Multnomah County campaign contribution limits that went into effect in 2021 are having a marked impact on the May 16 county commissioner race between Portland School Board member Julia Brim-Edwards and former nonprofit leader Ana del Rocío. (A third candidate, Albert Kaufman, isn’t raising money.)
Prior to limits, you might have expected Brim-Edwards, who retired from a senior position at Nike in 2022, to vastly outraise del Rocío, a grassroots organizer.
But with the $568-per-donor limit, Brim-Edwards has raised just $105,000. That’s a little more than twice del Rocío’s $50,000 total but far less than it would have been before limits.
The limits apply only to candidate races, not ballot measures—and fundraising for Measure 26-238, which would impose a new capital gains tax to pay for eviction relief lawyers, shows the disparities that are possible without limits.
Tenants Organizing Against Displacement, the yes campaign, has raised just under $26,000 this year (it also raised nearly $73,000 in prior years to qualify for the ballot), while Building Our Future Together, the campaign to defeat the measure, has raised $591,000, including a $250,000 check from the National Association of Realtors.
Meanwhile, voters will have to wait a few more days for their ballots to arrive: An error by Multnomah County Elections has required the reprinting of 560,000 ballots, at a cost of $300,000. Ballots are expected to arrive in mailboxes between May 2 and 4. They must be returned by 8 pm Tuesday, May 16.