Money in Politics Research Action Project

Voter Owned Elections
More Choices & New Voices for Portland

Comments on Voter Owned Elections made by
City Council members at April and May 2005 hearings

Commissioner Sam Adams at April 7, 2005 hearing:
"On the funding issue… forgoing just one unnecessary tax abatement could more than pay for the costs (of Voter Owned Elections.)"

Commissioner Sam Adams at May 18, 2005 hearing:
"This ordinance addresses a systemic problem that exists when campaign contributions swamp our local political decision making, both in terms of how we get elected, and then the decision making that occurs once we are elected. I believe that Voter Owned Elections will save millions of dollars in unnecessary spending that goes on to satisfy campaign contributors."

Commissioner Dan Saltzman at May 18, 2005 hearing:
"I've become convinced that it is a good idea and a wise use of public resources. I've come to understand that our current way of financing political campaigns serve to exclude large numbers of our citizens, particularly women and minorities, from the political process."

"Our community faces many challenges, and to face them we need good ideas and strong leaders. Effectively limiting access to our political system to those who can raise hundreds of thousands of dollars is unfair and counterproductive."

"Just as the city needs to reach out to our entire community in its hiring and purchasing decisions, we need to include the entire community in our political process. It's (Voter Owned Elections) the right thing to do, and it's in the entire community's best interests."

Mayor Tom Potter at April 7, 2005 hearing:
We face many decisions this year, I don't think we can take all of these to the voters. They've told us they want us to make those decisions. And they told me during the election on November 2 that they believed that candidates who accepted less money, who abide by some kind of campaign finance controls, should get elected. So I support this (Voter Owned Elections).

Mayor Tom Potter at May 18, 2005 hearing:
About a year and a half ago when I decided I was going to run for public office, I went and talked to a political consultant, and being a novice to the world of politics, I said, what do you have to do to get elected? He said it's really simple. All you’ve got to do is spend six days a week, eight hours a day on the phone, asking, begging, and cajoling people for contributions. He said it would take at least a half million, closer to a million to win the mayor's election in the city of Portland.

When I told him I couldn't do that, he said that he was really sorry, because that's really the only game on the table. And as a result I chose to play another game, about reaching out to people and doing a grassroots campaign, and thank goodness in the city of Portland that still works.

But I think I'm an anomaly. I don't think everybody can do this.And so I really support this (Voter Owned Elections) ordinance and resolution, because it is so important to our future.

It's no coincidence that you see five white guys up here. I think we need more diversity on our council. I think we need more diversity in our workplace. And I think that this will give people who don't have access to the big money, will give people who don't have a lot of name recognition the opportunity to compete side by side with incumbents. And so I value this. And I think that the voters of Portland will see in the long run that this works to their best interest.

This isn't just about polls. This is about good government. And this has worked in other communities.

Commissioner Erik Sten at May 18, 2005 hearing:
I have had hundreds, if not thousands of conversations, and I've yet to come up with anybody, literally, who defends our current system.

Typically 80% of the time a candidate spends is fundraising and the vast majority of that is asking for large dollars. I'm yet to find anybody, literally, who's told me that's a good system...(that) it's really in line with the basic fundamental premise of one person, one vote.

Typically the regular ask from a City Council member to a real estate developer who will be in front of us is $5,000.

I believe in the long run that this country is going to have to move away from privately-financed elections, because I think they've put the federal government in absolute gridlock. I think anybody who believes that the health insurance crisis is unrelated to campaign finance reform is probably working for the industry that's keeping it that way.

That's not the state of affairs necessarily here in Portland, but Portland is a place where you make change and start to put new principles and ideas in place, and that leads to the greater good, as well as I think better support in our community, better trust, and it won't also just be about how the elections turn out.

You'll see many more people out talking with folks. You'll see people working their tail off to qualify and who will fail. That will be a good thing. You’ll see people who will qualify and who won’t win the election. But you'll have much more robust debate, and this will go to the voters in a couple of cycles.

I think that one of the things that’s really exciting about this is it's voluntary. Each candidate has every opportunity to raise as much money from whom they would like, and it's the voter's call. What it does is it gives the voters another option on how they can judge candidates and it gives candidates who clearly cannot run under the current system a chance to run. It does not give them a free pass to win. I don't think you're automatically going to lose if you don't take part. It's an option, I think, that’s going to make our process much richer.