Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson formally vetoed the city's new campaign finance ordinance Thursday. In a one-page "statement of objections" notice, the mayor objected to rules that would have allowed donors to give $10,000 to mayoral candidates and $2,000 to council candidates. Because of the veto, the limits will remain at $7,500 for mayor and $1,500 for council. Anderson said he would favor a $2,000 cap on donations during mayoral races. That is more in line with what candidates for U.S. Congress are allowed to receive, though they can take $2,100 per convention, primary and general election race. "Limiting the amount of contributions will serve to transform what is more and more an oligarchy into a democracy," Anderson wrote, adding that campaigns should ultimately be publicly financed with candidates given free access to radio and television. Informed of his veto plans earlier this week, two City Council members criticized the mayor for being a hypocrite, in part because he refused to voluntarily limit his spending during his 2003 re-election bid. - Heather May