Both Sides of Portland Water Fight Pick Up $20,000 Checks

The war over the future government of Portland's water supply is getting even more money.

Both sides of the campaign on Ballot Measure 26-156, which would remove Portland's water and environmental services bureaus from City Hall control, reported $20,000 contributions today.

And both sides also got money from allies sure to inflame the other side.

The "yes" campaign's patron is familiar: Siltronic, the German semiconductor manufacture that wants its water rates lower, gave $20,000. That donation brings its total investment in this campaign to $80,000.

Portlanders for Water Reform Committee, which is seeking to form a public water district with an independently elected board, also picked up an $8,000 check from Andrew Miller—the Washington County timber magnate and Republican donor who funded a 2012 anti-light rail rebellion in Clackamas County.

Meanwhile, the campaign to fight the measure—Stop the Bull Run Takeover PAC—grabbed its own $20,000 donation, from the trade union Oregon AFSCME Council 75.

That's the biggest contribution yet to the "no" campaign, and brings AFSCME 75's total tab to $30,000.

Stop the Bull Run Takeover PAC's got another big contribution—$5,000 from engineering firm CH2M Hill. The Portland-based company has received design and engineering contracts related to building underground tanks to replace the city's open-air reservoirs. 

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