Governor Kate Brown goes on the record for campaign contribution limits

PORTLAND, Ore. — A week before Election Day, Governor Kate Brown has gone on the record for campaign contribution limits. Brown this week submitted a candidate questionnaire to Common Cause Oregon agreeing to endorse a state constitutional amendment that restores Oregon’s right to set campaign contribution limits and requires full disclosure, in line with what almost every other state allows.

The campaign finance commitment is part of the Common Cause Oregon Democracy2018.org candidate questionnaire. The Democracy2018.org questionnaire asks state-level candidates to agree to “endorse, prioritize and work aggressively” on seven commonsense strategies that will reduce the influence of money in Oregon elections, expand voting rights and election integrity, and ensure fair representation.

“Here in Oregon, campaign contributions for the governor’s race have already surpassed previous records, driven by large gifts from wealthy individuals, corporations and special interests,” said Kate Titus, executive director of Common Cause Oregon. “No single solution will limit the influence of big money in politics, but a constitutional amendment is one concrete step we can take to strengthen our democracy.”

In Oregon, a constitutional amendment is needed in order to set a ceiling on how much a candidate can receive from a single contributor, and to strengthen transparency laws for full disclosure of secretive political giving and pass-through donations, so that voters can follow the money, Titus said.

Brown’s Republican challenger, Knute Buehler, has not responded to requests from Common Cause Oregon to answer the Democracy2018.org questionnaire.

View the Governor candidate responses here.