The City of Portland Tells Publicly Financed Candidates to Quit Offering Donors’ Money to Nonprofits

A novel idea to raise money for publicly financed Portland City Council campaigns and simultaneously benefit local nonprofits has been shot down by Susan Mottet, director of the city's new Open and Accountable Elections program, after WW raised questions.

Earlier this week, WW reported that two City Council candidates had asked supporters for campaign contributions to allow them to qualify for city matching funds of up to 6 to 1 for contributions of up to $50. Those candidates were Tera Hurst, executive director of Renew Oregon and a candidate for the City Council seat previously held by the late Commissioner Nick Fish, and Commissioner Chloe Eudaly, who is running for re-election.

Related: Publicly Funded Portland City Council Candidate Tera Hurst Tests Limits on How Campaign Dollars Can be Used.

Here's how it was supposed to work:

Both Hurst and Eudaly said they had consulted the city's Open and Accountable Elections office before publicizing their pitches.

But Dan Meek, a lawyer active in election issues, pointed out to WW that city code prohibited using campaign donations as the candidates proposed.

Open and Accountable Elections director Mottet and Commissioner Amanda Fritz agreed with Meek and acknowledged that Mottet had made a mistake in OK'ing the campaign pitches.

In an April 7 email to candidates, Mottet gave new guidance.

"I had specifically advised certified candidates that they may collect matchable contributions from donors, donate the contribution to a nonprofit, and use the 6-to-1 match for campaign expenses. That was incorrect. It is a blanket prohibition, with an exception only for purchasing tickets for an event that the campaign attends," Mottet wrote. "I regret that campaigns that relied on my advice got called out in the press for doing so."

Hurst and Eudaly scrapped the asks and will continue soliciting matching funds without involving nonprofits.