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Portland Commissioner Amanda Fritz wants Portland to adopt a 6 to 1 matching system on small campaign contributions to city candidates, according to The Portland Tribune and OPB.
Under a proposal to be unveiled Thursday, city matches on campaign donations up to $50 from individuals would turn those contributions into $350.
The new system—which Fritz is calling Open and Accountable Elections—would impose spending limits too, the news outlets report.
Candidates who accept matching funds would have to agree to those limits: $250,000 in the primary and $300,000 in the general election for city commissioner candidates; and $380,000 and $570,000 respectively for mayoral candidates.
As WW wrote in June, Fritz is undaunted by the fact that voters in 2010 rejected the city's previous system for public campaign financing—then called Voter Owned Elections. She noted then that public financing lost by just 1,600 out of 210,000 votes, and that that was amid a financial recession.
Under Portland's old system, launched in 2005, candidates who collected 1,000 signatures and matching $5 contributions were given $145,000 to spend in the primary election, if they were running for a commissioner's seat, and $200,000 if they were running for mayor.
Fritz will unveil the details of her proposal on Thursday at 7 pm at a community forum at the Matt Dishman Community Center, 77 NE Knott Street.
Willamette Week