Civic Engagement Roundtable
(2016 Project)
For decades, people of color, women, and non-wealthy individuals have been systematically excluded from fully participating in their government. Today, communities across the country are rethinking how campaigns are financed and passing anti-corruption measures. Will Portland be the next city to take back its democracy?
In March 2016, North Star Civic Foundation, Northwest Health Foundation, and Sightline Institute convened a conversation on how to increase civic participation and open doors to civic and electoral leadership in Portland. Led by communities of color, low-wealth communities, and other frequently disenfranchised communities, the discussion is ongoing and has been an important first step in North Star’s continuing support of diverse leadership in Portland.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM
From these meetings, a consensus emerged around campaign finance reform. Community leaders agreed to support efforts to limit campaign contributions and through a collaborative effort, Multnomah County and the City of Portland overwhelmingly passed campaign finance reform ballot measures.
MULTNOMAH COUNTY MEASURE 26-184
The Multnomah County Charter Review Committee put campaign finance reform on the ballot in 2016. The measure passed with 89 percent support, but was overturned by a Multnomah County Circuit Court judge in 2017 saying that the measure was in violation of the Oregon Constitution. You can read about Measure 26-184 below.
Multnomah County To Vote On Sheriff Selection, Campaign Finance Reform (OPB)
[Noelle Brown] said she believes campaign finance reform and contribution limits would help women and people of color feel like they have an equal chance in county politics.
On campaign finance reform one party talks better than the other, but they don't do anything.
Limit big-money campaigns in Multnomah County (Oregonian Opinion)
Money floods our political system. While the worst excesses occur at the national level, Multnomah County is not impervious to the rising tide of big money. In 2014, the race for county commission chair set a record, with the winning candidate spending $466,000. The future does not bode well, as Oregon is one of six states to place no limits on campaign contributions.
Multnomah County Campaign Finance Limits Overturned by Circuit Court Judge (Willamette Week)
"These contribution limitations are impermissible under the free speech guarantees" of the Oregon constitution, wrote Bloch in a decision today, citing past state supreme court decisions.
CITY OF PORTLAND MEASURE 26-200
Despite the Circuit Court ruling in Multnomah County, communities in Portland put Honest Elections on the ballot in 2018 and won 87 percent of the vote. Combined with Portland’s new publicly financed elections system, the City has taken big steps to remove barriers to increasing the diversity of its leadership.
"Clearly the citizenry here wants to do something," says Jason Kafoury, a Portland attorney who had a central role in pushing last year's reforms. "We should be thinking big in Portland. Especially with national politics as corrupt as it is right now."
Mercury Endorsements: Vote Yes on Campaign Finance Reform
The US Supreme Court’s disastrous 2010 ruling on Citizens United v. FEC all but guaranteed that dark money will continue to be used to manipulate elections across the country. We can’t fix everywhere else—but we can make sure that in Portland, campaign donations are limited, disclosed, and regulated in a way that lets everyone know who stands to benefit in each election. That’s information every voter needs. Vote yes on 26-200.
Editorial endorsement: Vote 'yes' on Portland campaign finance reform
As it is now, wealthy individuals, labor unions and corporations are the driving forces behind state, county and local elections, drowning out the smaller contributions from average Oregonians. But proponents argue that a vote for the measure will help show public support for campaign finance reform, perhaps persuading some candidates to adopt the limits in their own campaigns. In addition, the measure includes disclosure provisions that don't face the same legal hurdles as the campaign limits. The proposal requires candidates to list their five largest contributors of donations exceeding $500 on political ads, a step toward greater transparency in a process that has too little of it.
STATEWIDE BALLOT MEASURE
During the 2019 Legislative session, lawmakers referred a measure to the ballot that would allow voters to amend the Oregon Constitution to enable governments to limit and require disclosure of campaign contributions and expenditures. The measure would also make it legal to require disclosures in advertisements.
Oregon Voters Could Finally Rein in Campaign Contributions
Thirty-seven other states have nearly identical free speech clauses in their constitutions, yet Oregon’s court is the only one to interpret it to prohibit limitations on campaign contributions. The lack of limits has long been a stain on Oregon’s good governance record, but the issue finally came to a boil in part due to the outrageously expensive 2018 gubernatorial race. In a state with just 4 million people, the two candidates for governor raised nearly $40 million between them, including a record-breaking individual contribution—Nike co-founder Phil Knight donated an eye-popping $2.5 million to Republican candidate Knute Buehler.