Faced with a new election system, limited cash and questionable politicking, Portland’s campaign finance program appeared to meet the city’s expectations during the November 2024 election cycle. That’s according to a new analysis by the city’s independent elections commission.

“[The program] continued to make impressive progress in its metrics toward a democracy that is fair, reflective, equitable, and inclusive,” reads the Portland Election Commission report.

The commission found that the Small Donor Election program, paired with massive changes to the city’s form of government, created a clear path for candidates to win races with small donor contributions.

“The program fulfilled its promise,” the report concludes.

The Portland City Council formed the Small Donor Election program in 2016 as a way to limit wealthy donors’ influence on local elections. Candidates who pledge to not accept contributions over $350 per donor receive public funding. The city matches any individual donations below $20 at a 9-to-1 ratio. That can turn a $5 donation into $50.

Candidates are limited in the maximum amount of taxpayer dollars they can tap into. But the more individual donations a candidate receives, the more city matching funds they can receive.

Last year’s packed election limited that system. November was the first election under Portland’s new form of government, which expanded the size of City Council from five seats to 12. The result was nearly 120 people running for office. Of the candidates who applied to run for city office, 54 were qualified to receive matching funds. In comparison, the program had seven candidates participating in 2022. With limited funds, the program was forced to lower the maximum amount of public money each candidate could receive.

At the time, this decision sparked alarm among the elections commission and candidates, who worried that the funding limits would once again allow wealthy donors to have an outsized influence. .

But, per Tuesday’s report, that fear didn’t materialize.

“Despite significant funding constraints, many worked diligently to secure broad-based support through small contributions, resulting in continued improvement in key indicators of democratic health,” the report reads.

The report credits that partially to candidates’ “Herculean” effort to stand out during an incredibly unique election cycle.

In previous years, those who won city office while participating in the Small Donor Election program were the candidates with the highest average contributions to their campaign. For instance in 2022, former Commissioner Rene Gonzalez won his seat with an average contribution of $104, beating then sitting Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, whose average donation was around $55.

In 2024, for the first time, some of the candidates who collected the largest average donations lost. That included Gonzalez, who collected an average contribution of $131 in his mayoral campaign. Mayor Keith Wilson’s average contribution was $70.

“Perhaps the most important change in campaign finance data from 2020 to now is that candidates who focus on small contributions are now winning elections,” the report reads.

To Susan Mottet, who oversees the Small Donor Election program, this is a win.

“The part I was most excited about was, that in combination with the government reforms, the program works better to achieve its goal,” she said.

In the past, Portland council candidates ran a citywide campaign. Under the changes in city government enacted in 2024, candidates ran to represent one of the city’s four districts. Mottet said she suspected this would mean it will cost less to run a winning council campaign, since there are fewer voters who candidates need to reach. The report confirms that hunch.

Lower average contributions also mean that lower-income people are able to influence local elections.

“We know demographically that once you get to $100 average contributions, donors start to skew very white, affluent, male, homeowning… a teeny percentage of Portlanders,” Mottet said. “Keeping average donations closer to $30, that means average Portlanders are taking part.”

The data shows that candidates are collecting donations more evenly across city neighborhoods as well instead of only in areas with concentrated wealth.

The report also took on a major area of concern that arose in the last election. During that cycle some candidates traded donations to maximize their city funding last year or used their business to solicit donations. While the Oregon secretary of state’s office still has an open investigation into the donation swapping, the commission report characterized these controversial tactics as “creative fundraising strategies” that were a side effect of being underfunded.

Portland’s scant funding of the program is the most critical issue in the program, according to the report authors. .

“Over time, underfunding will diminish the effectiveness of the program, the quality of our democracy, and public trust in our government,” the report reads, urging city leaders to sustainably fund the program.

Portland City Council fully funded the Small Donor Election program in its current budget. The funding is not guaranteed for next year, however. Without it, Mottet said, the program will be just “half funded” ahead of the city council election in November 2026. She said she’s optimistic that the program’s budget will remain whole.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/07/08/report-portland-campaign-finance-program-met-expectations-2024-election/