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One way to measure clout in elections is by how much money a candidate has raised. This election cycle offers another yardstick: how many donors have made small contributions.
The city candidate with the most political donors—and, thanks to Portland's new publicly financed campaign system, the most taxpayer funding—is a political outsider.
Sarah Iannarone, the highest-profile challenger to Mayor Ted Wheeler, has nearly 3,000 donors. Two weeks before election day, she's amassed the most individual contributions of any candidate—and Portland's Open and Accountable Elections office will match those gifts.
"Far too often, people feel disconnected from their elected officials because successfully running for mayor requires immense access to wealth," says Gregory McKelvey, campaign manager for Iannarone. "Now it just takes a wonderful candidate."
It remains to be seen whether Iannarone can turn those donors into votes.
Wheeler is not participating in public financing. His campaign says he has had 354 donors this cycle.
Data from Open and Accountable Elections shows Iannarone isn't alone. In three of the four city races on the May 19 ballot, outsider candidates for office have attracted the most donors: Former Office of Neighborhood Involvement staffer Mingus Mapps, who faces incumbent Commissioner Chloe Eudaly, has the most donors in his contest. "I am humbled by the hundreds of Portlanders who have donated to our campaign," says Mapps.
And tenant organizer Margot Black has the most in her race to succeed late Commissioner Nick Fish. "This is what happens when working-class people feel heard, seen and represented," says Black. "Publicly financed elections have given regular people a voice; having—by far—the most donations shows that I hear that voice, because I am one of them."
