Survey Shows Most Oregon Candidates are
Ignoring Voter Demands for Campaign Finance Reform.
October 29, 2022
Statewide Survey Results
27 earn A’s - 23 earn and B’s - 4 earn C’s - 9 earn D’s - 104 earn F’s
Tina Kotek earns best grade among candidates for Governor
Ignoring Voter Demands for Campaign Finance Reform.
October 29, 2022
Statewide Survey Results
27 earn A’s - 23 earn and B’s - 4 earn C’s - 9 earn D’s - 104 earn F’s
Tina Kotek earns best grade among candidates for Governor
For the first year ever in Oregon, candidates are getting grades for democracy. Honest Elections Oregon conducted a statewide survey and review of candidates for all statewide and legislative public offices, and the Results have been released.
“Oregon voters overwhelmingly support laws to curb the huge influence of big money on our political system,” said James Ofsink, a volunteer with Honest Elections. “Voters deserve to know where candidates stand on this issue.”
The current election cycle is already by far Oregon’s most expensive in history, setting new spending records, including for Governor ($63 million and climbing), for State Senator ($19 million and climbing) and for State Representative ($23 million and climbing).
Some key takeaways from the results:
Points were assigned for answers consistent with Honest Elections Oregon priorities, including capping campaign contributions and clearer disclosure rules, including a requirement that political ads name their 4 largest actual funders (not just nice-sounding names of committees). Grades range from A+ for the best answers to D for the worst. All candidates who did not respond, despite weeks of repeated requests by email and phone, earned Fs and are Listed Here.
"There is no campaign finance reform measure on the 2022 ballot, but the responses show that campaign finance reform is on the ballot. Oregon voters have some meaningful choices for getting big money out of our political system, when they cast their votes,” said James Ofsink. “Votes should be earned, not bought.”
"We heartily commend the effort of those who responded," said Honest Elections volunteer Dan Meek.
“Oregon voters overwhelmingly support laws to curb the huge influence of big money on our political system,” said James Ofsink, a volunteer with Honest Elections. “Voters deserve to know where candidates stand on this issue.”
The current election cycle is already by far Oregon’s most expensive in history, setting new spending records, including for Governor ($63 million and climbing), for State Senator ($19 million and climbing) and for State Representative ($23 million and climbing).
Some key takeaways from the results:
- Measure 107 (2020) amended the Oregon Constitution to explicitly allow limits on campaign contributions and requirements that political ads name their largest funders. Despite 78% of Oregon voters approving Measure 107 (2020), many candidates remain unwilling to publicly announce where they stand. 87 candidates completed the survey in this first year, while 104 did not. [The results table omits candidates who responded but were eliminated in the primary election.]
- Candidates for the Oregon Legislature who earned A+ were Jeff Golden of Ashland, Ashley Pelton of Cottage Grove, Walt Trandum of Sandy, and John Lively of Springfield. “We are glad that there are some champions for democracy, and we hope that will lead to real outcomes and better rules,” said Jason Kafoury, a volunteer with Honest Elections.
- Only two general election candidates for Governor responded: Tina Kotek (earned a B) and L. Leon Noble (earned a D). “We are encouraged that 51 candidates like Tina Kotek expressed support for campaign contribution limits and requiring that political ads name their largest funders,” Kafoury added.
Points were assigned for answers consistent with Honest Elections Oregon priorities, including capping campaign contributions and clearer disclosure rules, including a requirement that political ads name their 4 largest actual funders (not just nice-sounding names of committees). Grades range from A+ for the best answers to D for the worst. All candidates who did not respond, despite weeks of repeated requests by email and phone, earned Fs and are Listed Here.
"There is no campaign finance reform measure on the 2022 ballot, but the responses show that campaign finance reform is on the ballot. Oregon voters have some meaningful choices for getting big money out of our political system, when they cast their votes,” said James Ofsink. “Votes should be earned, not bought.”
"We heartily commend the effort of those who responded," said Honest Elections volunteer Dan Meek.
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Honest Elections Oregon, Multi-Organization Collaboration for Campaign Finance Reform, Wolf-PAC Oregon, Consolidated Oregon Indivisible Network (COIN), Independent Party of Oregon, Oregon Progressive Party, Democratic Party of Multnomah County, Pacific Green Party, Alliance for Democracy, and United & Amplified Network -- an Oregon hub to mobilize collective action for democracy reforms
HEO Surveys Candidates on Campaign Finance Reform
Survey Shows Most Oregon Candidates are Ignoring Voter Demands for Campaign Finance Reform
April 2022
April 2022
While there are a few champions of campaign finance reform (CFR) among Oregon candidates for statewide or legislative office, most declined to answer the survey or expressed views inconsistent with the wishes of Oregon voters.
“Even though Oregon voters have overwhelmingly voted for campaign finance reform, including in 2020, Oregon legislators have not adopted contribution limits or meaningful disclosure requirements,” said Mindy Lowden of Wolf-PAC Oregon.
Honest Elections Oregon (HEO) surveyed the positions on campaign finance reform issues of all 2022 candidates for Governor and the Oregon Legislature. 37 candidates responded to the survey.
HEO then evaluated their answers, assigning points for answers that are consistent with the goals of HEO. HEO then applied a grading scale ranging from A+ for the best answers to D for the worst, reserving F for the candidates who did not respond to the survey, despite repeated requests by email and phone over a period of several weeks. Here are the grades of those who responded.
The only candidates for Governor who scored "A" were Patrick Starnes, Michael Trimble, and George Carillo, all running in the Democratic primary. Tobias Read scored a B. Tina Kotek scored an F. Five other Democratic candidates for Governor scored between B and D. Fifteen Republican candidates for Governor scored Fs, and they were bested by Nick Hess (B), Tim McCloud (D), Amber Richardson (D), and Marc Thielman (D).
Of the candidates for the Oregon Legislature, 25 filled out the survey. Jeff Golden (SD 3), Anthony Sorace (HD 31), Christopher Draus (HD 41) and Catherine Thomasson (HD 45) earned A+. Six other candidates for the Legislature earned As, eight earned Bs, one earned a C, and six earned Ds. Those who did not respond earned Fs.
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"We appreciate the effort of those who responded," said HEO volunteer Dan Meek. "We are dismayed that most candidates did not try to fill out the survey. Perhaps they do not care about campaign finance reform or do not want voters to know their positions on specific proposals."
HEO will conduct additional surveys to publicize the positions of candidates in the November 2022 general election. |
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