Campaign Finance Reform - in Oregon

The state’s election watchdog has the power to issue subpoenas, but doesn't use it. It doesn't send investigators -- it just sends letters.

At Mutlnomah County, citizen involvement spiraled out of control last year.

The ruling reverses an earlier decision that barred the limits. The county elections division will implement the $500 individual cap on campaign contributions, spending limits and disclosure requirements for candidates moving forward.

In 2018, just outside Portland, Oregon, longtime Washington County District Attorney Bob Hermann announced his retirement. To those in the know, it was obvious that Kevin Barton, a moderate independent and Hermann’s longtime lieutenant, was the best man to fill the spot. Well-liked and with no Republican challengers, Barton was running unopposed. However, hundreds of miles away a “dark money” group with $10 million from Mark Zuckerberg and zero connection to Washington County decided that this was unacceptable. To them, it was obvious that Washington County really needed a high-dollar competitive election with a radical left-wing contender. The people just didn’t know it yet.

Academics and board members say it’s unlikely things will change anytime soon.

Cash from Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg appears to have leaked into prosecutor races as part of his foundation's larger mission to reform the criminal justice system, a review of tax forms show.

Hall Monitor is a regular column on issues related to Portland City Hall and its influence on the community it serves. There are no fewer than five city bureaus in Portland that are responsible for trash cleanup in public spaces. Depending on the location, need, and availability, one of them might be able to address the growing dump site that’s popped up down the street from your house. If that fails, maybe you can just...

As this year’s legislative session was nearing its end, Patrick Starnes, in a meeting with Gov. Kate Brown, said he got news he didn’t want to hear: Lawmakers wouldn’t be passing bills to reform the state’s campaign finance system.

The strongest belief that pulled me back into politics three years ago is this: we won’t make much headway solving Oregon’s core problems until we dramatically reduce the power of big money in Salem. ...

Letter to the editor

The 2021 session was supposed to be focused responding to wildfires and COVID-19, but lawmakers accomplished a great deal more in a tumultuous -- and historic -- five months.

Kate Titus and Eric Richardson call on Oregon legislators to stand up against Oregon special interests.

Oregonians who want credible campaign contribution limits and an independent commission to redraw legislative and congressional boundaries should organize behind initiative petitions that will accomplish what legislators refuse to do, the editorial board writes.

Oregon lawmakers are considering creating a public match program for state legislative candidates, similar to the system in Portland. It's the one possible win still available to advocates of campaign finance reform in the final weeks of the legislative session.

Bills to limit political contributions always faced an uphill battle in 2021. Now, a less contentious proposal to publicly finance campaigns faces skepticism in the Senate.

Oregon voters in November cleared the way for the state to impose campaign finance limits. Now the Legislature needs a plan.

People who want Oregon to adopt campaign contribution limits on Tuesday acknowledged it looks increasingly unlikely the Legislature will pass limits this year, after a key lawmaker suggested scrapping limits and instead focusing on a public match program.

As the Eugene School District 4J election wraps up, so does the campaign spending. Lawn signs are slowly being taken out of yards, and advertisements on Facebook and in local newspapers have stoppe…

The current version of House Bill 2680, which would set campaign finance limits, has too many flaws and loopholes embedded in it to do anything to alter the influence of big money in Oregon politics, the editorial board writes. Legislators should ditch HB 2680, revive the more straightforward HB 3343 instead and enact the kinds of limits that Oregonians want.