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State Sen. James Manning (D-Eugene) has struggled to raise money in his bid for the Democratic nomination for secretary of state. His chief opponent, State Treasurer Tobias Read, has raised $630,000 to Manning’s $203,000.
On April 18, however, Manning reported his largest contribution of the race—$20,000 from Stuart Barr, a Eugene businessman who has been a stubstantial donor to pro-life causes. That was a bit of a contradiction, given that Manning is running with the endorsement of Planned Parenthood and a slew of pro-choice progressive groups in a year when abortion looms as an even larger electoral issue than normal.
Today, state filings show that Manning returned the contribution just six days after it was made and two days after Manning said in a statement to WW that he was proud to accept donations from all Oregonians, regardless of their beliefs. Manning’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the refund.
“Sen. Manning welcomes and appreciates support from all Oregonians,” his campaign spokesman Matt Keating told WW on April 22. “He is grateful for support from persons of faith to agnostic Oregonians, urban voters to rural/frontier voters, and affluent to middle- and working-class neighbors.”
Barr, the source of the $20,000 contribution, is the president and CEO of a Eugene company, Industrial Finishes. Barr’s private family foundation has given substantial sums of money in recent years to religious organizations such as Lane County Youth for Christ, to pro-life organizations such as the Oregon Right to Life Education Fund, and to a local crisis pregnancy center.
Keating emphasized when questioned about the donation that Manning is staunchly pro-choice. “Make no mistake, the senator is unwavering in his commitment to protect our public lands, defend democracy, and preserve our right to profoundly personal health care decisions—especially access to the full spectrum of reproductive health care.
But on April 22, public campaign records show, Manning returned the $20,000 contribution to Barr.
It appears Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon had something to do with the return. Its executive director, Samantha Gladu, said the organization spoke with Manning “and he indicated that he would be returning the contribution.” Gladu said it did not escalate to the point of Planned Parenthood threatening to revoke its endorsement of Manning.
“Sen. Manning has a strong record of supporting abortion access in Oregon,” Gladu said, “and we thank him for doing the principled thing and returning the contribution.”
Barr’s daughter, Gay Brown, told WW she handles many of her father’s affairs and could speak on his behalf. She said Manning’s decision to return the contribution was “personal between the two of them.” She declined to comment further.
While Keating did not say why Manning decided to return the contribution, he wrote on Thursday that Manning’s “values are consistent and his support for access to abortion and the full spectrum of reproductive health care services is unwavering.”
“We know his values. We know he can’t be bought,” Keating said. “James Manning is a public servant, not a politician. And he will be a secretary of state for all Oregonians.”