Campaign spending surges in East Portland Democratic Senate race

Updated May 9, 7:14 AM; Posted May 9, 7:14 AM

Shemia Fagan and Rod Monroe have raised the most money in the Senate District 24 Democratic primary. (Associated Press and The Oregonian/OregonLive)

By Hillary Borrud

hborrud@oregonian.com

The Oregonian/OregonLive

Spending in a much-watched Oregon Senate race surged in the last month, as groups funded by the real estate industry and trial lawyers poured money into the race that will determine whether Democratic incumbent Rod Monroe continues to represent East Portland.

Monroe is trying to fend off Shemia Fagan and Kayse Jama, who are running against him from the left, in the May 15 primary. Housing affordability is the central issue: Monroe says rent control doesn't work, whereas Fagan and Jama want to allow cities to impose such limits. The election is also a referendum on the Senate's moderate Democratic establishment.

The Largest Independent Expenditure of This Election Cycle Is Rooted in a California Trailer Park Fortune

It’s surprisingly easy for large out-of-state interests to influence Oregon politics from behind several smokescreens.

(Grant Kratzer)

The largest independent expenditure so far in this spring's election cycle is $90,000 spent on a TV attack ad.

The campaign commercial, which began airing by May 1, accuses former Rep. Shemia Fagan of hypocrisy in her crusade to overturn Oregon's statewide ban on rent control.

Fagan is seeking to unseat incumbent state Sen. Rod Monroe in the Democratic primary.

But Monroe didn't pay for the ad.

Instead, a political action committee spent the money in a Democratic primary that's turned into a knock-down, drag-out fight over the future of housing policy in Oregon.

Rod Monroe (right) speaks at a forum while Shemia Fagan and Kayse Jama look on. (Daniel Stindt)

The reasons for the expenditure are clear: The funders want to keep the rent-control ban in place. But the individuals behind the campaign contributions are far more opaque.

It's surprisingly easy for large out-of-state interests to influence Oregon politics from behind several smokescreens.

Dan Meek, a lawyer and advocate for campaign finance reform, expressed alarm that the ad fails to fully disclose its funders. "It says that democracy is in peril, if not in death throes," says Meek.