Oregon Supreme Court justices pepper attorneys with questions about whether the court should uphold a Multnomah County ordinance allowing strict limits on donations.

Given that political-action committees have shelled out millions on the 14 candidates still in the running for Seattle City Council, it's no wonder some voters are experiencing advertising overload.

On the heels of massive spending in Seattle's council races, Lorena Gonzalez is continuing to fight for a bill to curb that spending in future elections.

Wheeler’s campaign announced Nov. 8, 2019 that he won’t enroll in the city’s new public campaign finance program. He is seeking to become Portland's first two-term mayor since Vera Katz.

Rep. Jennifer Williamson (D-Portland) says she’ll go her own way.

In one key way, Oregon lags other states in making voting easy. Its closed primary system locks out hundreds of thousands of non-affiliated voters who now make up one-third of Oregon's registrants. Oregonians should keep up the pressure on the parties to open their primaries and on the secretary of state candidates to also make this a central part of their platform.

The top three Democrats vying for the state’s second-highest office are all planning their own proposals for limiting money. 

Timeline of Money in Politics

history of campaign finance reform in the U.S. and a timeline of campaign finance legislation

Campaign Finance History in the United States - Campaign finance history in the United States goes back to Andrew Jackson in 1828. Learn more about campaign finance history in the United States.

The weak investigation into allegations of illegal campaign finance activity by former Rep. Deborah Boone show that not only is the elections division unable to enforce laws that currently exist, but it may not be able to handle campaign contribution limits that Oregonians want to enact. Although the secretary of state's office has made some changes, other reforms are needed as well.

The Secretary of State’s office said Tuesday it will seek to beef up enforcement of Oregon’s campaign finance laws after a report by The Oregonian/OregonLive last week that showed minimal investigation into alleged violations.

With a presidential election coming in 2020, Wyoming lawmakers are slowly patching the holes in the roof that were revealed during the contentious 2018 mid-term election, quietly assembling a reform

Non-affiliated Oregon voters requested 97 percent fewer ballots for the Independent Party of Oregon's primary election this year compared with 2016. Source: Far fewer non-affiliated Oregon voters participating in Independent primary

Just 600 big donors accounted for nearly 60% of all money given to city campaigns in 2012. The wave of big money that has crashed over US politics since Citizens United has not spared Portland, Oregon,...

Citizens United sparked a political revolution that would have left the Founders revolted

State lawmakers put a constitutional amendment on the 2020 ballot with bi-partisan support.

Campaign donors expect their money to be spent getting candidates elected. The wrinkle is, it's unusual for candidates to pay themselves in the process.

When elected officials provided their statements of economic interest to the Oregon Government Ethics Commission last month, the filing for Rep. Mike Schaufler (D-Happy Valley) included one unusual,Politics

The Oregon Legislature is poised to move the state out of dead last on some measures. But not all of them.

The state representative may have run afoul of Oregon ethics laws by lobbying for a controversial coal export project with a state agency whose budget he votes on.

The Oregon Legislature took a big step this weekend toward allowing the state to curb the flow of unlimited money into political campaigns.

Voters in November 2020 will decide whether the Oregon Constitution should allow donation limits.

Oregon Legislature moves forward with a constitutional amendment to allow campaign contribution caps.

Companies and industries with interests in House Bill 2020 donated $650,000 to sitting Oregon senators.

As the Oregon Legislature prepares to resume, the fate of campaign finance reform in Portland, Multnomah and statewide may rest on whether a constitutional amendment is approved before the Legislature shuts down. Activists have urged Democratic leaders to deliver on months of discussions of changing the state Constitution to allow[Read More...]

The Oregon Republican senators who've walked out on #HB2020 and a cap-and-trade vote say they're representing their constituents. Taken together, their campaigns have been funded by one primary constituent: Corporate America. pic.twitter.com/i29Ul714bB— Rob Davis (@robwdavis) June 24, 2019