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Downtown Portland’s latest real estate developer, Jeff Swickard, recently gave $100,000 to Gov. Tina Kotek’s reelection campaign.
Last week’s contribution, disclosed in campaign finance records this morning, is the largest Swickard has made in Oregon as well as one of the largest this year for Kotek, who’s raised $13.5 million in 2026. He previously gave her campaign $50,000 in September of last year.
Swickard, a Nevada resident, operates a chain of 54 auto dealerships. He’s lately made a loud entry into downtown development, snatching troubled marquee properties like the U.S. Bancorp Tower (Big Pink) and Park Avenue West, among others. And he’s now asserting himself politically, giving more than $220,000—aside from the latest Kotek contribution—this year to candidates and PACs in Oregon.
Last month, he gave an additional $150,000 to United for Portland Action Fund, the political arm of the Portland Metro Chamber.
He tells WW with his donations he hopes to “elect people who genuinely care about the city and the people they serve.”
“I believe the best things happen when everyone has a seat at the table,” he writes. “Business, labor, government, nonprofits, neighborhoods—we may come to the table with different experiences and different ideas, but we all have a stake in Oregon’s success. We don’t have to agree on everything to listen to each other, find common ground and accomplish something meaningful together.”
