In the Most Expensive Election Cycle Ever, County Voters Say They Want Campaign Finance Limits

Multnomah County residents overwhelming vote to cap contibutions, increase transparency of campaign ads.

On Tuesday, Multnomah County voters had a lot of decisions to make.

The ballot featured the most expensive secretary of state race ever (Republican Dennis Richardson won) and the most expensive Oregon ballot measure everywhere (Measure 97 failed under an onslaught of $26 million from corporate opponents).

A county charter review commission put five measures on the ballot, asking voters to weigh in on term limits, whether county commissioners could run for chair without resigning, whether the sheriff should be elected or appointed, how the charter review commission itself should work—and, whether the county, Oregon's most populous, should impose campaign contribution limits and force candidates to disclose who paid for their ads.

As part of their campaign, proponents, led by public interest lawyer Dan Meek, found a clip of President-elect Donald J. Trump explaining how campaign contributions work. (Explanation starts at 1:05).

"I contribute to everybody," Trump said in a January speech, explaining he'd given to most of his presidential rivals, including Hillary Clinton. "Because when I want something, I get it. When I call, they kiss my ass."

That's what Meek wants to end. He previously pushed state-wide campaign limits in 1994, which the Supreme Court struck down in 1997. He then tried again statewide in 2006. Voters approved limits but did not change the Oregon constitution to allow the limits to go into effect.

This time, Meek's aiming a smaller target, in effect using a rifle rather than a shotgun. The measure proposes to limit contributions to $500 per individual donor and make ads list the top five contributors, as is commonly done in other states.

Voters responded enthusiastically, approving the new limits by an 88 percent to 11 percent margin, a bigger endorsement than any of the other county charter changes or any statewide ballot measure.

Meek was unavailable for comment but there's little doubt he will seek to expand his measure across the state in future—and that he faces a court battle to preserve this victory.

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