But it doesn’t have to stay that way
Democracy, the radical idea that the voice of the people should drive government, becomes nothing more than a bitter joke if the voice of the people is drowned out. Here in Oregon, we’ve set the standard for the rest of the country with our wide-ranging and effective campaign finance limits which… wait… what’s that? Oregon is one of only six states WITHOUT ANY LIMITS ON DONOR CONTRIBUTIONS?!! HOW COULD THIS POSSIBLY BE??!!!
We were first made aware of this Beaver State Embarrassment by an email from Common Cause Oregon, the state chapter of one of the leading groups working for more effective and accountable government. Later, they came by the shop and explained how our more-protective-than-most state constitution led to this problem, what’s been proposed to fix it, and how we could help make the change happen. We knew this is the kind of thing our Your Car Matters audience would be interested in and immediately wanted to pass it on. So, rather than read our second-hand explanation please welcome Daniel Lewkow of Common Cause Oregon who’ll explain first-hand how you can help bring campaign limits to Oregon and why there’s a problem in the first place…
By Daniel Lewkow, Common Cause Oregon
What would you do with a quarter of a million dollars? Would you pay down any debts? Save it for retirement? Get to those long-needed repairs on your car and your house? How about, on the spur of the moment, give it all to one politician running for election? That’s what Nike Chairman Phil Knight did. In 2014, he wrote one check for $250,000, and gave it to Governor Kitzhaber’s re-election campaign. One check. Was that just a nice gesture between old friends? Well, if gestures from old friends include calling a special legislative session to secure you a lucrative tax deal in late 2013, then yes.
This reminded us of the Gilded Age, when the enormously-wealthy Robber Barons would funnel massive campaign donations to the politicians of their choice. The results were terrible for the average person… brutal working conditions in factories, mines, and shipyards, horrifying degradation of our environment, and no protections whatsoever for consumers from exploitative contracts, false advertising, or dangerously neglectful food production. The people asked why their elected leaders were not confronting these issues. When it was clear that campaign contributions were getting in the way of their voices, they rose up and demanded campaign finance reform. They demanded that we get money out of politics.
Oregonians need to make their voices heard again. Oregon is one of only six states that have no limits on how much a donor can give to a candidate for public office. A wealthy donor could very well finance an entire campaign by his or herself (same with a corporation or a special interest). And that means that the voices of the average voter are drowned out by that one donor. That is not how democracy should work.
Not having contribution limits also increases the costs of elections. Even though Oregon is a small state, our 2014 state elections were the fifteenth most expensive in the country. In 2012, the average amount that a candidate had to raise for the Oregon State House was the sixth-highest in the U.S.
Why don’t we have contribution limits? Almost every other state has them, and the Supreme Court has said that they’re legal. The problem is that in the 1990s, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled that money was equivalent to speech, and that for limits to be put in place, we would have to amend the Oregon constitution. This goes even further than the federal Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United, which equated money with speech when spent independently of candidates, but upheld the justification for limits on contributions directly to candidates.
Oregon has a chance to turn the tide and send a message that the voters should come first. Senate Joint Resolution 5 is a bill currently in the state senate, and was introduced by then-Secretary of State Kate Brown in January. SJR 5 would, upon passage of the legislature, refer to the ballot a constitutional amendment that would allow for contribution limits. If approved, it would add a very simple line to our state’s constitution, saying that lawmakers and voters have the ability to set contribution limits. That would allow us to pass major reforms like limiting the total amount that a donor can give to a candidate’s campaign.
So what’s the hold up? Just one vote. We are one vote away from having enough votes to pass the biggest campaign finance reform in decades. We are on the cusp. You can help change this. By clicking here, you can email your legislator and tell them that you want money out of politics. You want working families to come first. Tell them that you want a democracy for the people… like it was meant to be.
