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Ana del Rocío, the incoming state director for the political action committee Color PAC, has a close tie to the race for Portland City Council.
Her sister, Andrea Valderrama, a City Hall staffer, is running to replace City Commissioner Dan Saltzman, who is retiring next year. Valderrama and Del Rocío serve side-by-side on the David Douglas School Board.
This month, Del Rocio contributed $100 in the City Council race. But not to her sister.
Instead, Del Rocío donated to one of Valderrama's competitors. She's given $200 total to former state Rep. Jo Ann Hardesty.
The most recent, $100 donation was on Nov. 17, which put her over $100 threshold that requires publicly reporting donations. She contributed to Hardesty a month after Valderrama entered the race.
The mission of Color PAC, which Del Rocio runs, is to elect people of color. The City Council race includes three women of color seeking the seat. The third is Multnomah County Commissioner Loretta Smith.
Del Rocío says the second donation happened because she had signed up for automatic monthly donations to the campaign. She's now canceling them, she says, because her sister is in the race.
"I am not endorsing in this race — but I will continue to support women of color running for all levels of elected office," says del Rocío, saying her sister's candidacy is a conflict of interest that prevents her from endorsing.
Asked for comment, Valderrama affirmed her family bonds.
"I love my sister and I appreciate her support for a vigorous race for City Council," Valderrama says.
Clarification: This story has been updated to clarify that Del Rocio has not yet started at Color PAC. She starts in January.