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A recent poll of Independent Party of Oregon members has confirmed my suspicions that we are not as politically divided as we think — at least on one key issue. The IPO is a new third party in Oregon, attracting supporters of both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. The IPO poll showed there was one…

Did campaign donations influence Commissioner Steve Novick’s vote on Terminal 1? City Commissioner received $1,000 just 4 days before vote In the weeks for prior to casting the swing vote on the Terminal 1 issue, Steve Novick received $3000 in donations from the developers behind the idea. Novick…

Big Tobacco Makes Campaign Donations in Oregon Democrat Peter Courtney — President of the Oregon Senate — Image courtesy of ODOT via Flicr Democrats Peter Courtney and Betsy Johnson , along with a handful of Republicans accepted over $26,000 is campaign donations from Big Tobacco so far in October.…

Sami Al-AbdRabbuh won’t have to run as a write-in after all. The Corvallis resident, a doctoral student in engineering at Oregon State University, had the endorsement of the Independent Party of Oregon for the District 16 seat in the state House of Representatives going into the May 17 primary. But…

As America prepares to celebrate Independence Day, we asked our Rapid Responders about the right to peaceably assemble. Buy Photo This Statesman Journal photo shows thousands of people gathered to hear evangelist Franklin Graham at the Oregon Capitol on Tuesday. (Photo: MOLLY J. SMITH / Statesman…

The battle over the official Democratic Party platform began in earnest this Friday at a nine-hour meeting in St. Louis, Missouri, and already the sparks of tension seem to be outweighing the calls for “unity.” The Democratic Party’s platform is an official statement of values on a wide range of…

x Share 1 Share This Story! Let friends in your social network know what you are reading about Facebook Email Demand accountability; limit donations to political campaigns Democrats often bemoan the Citizens United case in which the Supreme Court, following the statutory definition of persons passed…

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, Cascadia’s third largest city. Just 600 big donors (including individuals, business entities,…

All candidates should have the option to run for office with support from everyday people, not just those who can write big checks. In 2016, one Portland mayoral campaign funded entirely by small donors giving $250 or less faced off against another campaign funded mostly by wealthy donors and…

Even idealistic Oregon is under the thrall of paid lobbyists “Follow the money” is some of the oldest and best advice for investigative reporters. It also, unfortunately, is regarded as a personal credo by politicians and lobbyists exploiting political connections for personal gain. Our Tuesday…

It’s no wonder people are lining up to vote for Donald Trump. After reading the East Oregonian story “Lobbying, contributions dual paths to political clout” by Capital Bureau reporter Hillary Borrud, you too may be inclined to send a big broom to the White House and State Capitol and sweep out every…

Courtesy of David Thalberg Gov. Kate Brown spoke at the May 18 opening of the Portland office of the software company Vitu, which recently won a state contract to provide electronic registration and titling services at car dealerships in Oregon. Vitu’s parent company spent more than $200,000 on…

Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin . Wikimedia - tinyurl.com/jk2a8tl, Cacophony Oregonians won’t be voting this fall on whether to limit campaign finance contributions in state and local races. The Oregon…

SALEM — In the latest in a string of setbacks for limiting the amount of money in Oregon elections, a petition to change the state constitution and allow limits on donations candidates can accept can’t move forward, the secretary of state announced this week. Initiative Petition 77, which has ties…

Hillary Borrud/EO Media Group Lobbyists at work outside a legislative committee hearing on transportation in the state Capitol in Salem on May 24. Spending in Salem on lobbying increased 15 percent from 2007 to 2015, when adjusted for inflation. Buy this photo Buy this photo Buy this photo SALEM —…

PORTLAND, Ore. - On the sixth anniversary of the Supreme Court's Citizen's United decision, OSPIRG Foundation released a report Thursday highlighting the sizable disparity between large donors and small donors in Oregon's elections. The report finds that in the 2014 election season, just over a…

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SALEM — A task force assembled to propose ways to rein in money in Oregon elections has recommended getting rid of the only contribution limits on Oregon’s books. The group narrowly agreed Tuesday it would support a bill that, if passed by the Legislature, would ask voters to amend the Oregon…

x Share 84 Share This Story! Let friends in your social network know what you are reading about Facebook Email Constitutional amendment on campaign finance reform goes to Legislature There is irony in asking elected officials to create policies limiting contributions to their own campaigns. Cancel…

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Buy Photo Ron Eachus is a Statesman Journal columnist. (Photo: TIMOTHY J. GONZALEZ /Statesman Journal) Buy Photo 23 CONNECT COMMENT EMAIL MORE The 2,000-page $1.1 trillion spending bill and accompanying $680 billion in tax cut extensions over 10 years truly was what’s colloquially called a Christmas…

x Share 14 Share This Story! Let friends in your social network know what you are reading about Facebook Email Campaign finance reform still unresolved Oregon is one of six states without campaign contribution limits. Cancel Send Sent! A link has been sent to your friend's email address. Posted! A…

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court won't hear a challenge to Hawaii campaign finance laws that require a private company buying campaign ads to register as a political action committee. The justices on Monday rejected an appeal from a Hawaii electrical construction company that spent about $9,000…

HELENA – Montana is the latest state to overhaul its campaign-finance rules in an attempt to cast out dark money after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed corporations to spend unlimited amounts in elections. The architect of the changes in Montana said the new rules will create a high level of…

SEATTLE – Many voters don't have the money to donate to political candidates or don't care enough to bother. But what if the government gave them $100 to dole out as they saw fit? That's the experiment underway in Seattle after voters this month adopted the nation's first voucher system for campaign…

On Tuesday, Seattle voters advanced the city’s reputation for progressivism when they approved a bold and unusual campaign finance reform plan. The plan will draw on real estate taxes to give every registered voter $100 in “democracy vouchers” to spend on candidates in the next city elections. The…

SALEM — Campaign finance reform hawks have a message for the Oregon Legislature: Take steps to put in place limits on money in elections, or they’ll do it themselves next November. Two separate groups of advocates are planning to work toward removing Oregon from a short list of six states that don’t…

SALEM — Activists looking to reform campaign finance in Oregon are taking steps to get a measure limiting contributions on the November 2016 ballot. Two separate groups of advocates are planning to work toward finance reform, The Bulletin in Bend reports. Daniel Lewkow of Common Cause Oregon said if…

The campaign for Seattle Initiative I-122, a measure meant to fight big money in elections, is partly bankrolled by big-money donors in New York and Washington, D.C. Sean Eldridge, president of a New York state-based investment fund and husband of Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, has contributed…

Proponents of Seattle Initiative 122 say large companies and wealthy individuals are increasingly using their money to push regular people out of the political process. They say Honest Elections Seattle would push back — by giving every registered voter in the city “democracy vouchers” to spend on…