This Election Proves Oregon Badly Needs Campaign Finance Reform

 The government of Oregon is being captured by big money.  So far over $75 million has been raised for the 2022 campaigns for Governor ($68 million by the top 3 candidates), beating the previous record of $40 million.  Over $48 million has been contributed for seats in the Oregon Legislature, beating the previous record of $35 million.  No doubt the final totals for 2022 will be higher.

The average person has no realistic chance to earn a seat in the Oregon Legislature.  The campaigns of the top 10 Oregon Senate candidates now have spent an average of $1.3 million each.  A Senate win typically requires about 30,000 votes, so the candidates are spending over $40 per vote.  The campaigns of the top 10 Oregon House candidates now have spent an average of $745,000 each.  A House win typically requires about 15,000 votes, so the candidates are spending about $50 per vote.

One man alone has contributed $5.25 million to candidates for Oregon Governor this year.

Oregon is one of 5 states with no limits on campaign contributions.  The result is that Oregon campaigns are among the most expensive in the United States, making candidates dependent on and beholden to their huge donors.

It is crucial that candidates for public office take a stand for campaign contribution limits and disclosure requirements.  Honest Elections Oregon distributed to all candidates for Governor and the Oregon Legislature.  Of the candidates running in the general election, 87 responded and 104 did not, despite numerous emails and phone calls to every campaign.

27 earn A’s - 23 earn B’s - 4 earn C’s - 9 earn D’s - 104 earn F’s

Voters should respect the candidates who responded and who earned high marks.  They should shun candidates who refused to respond or indicated no support for campaign finance reform.

Here again are the links to see the grades of those who responded and the identities of those who did not:  https://bit.ly/orcandsurvey and  https://bit.ly/candsilent.

Honest Elections Oregon concluded:

• Measure 107 (2020) amended the Oregon Constitution to explicitly allow limits on campaign contributions and requirements that political ads name their largest funders. Despite 78% of Oregon voters approving Measure 107 (2020), many candidates remain unwilling to publicly announce where they stand. 87 candidates completed the survey in this first year, while 104 did not. [The results table omits candidates who responded but were eliminated in the primary election.]

• Candidates for the Oregon Legislature who earned A+ were Jeff Golden of Ashland, Ashley Pelton of Cottage Grove, Walt Trandum of Sandy, and John Lively of Springfield.

• Only two general election candidates for Governor responded: Tina Kotek (Democrat, earned a B) and L. Leon Noble (Libertarian, earned a D).  All others earned Fs for not responding.

Points were assigned for answers consistent with Honest Elections Oregon priorities, including capping campaign contributions and clearer disclosure rules, including a requirement that political ads name their 4 largest actual funders (not just nice-sounding names of committees). Grades range from A+ for the best answers to D for the worst.

We urge voters to read the ratings and vote accordingly.

Dan Meek
Volunteer, Honest Elections Oregon
honest-elections.com