repay all the public funds plus interest. The Baltimore City Solicitor has not yet made public an opinion on the situation and it is unclear if Mr. Vignarajah consulted the Fair Elections Commission or City Solicitor before making his announcement.

In response Emily Scarr, Maryland PIRG Director and Joanne Antoine, Common Cause Maryland Executive Director issued the following statements:

“In 2018, Baltimore voters overwhelmingly supported a new way to fund elections and limit the influence of large, corporate and outsider dollars. When a candidate opts into the fair elections program to apply for matching funds, they agree to reject all large and corporate donations and commit to return the funds if they withdraw from the program. While we have yet to hear a legal opinion on the matter, we hope Mr. Vignarajah voluntarily returns every penny he received from the fair elections program,” said Scarr.

“Maryland’s small donor public financing programs have proven effective at the local and state level as a means of reducing the role of big money, increasing public participation, and expanding opportunities to run for office. A participating candidate endorsing an opponent is unprecedented in Maryland. In other jurisdictions candidates who have suspended their campaigns have abstained from endorsements, and we are disappointed Mr. Vignarajah did not do the same. He should return the money he received back to the program.” said Antoine.