Current News

House Bill 4124 would most likely ensure that a key campaign finance reform measure passed by Oregonians in 2006 will never go in effect, writes attorney Dan Meek. If the current walkout mirrors last year's and Republicans return with a few days remaining, the bill could be one of many passed in the rush to sine die.

Ronald Buel, a member of political action committee Honest Elections Oregon, said in his complaint filed last week in Multnomah County Circuit Court that he believes Wheeler has received more than $73,000 in contributions that violate the legal limit.

Oregon led the pack for a time in terms of innovations to help people participate in elections, write David Ellis and Jeremy Gruber. its refusal to open the Democratic and Republican primaries to non-affiliated voters, however, lags far behind other states that have embraced open primaries.

The ruling by a three-judge panel is the most authoritative opinion yet in a monthslong battle over how Secretary of State Bev Clarno handles ballot measures.

Williamson served in the legislature from 2012 to 2019, when she resigned to run for secretary of state.

Former Oregon House Majority Leader Jennifer Williamson, a Portland Democrat, announced on Monday she would suspend her campaign for secretary of state in light of a forthcoming story about her use of campaign funds.

Jennifer Williamson was considered a top candidate to be Oregon's next secretary of state. She is dropping out because of a forthcoming news story on her campaign expenditures. 

Will Oregon lawmakers appoint a campaign contribution limits task force likely to propose keeping political money flowing freely in the state?

New legislation would delay voter-approved campaign finance limits if Oregon Supreme Court upholds constitutionality of donor caps.

Seven Portland City Council candidates including incumbent Commissioner Chloe Eudaly have qualified to receive taxpayer dollars to help fund their campaigns, leading to more than $550,000 set to be doled by the end of January, according to the city.

Oregon is among a handful of states with no limits on campaign contributions in elections. The 2020 session offers lawmakers another chance to change that.

The Oregon Capitol (Salem Reporter archives) Rep. Dan Rayfield, D- Corvallis, wants to keep the campaign field for candidates level this year as courts and legislators untangle campaign finance reforms but he wants to short circuit a voter-approved measure to do that. Dan Meek, a longtime campaign finance reform advocate,[Read More...]

Sen. Jeff Golden, D-Ashland, writes that big-dollar contributions to elected officials and Oregonians' distaste for such donations underscore the simple need for Oregon to adopt strong campaign finance regulations.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown told reporters on Friday that the state Legislature should not pass campaign contribution limits during the short session that begins in February. She did not cite any specific benefits of waiting until at least 2021. Voters will decide in November whether to amend the state Constitution to allow contribution caps.

Councilmember M. Lorena González is proposing legislation to protect our democracy from the corruption of big money and foreign influence.

Advocates are pressing a crop of political candidates to abide by local campaign finance limits, which were passed by voters last year but quickly faced legal challenges.

Ronald Buel, a member of political action committee Honest Elections Oregon, filed complaints with the Portland City Auditor’s Office claiming that since September, Wheeler accepted 15 donations that exceeded $500 and Ozzie Gonzalez and Jack Kerfoot each accepted four.

Mayor Ted Wheeler and three other local political candidates are facing scrutiny for accepting hefty donations that clash with local campaign finance regulations passed by voters. On Thursday, a Portland resident who campaigned for the new policies filed official complaints against those four candidates, kicking off an investigation that could land the candidates in court. In 2018, Portlanders voted by an overwhelming majority to approve Measure 26-200, a campaign finance reform initiative that, among other...

Editorial board memo covers recent campaign finance decisions in Connecticut and New York.

NCSL maintains extensive resources on various aspects of campaign finance, from states’ disclosure requirements to public financing programs and limits on contributions to candidates. This page serves as a table of contents for NCSL's campaign finance resources.

This month Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler donated $16,000 to charities that originally came as campaign donations from the man at the center of last week's impeachment inquiry hearings, Gordon Sondland. One KATU News Viewer wanted to know why Wheeler didn’t give the money back. Turns out, politicians have a lot of freedom in what they can do with campaign donations in Portland and Oregon.

A proposed initiative to change the way Oregon draws its legislative and congressional boundaries could remove the conflict of interest inherent in the current system and deserves greater debate, the editorial board writes.

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