Political Donors Like Kids More Than Nature

By NIGEL JAQUISS

The May 21 election this year has something for everyone—school board races; a renewal of City Commissioner Dan Saltzman's children's levy; the fluoride war; and even a Metro ballot measure seeking some operating funds for its green spaces.

The early money is flowing towards the kids. Saltzman's raising money through the Committee for Safe and Successful Children. Who wouldn't want to invest in a product with a name like that? Institutional givers are lobbing big checks Saltzman's way: PacifiCorp, Wells Fargo and the Northwest Health Foundation each ponied up $10,000 this week, bringing the Safe and Successful total to $150,000 raised for 2013. 

Restore Our Natural Areas, the committee that's raising money for the Metro operating levy, pulled in $5,000 from the Oregon Zoo Foundation to bring its total raised this year to $50,000. That's a respectable start, but how much could the committee have raised if instead of calling itself Restore Our Natural Areas it went with a name like For the Kids?

WWeek 2015

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