Interest in using taxpayer money to help fund political campaigns appears to be growing among candidates for the Boulder City Council, with five of the 13 hopefuls now accepting public assistance.

On Tuesday, candidates KC Becker and Jyotsna Raj each qualified for the voter-approved matching funds program.

The pair joins Tim Plass, Macon Cowles and Matt Appelbaum as those who have applied to use public money for their campaigns.

Under Boulder's Campaign Finance Reform Initiative, the city will match contributions -- up to half of the $15,771 spending limit -- once candidates who agree to the limit demonstrate that they have a broad range of support.

To qualify for the voluntary program, candidates must collect at least 10 percent of the spending limit from at least 63 people. Candidates who accept public money are limited to maximum individual contributions of $100, must spend no more than $3,154 of their own money and must give the city at least half of any money left over after the election. The rest of any leftover money in campaign coffers must be donated to a nonprofit group or forfeited to the city's general fund.

Becker, a member of the Boulder Planning Board, is now leading the pack with reported contributions of $12,901 -- including $6,165 in matching funds.

Her contributors, so far, include Bruce Dierking, a Boulder attorney hired to represent the group "Leave My Home Alone," Mark Ruzzin, who served as Boulder mayor from 2004 to 2007 and The Sink restaurant on University Hill.

Becker could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.

Raj, a former university professor, has raised $7,335, including $3,530 in public money.

Her supporters include City Councilwoman Susan Osborne, PLAN-Boulder County leader John Spitzer and community activist Joyce Davies.

She said she decided to use public funds because "there is too much money in politics," and she likes the "strict spending limit" involved in the contract.

She said her contributions are coming mostly from her own social network.