Council hears first reading of small-donor elections code amendments; commission and staff explain technical fixes

Portland City Council on Sept. 18 heard a first reading of an ordinance that would amend Portland City Code Chapter 2.16 to implement recommendations from the Portland Elections Commission (PEC) and staff to update the Small Donor Elections program.

Council policy analyst Craig Cook summarized the ordinance (document 2025-230) for the Governance Committee: proposed changes include aligning election-cycle timelines with new state timelines, adjusting matching-fund caps and distribution to make budget reductions more equitable across races if needed, ensuring penalties are paid in accordance with administrative rules, allowing campaigns to collect allowable contributions prior to filing notice, and delegating to the Portland Elections Commission authority to exclude certain contributions from certification thresholds. Cook said the ordinance also contains budget analysis prepared by the City Budget Office and that there was no written or verbal testimony before the committee.

Susan Matei, director of the Small Donor Elections program, explained that one technical change would allow campaigns to share legitimate campaign expenses with political committees (for example, sharing office costs) provided the transfer is a legitimate campaign expense and fair market value is documented. She said the Portland Elections Commission and program staff have adopted administrative rules and guidance on evidence of fair market value to reduce the risk of discounts or overcharges.

Councilors asked technical questions about tiers and match caps. The PEC chair Amy Sample Ward and program staff said the commission considered additional restrictions on third-party paid solicitors and ultimately decided not to adopt new regulations because enforcement would be difficult and the program’s policy goals (encouraging broad, small-dollar support) could be undermined by an outright ban. Ward said the PEC conducted a post-cycle evaluation of user experience and campaign finance data to shape recommendations.

Councilor questions ranged from how match caps for the auditor’s race were set to the mechanics of payment cycles and how underfunding in the program led to earlier problems in the prior cycle. Program staff described tiers as a mechanism to spread match-cap reductions more evenly across candidates in the event the program is underfunded and said the Portland Elections Commission has authority to adjust match caps and may adopt tiering for other races in the future.

The council did not vote on the ordinance on Sept. 18; the item will be taken up for second reading at the next council meeting.