Contribution of the Week: $50,000

How much? $50,000

Who got it? Gov. Tina Kotek, who’s running for reelection in a rematch with state Sen. Christine Drazan (R-Canby), reminiscent of their 2022 race.

Who gave it? A Lake Oswego startup called Rule42, officially launched just one month ago by former Intel president Renée James. Rule42 has two branches: an investment arm and an online platform powered by artificial intelligence where scouts and recruiters can track the performance of amateur athletes. A company spokesperson told WW that Rule42 recently announced two investments: a purchase of Softball America, the “leading source of news and rankings for softball players,” and becoming a primary investor in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League, the largest softball league in the country. (The league has just six teams, one of which is the new Portland Cascade, which played its first game in June.)

This appears to be the first campaign contribution by Rule42, and the first time James has given to an Oregon political candidate since 2012.

Why does it matter? James co-chaired the Governor’s Prosperity Council earlier this year. Kotek put together the 16-member body to deliver a set of recommendations to revive Oregon’s beleaguered economy—and give the impression that the state was open to business, not hostile to it.

In a June report, that council recommended slashing the state’s estate tax and corporate activity tax, repealing its Climate Protection Program, and opening up development on additional industrial land, among other measures.

James was in some ways an obvious choice to serve on the council. She was the president of Intel—the state’s largest private employer—from 2013 to 2016 and then went on to found Ampere Computing, which she sold last year to SoftBank for a cool $6.5 billion. She sits on the board of trustees at the University of Oregon, the board of directors for Portland General Electric, and the board of CitiGroup.

Kotek has yet to signal whether she’ll adopt any of the Prosperity Council’s recommendations. Indeed, the council’s report put her in a difficult position: Public employee unions—Kotek’s biggest institutional supporters—balked at any suggestion of decreased taxes. That means Kotek is stuck between the council’s recommendations and her base.

Rule42 did not respond to questions about why it gave money to Kotek’s campaign.