PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Portland’s official slogan is “The City That Works,” but after a tumultuous few years, many residents feel the city is anything but that. Homelessness and gun violence are surging and parts of downtown are struggling, unable to recover from the coronavirus pandemic and the racial justice protests that gripped the city in 2020.

Nearly two-thirds of likely Portland voters say they’ll back a contested ballot measure this fall to radically reshape the city’s form of government and election system, according to a new poll commissioned by the metro area’s most influential business organization and several industry groups.

Oregonians won’t get the chance to vote on whether to decriminalize sex work this year.

By far the biggest financial firepower is lined up behind a proposal that would bar lawmakers who miss 10 or more floor sessions without permission from serving in the Legislature the next term.

With a leveled financial field, name recognition and endorsements can all weigh heavy in the outcome.

Good government groups asked the Oregon Supreme Court to reconsider keeping voters from deciding whether to limit money in politics.

The Oregon Supreme Court Building (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) The Oregon Supreme Court on Friday rejected a last-ditch effort to have voters decide whether to limit campaign contributions to those running for public office.  Proponents of three proposed ballot initiatives had sought the high court’s intervention to be sure the measures[Read More...]

Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan and her staff refused to say whether she supports an expedited state Supreme Court review of her decision to kill three proposed ballot measures that would set political contribution limits.

Oregon business and labor groups filed challenges Thursday to ballot titles for three proposed ballot measures to set campaign contribution limits in the state.

The proposal would open the door for a wide array of campaign finance regulations in Oregon, currently one of the most permissive states in the country.

Campaign finance reform activists on Wednesday filed an appeal asking the Oregon Supreme Court to overturn Secretary of State Shemia Fagan's disqualification of three proposals to limit political contributions.

The lawsuit marks the second time an elections decision by Fagan has been challenged in recent weeks. It comes as the Supreme Court is set to rule on another high-profile challenge.

Letter to the editor

Secretary of State Shemia Fagan's disqualification of three initiative petitions to enact campaign contribution limits is inconsistent with previous secretaries of state and is a blow to Oregonians' efforts to diminish the power of big money in Oregon elections, the editorial board writes. Oregonians should hope that the state Supreme Court restores the effort and be ready to add their signatures to qualify a petition for the November ballot.

Senate Majority Leader Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, unveiled a proposal Thursday to ask voters to set campaign contribution limits. Unlike proposals by campaign finance reform advocates, Wagner's bill would allow unlimited contributions through a special political action committee and contains no disclosure requirement for political ads.

After Secretary of State Shemia Fagan bounced three proposals to cap political donations, one state senator says he'll try to convince colleagues to put a similar measure before voters.

Secretary of State Shemia Fagan says three proposed ballot measures dealing with campaign cash don't pass constitutional muster. Two more contain the same problem, supporters admit.

Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan, a Democrat, announced on Wednesday morning that she will disqualify three proposals to set campaign contribution limits, based on a 2004 Oregon Court of Appeals ruling.

Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan plans to disqualify three ballot initiative proposals for campaign contribution limits, based on a 2004 court ruling that previous secretaries of state have not enforced.