Your help needed NOW to get big money out of politics

​A few days ago we learned that the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office is considering using an obscure interpretation to block any chance for getting big money out of Oregon politics in 2022 and we need your help to put pressure on Secretary Fagan to do the right thing.

Can you contact Secretary Fagan's office and tell her the importance of allowing Initiative Petitions 43, 44, and 45 to move forward?
Call: 503-986-1523 (leaving a voicemail is ok)
Email: oregon.sos@sos.​ oregon.gov
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On Thursday we were alerted that Secretary Fagan was considering rejecting Petitions 43, 44, and 45 (three different versions we have been working on to bring sensible limits to money in Oregon politics) on the basis that they do not include the “full text” of the law being amended. In fact all three petitions follow the longstanding precedent of including the full text of the subsections that are being amended, but not the text of the subsections that will not be changed.

As far as we can tell, no other Secretary of State has ever rejected a petition for this reason, despite many following the same standard of only including the subsections being amended. In fact, Initiative Petition 3 is currently collecting signatures and was approved in October of 2020 with exactly this same issue. Ballot initiatives certified under the last several Secretaries of State, both Democrat and Republican, have used this longstanding interpretation. Changing the standard now, with no advance notice, beginning with these petitions to get big money out of Oregon politics, reeks of elected officials applying different standards based on what is favored by the politically connected. During the comment period on these petitions only one party raised this specific concern: the United Food and Commercial Workers, who also donated $50,000 to the Secretary’s 2020 campaign.

An official determination from Secretary Fagan’s Office is expected in the next few days, and hearing from Oregonians now asking her to do the right thing could make a real difference.

Please call or email Secretary of State Shemia Fagan and tell her that you want to see real campaign finance reform on your 2022 ballot and that she should not reinterpret the Oregon constitution to keep Oregonians from being able to weigh in on sensible limits to money in politics.

Call: 503-986-1523 (leaving a voicemail is ok)
Email: oregon.sos@sos.​ oregon.gov
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Some talking points you might use:

• Oregon voters overwhelming passed Measure 107 in 2020 paving the way for real campaign finance reform and now they deserve to be able to vote on actually changing the role of money in Oregon politics.
  
  
• Our legal research indicates that no other Oregon Secretary of State has used the "full text" reason to disqualify initiative petitions.
  
  
• Secretary Fagan's unprecedented rationale is that "full text" means must reprint every section of Oregon Revised Statutes that the measure affects, not just the subsections it affects. This interpretation overturns longstanding practice exercised by Secretary Bev Clarno and others. Secretary Clarno in the 2022 election cycle approved Initiative Petition #3, which does exactly what IP 43-45 do--shows changes to a subsection without reprinting the other subsections which the measure does not change.
  
  
• Any change to interpretations, should be neutrally applied and messaged to the public, not decided in secret and applied only to petitions disfavored by the politically powerful.
  
  
• Secretary Fagan should reverse this tentative decision, do the right thing, and allow Oregon voters to have a chance to have a voice on campaign finance reform in the November 2022 election.

The Willamette Week did a brief article on this if you want to share with your networks: https://www.wweek.com/news/state/2022/02/06/secretary-of-state-shemia-fagan-poised-to-delay-campaign-finance-measures-on-technicality/
A more comprehensive Oregonian article is here Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan plans to kill effort to set campaign contribution limits in 2022.

Please help us put positive pressure on the Secretary Fagan and allow these transformational initiatives to move forward and ultimately allow Oregon voters to decide the role we want big money to play in our democracy.

Secretary of State Shemia Fagan Plans to Kill Our Ballot Measures

Secretary of State Shemia Fagan Plans to Kill Our Ballot Measures
February 7, 2022   by David Delk

We just learned that the Oregon Secretary of State plans to use an obscure interpretation to kill our 2022 ballot measures for getting big money out of Oregon politics. We need your help to persuade Secretary Shemia Fagan to do the right thing.

Can you contact Secretary Fagan's office and tell her the importance of allowing Initiative Petitions 43, 44, and 45 to move forward?

Call:  503-986-1523 (leaving a voicemail is ok)
(choose extension 3 or 0)
​
Email: oregon.sos@sos.​oregon.gov​​​​​​​​​

Here is an Oregonian article about this:
Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan plans to kill
effort to set campaign contribution limits in 2022.

​This could happen as early as tomorrow.

DETAILS HERE​

Oregonian Article on Labor Union Campaign Finance Measures

 Oregon unions propose campaign finance limits that would still allow big donations -- from unions

The Oregonian 
December 22, 2021

by Rob Davis

After private negotiations to control political donations broke down, labor unions have filed three dueling campaign finance initiative petitions for the 2022 ballot that are far looser than measures already proposed by good government groups.

While the two camps agree that political money needs to be controlled in Oregon, one of five states with no caps on campaign donations, they have unresolved differences.

The union proposals, submitted to Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan last week, would still allow unions and other member-based organizations to make large donations to political campaigns. OPB first reported the proposals’ submission.

A one-page initiative proposed by the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555, which represents more than 28,000 grocery store and non-food retail workers, would allow massive donations to state leaders.

How? The UFCW plan, Initiative Petition 48, would permit member-based organizations to donate $100 per member. A group like AARP, which has 38 million members nationwide, could in theory make a $3.8 billion donation under the UFCW plan.

The other two proposals from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents more than 30,000 public employees in Oregon, are similar to the plans from good government groups. But they would allow labor unions, which give more to Democratic candidates than Republicans, to make larger donations than the good government groups propose. The labor groups didn’t respond to requests for comment.

The AFSCME proposals, initiative petitions 46 and 47, would allow unions to give more than $1 million apiece to candidates through so-called small donor committees. They would permit donations of $50 per member living or working in Oregon; some Oregon labor groups have as many as 40,000 members. Donations from individuals would be capped at $2,000 for statewide offices, like governor, and $1,000 for legislators, judges and district attorneys.

Good government groups, including Honest Elections Oregon and the League of Women Voters, have proposed lower limits on small donor committees, with restrictions on both how much they could collect from members and how much they could give to any candidate.

OPB Article on Labor Union Campaign Finance Measures

Competing measures could muddy Oregon’s campaign finance debate

Oregon Public Broadcastng 
December 21, 2021

by Dirk VanderHart

After talks between left-leaning organizations broke down, three groups have filed proposals for reining in political spending.

Weeks after they came to an impasse over how Oregon should crack down on money in politics, left-leaning organizations are signaling they might just fight it out at the ballot box.

On Friday, two groups that are often aligned filed dueling ballot measure proposals for how to place limits on the state’s permissive campaign finance laws. Those proposals — one affiliated with public-sector labor and advocacy groups, the other from a private-sector union — join a series of three proposals filed earlier this month by good government groups.

The upshot: Six separate ideas for cracking down on political giving in the state have now been floated for the November 2022 ballot. Many, if not most, will die before they reach voters, but even two competing campaign finance measures next year could create confusion that advocates have been hoping to avoid.

Oregonian Article on 2022 Measures

Oregon good government groups file initiatives to cap campaign contributions, shed light on ‘dark money’

The Oregonian

by Hillary Borrud     December 9, 2021

Oregon voters could get a chance to decide whether to cap political donations and mandate transparency on who truly pays for political ads, under three proposed ballot initiatives filed this week.

The issues are hugely popular with voters, who overwhelmingly approved a state constitutional amendment in 2020 to explicitly allow campaign contribution limits and requirements that political ads identify the individuals or groups that paid for them. More than 1.7 million people voted for it, the most ever to support a ballot measure.

Now the good government groups that helped campaign for last year’s constitutional changes want voters to approve the types of political money limits and disclosures allowed under the amendment. They also want to create a public financing system, although not all of their proposals would do so.

Despite voters’ clear desire for donation limits and greater transparency, state lawmakers failed to agree on a plan to achieve those goals after months of closed-door negotiations with political players including big donors from across the political spectrum.

Coalition files ballot initiatives to reform Oregon's campaign finance laws

KATU     December 7, 2021

PORTLAND, Ore. — A coalition of campaign-finance-reform-minded groups have filed three ballot initiatives with the secretary of state’s office that they want to put before Oregon voters next year.
Honest Elections Oregon says its initiatives will help reduce the “perception and reality of corruption” in campaigns, increase transparency and elevate more voices in elections.
The coalition’s push for voters to have a voice on campaign finance reform comes after the Legislature earlier this year failed to pass bills that would have limited contributions to campaigns and create a small donor program.
The three initiatives filed Monday would do those two things, as well as require political ads to be transparent about who is funding them.
“I am proud of the measures we have filed and the extensive process we embarked on to craft the best policies possible with both local and national experts," said Jason Kafoury with Honest Elections Oregon. "We hope in the coming months, during the ballot title review process, to continue building a big tent to support these measures and to continue to work with historically marginalized communities."
He added the initiatives "could move Oregon from the Wild Wild West of campaign finance to leading the way with one the best programs in the nation.”
Oregon is one of five states that doesn’t have any limits on campaign contributions.
Oregon voters in November 2020 approved Measure 107, which amended the state Constitution to allow limits to political contributions.
Read the text of the initiatives

Initiative 43

Initiative 44

Initiative 45
The initiatives, as filed by Honest Elections, include things like limiting individual contributions to candidates running for statewide office to $2,000 per election cycle, limiting contributions from multicandidate committees to $2,000 per election cycle and limiting political party contributions to $50,000 per election cycle.
One of the initiatives also includes creating a public funding system for those running for state office and positions of judge and district attorney, where donations would be matched with public funds.
Source: https://katu.com/news/politics/coalition-files-ballot-initiatives-to-reform-oregons-campaign-finance-laws

Press Release on 2022 Measures

December 7, 2021 PORTLAND, Oregon

Honest Elections Oregon, a coalition of pro-democracy groups and advocates, filed ballot initiatives to enhance the campaign finance system in Oregon, reduce the perception and reality of corruption, and empower more voices in Oregon’s elections.  These measures:

• include large campaign contribution limits to reduce outsized big money influence
• require political ads to transparently reveal their largest funders
• create a small donor matching program to make smaller contributions matter and improve opportunities for candidates from historically marginalized communities
  

“I am honored to support the ballot campaign finance reform initiatives filed today. These measures can help to restore voters’ confidence in healthy democracy. Voters must know that our elections are fair and free of undue influence by powerful dark money at the expense of voters. We can accomplish this and restore trust in our political system.”

          --Rebecca Gladstone, President, League of Women Voters of Oregon

“I am proud of the measures we have filed and the extensive process we embarked on to craft the best policies possible with both local and national experts. We hope in the coming months, during the ballot title review process, to continue building a big tent to support these measures and to continue to work with historically marginalized communities. We know that voters want to take big money out of politics. These initiatives could move Oregon from the Wild Wild West of campaign finance to leading the way with one the best programs in the nation.”

          --Jason Kafoury, Honest Elections Oregon

Honest Elections Oregon worked successfully to pass campaign finance reforms in Multnomah County (2016) and the City of Portland (2018), proving not only that such policies are needed and popular but also that they work. The goal is to simply limit the corrosive impact money has had in Oregon politics and hold accountable those who attempt to subvert the will of democracy by buying elections.

OPB Article on Our 2022 Measures

Good government groups are pushing campaign finance limits in Oregon.  They might have competition.

Oregon Public Broadcasting    December 7, 2021

Following months of negotiations, labor unions and advocacy groups did not sign onto a plan for creating new campaign regulations.

After months of negotiations over what a system of campaign finance limits might look like for Oregon, a collection of left-leaning groups came to an impasse last week.

Now some participants in those negotiations are going it alone.

A coalition of good governance groups filed three potential ballot measures with the state on Monday that would shake up Oregon’s permissive system of funding campaigns. The group says it will decide on one to put forward to voters in 2022, once polling shows which is most popular.

While complex and differing in their specifics, each of the proposals would create new limits on what individuals, advocacy groups, labor organizations, corporations and political parties can contribute to candidates and causes.

The proposals also include requirements that political advertisements prominently display top donors, and that so-called “dark money” groups disclose their funding sources if they engage in campaigning.

One of the proposals would implement a system of public campaign financing, allowing candidates to accept small donations from individual donors and have that money multiplied by matching public funds. With public funding of up to $8 million a cycle for gubernatorial candidates — and far lower amounts for other offices —-- the system is designed to allow candidates to run competitive campaigns without focusing solely on big donors.

Salem Statesman Article on CFR Bill at OR Legislature

Advocates see holes in Oregon campaign finance reform legislation Connor Radnovich Sales Statesman-Journal   May 26, 2019 Become a Statesman Journal subscriber Reforming Oregon's campaign finance laws was a priority for a number of top lawmakers heading into the 2019 legislative session, but with only five weeks left some advocates are underwhelmed by the current proposals. The three bills under consideration would set limits on campaign contributions to candidates and political action committees, require some disclosure on who is paying for political advertisements and attempt to shine a light on the funding behind so-called "dark money" groups. But concerns have been raised that proposed campaign contribution limits are too high, certain political action committees are exempt from limits and the advertisement disclosure is ineffective at best.

House Committee On Rules 2019-03-13 3:00 PM - Mar 13th, 2019

House Committee On Rules 2019-03-13 3:00 PM - Mar 13th, 2019

Push for Portland contribution limits could impact council race Campaign to revisit hostile court decisions will focus on Hardesty-Smith fundraising. TRIBUNE PHOTO: JONATHAN HOUSE - Emma Easley Darden, center, and Moses Ross canvass for signatures at the Hillsdale Farmers Market in support of a Portland measure that would limit campaign contributions. On a recent Sunday at the Hillsdale Farmers' Market in Southwest Portland, a one-man electric-guitar show produced classic rock melodies as vendors sold fresh vegetables and plants, sauces, health tonic and fresh yak and elk meat. Greeting arrivals were volunteers gathering signatures for the latest push to limit campaign contributions, a initiative targeting the November ballot that promises "Honest Elections" for the city of Portland. The scene shows how activists are working to get big money out of politics — a change they hope will make the city, region and state a friendlier place for more liberal candidates well into the future. Thanks to unfavorable court rulings on the state and federal level, some political observers view the would-be campaign reformers as the local activist version of Don Quixote, pursuing ideals without hope of success. But the activists say they intend to win — and they also hope to have an effect on the race for the pending City Council seat in which former lawmaker Jo Ann Hardesty and Multnomah County Commissioner Loretta Smith are headed for a runoff in the November general election. "We want to keep this issue before voters, and force candidates to take a stand supporting or opposing contribution limits," said Jason Kafoury, the lawyer who is co-leading the campaign reform effort. His group clashed earlier with Smith over a similar Multnomah County measure that passed with nearly 89 percent of the vote in November 2016, generating election complaints against her that she called groundless and unfair. Now it looks like that hostile relationship, born out of Smith's impassioned testimony against the group's goals, will carry over into the general election. Indeed, Kafoury has contributed to Hardesty's campaign, and the Independent Party of Oregon, in which Meek is a leader, supported her as well. Kafoury and his co-leader in the Honest Elections campaign, Dan Meek, say they are confident that their volunteer and paid operatives will gather the required 34,000 signatures to put their measure on the city ballot in November, much as they succceeded at the county level in 2016. Throughout the campaign, they intend to keep the focus on how money is being spent in the council race, which they expect will have an unintended benefit for Hardesty, the candidate they support to replace outgoing City Commissioner Dan Saltzman. For the May primary race, Smith raised $324,918, nearly 80 percent of it in chunks that would not meet the proposed city measure's $500 campaign limits, according to a new analysis by the Honest Elections group. Hardesty, meanwhile, raised $194,246, of which 31 percent would not meet the proposed limits. The difference in fundraising reflects different philosophies on the issue. Two years ago Smith testified that limits at the county level were discriminatory, arguing they would hurt her and other minority candidates' ability to forge relationships with monied donors and interests who could assist in seeking higher office. Last week, her campaign manager, Jake Weigler, said in an email that Smith's views haven't changed, and she has no plans to adopt voluntary limits as some candidates have done in the past. "Like the Oregon courts, the commissioner has real questions about whether campaign finance limits violate the state and federal constitutions," he wrote. Indeed, the Multnomah County measure is tied up in court, as a judge's ruling calling limits an unconstitutional violation of free speech awaits appeal. While Hardesty has submitted an affidavit in support of the county measure in court, she has not adopted voluntary limits as the reformers have generally encouraged. "I am not in a position to set limits on the amount of money people are willing to give to my campaign because ... my opponent will have a significant financial advantage," she wrote in an email. The campaign reformers note that Portland voters supported the county limits, and they hope the November election increases the pressure on future candidates to endorse and support reforms — potentially including a public campaign finance system. But considering the group already has one measure that has been challenged successfully on free-speech grounds, and remains tied up in court, are they just wasting time and public funds in what could be a repeat? "We're just doing it to aggravate people," Meek quipped, when asked if the push would be a waste. In reality, he said, the city measure will go into more detail than the county one and will have other benefits as well. And he expects both to win at the Oregon Supreme Court level. "When we win in court and everything is validated, then we will have the limits in place in both Multnomah County and city of Portland races," he said, noting they also plan a statewide measure in 2020. He likened the push to the court battle that successfully overturned former U.S. Supreme Court rulings supporting segregation. "If you give up, you lose," he said. "If you don't give up, you win. And we are going to win." Source: http://pamplinmedia.com/pt/9-news/396277-289616-push-for-portland-contribution-limits-could-impact-council-race

Obscure Source Of Oregon Gubernatorial Candidate Greg Wooldridge Reveal Quirk In Law

Obscure Source Of Oregon Gubernatorial Candidate Greg Wooldridge Reveal Quirk In Law . News Oregon Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Wooldridge speaks at 2018 Dorchester Conference. He beat Rep. Knute  Buehler with 40 percent of the vote in a straw poll there. Anonymous campaign donations are banned in Oregon, but nearly half the money raised by a leading Republican gubernatorial candidate cannot be directly traced because it comes from two out of state corporations. The two corporations have donated $125,000 of the $288,000 raised so far by candidate Greg Wooldridge, who lists “the sunshine of accountability” as part of his campaign platform. What the functions of the corporations are — and who is behind them — was a mystery only partly cleared up by the campaign after the donations were made. One is tied to a California real estate executive, but the other, listed as a Nevada firm, had its business license yanked, an Associated Press review found.

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.