The Portland City Auditor’s Office says it won’t investigate campaign finance complaints against Mayor Ted Wheeler, mayoral candidate Ozzie Gonzalez and city commissioner candidate Jack Kerfoot that allege they violated a voter-approved $500 campaign contribution limit.
The office dismissed the complaints Friday because a Multnomah County circuit judge ruled the limit unconstitutional several months after it was approved by Portland voters in November 2018, said City Elections Officer Deborah Scroggin.
“The Auditor’s Office intends to uphold the will and intent of the voters in implementing campaign finance restrictions,” she wrote in a letter to Wheeler, Gonzalez and Kerfoot on Friday. “However, we will not be enforcing, investigating, or acting on complaints regarding provisions of the charter that are currently being litigated and have been held unconstitutional.”
The complaints were filed in December by Ronald Buel, a member of political action committee Honest Elections Oregon, which pushed for the campaign finance limits. He said he believes the city should still enforce the contribution limits because the judge only deemed certain parts of the changes to the city policy to be unconstitutional.
Buel also filed a similar complaint against Multnomah County Commissioner Lori Stegmann in December. Tim Scott, the county’s elections director, alerted Buel the day after receiving the complaint that his office also wouldn’t investigate the claims.
Buel wanted city and county elections officials to fine all four campaigns for violating the campaign contribution limit measures. Honest Elections Oregon organized the Portland measure approved by voters in 2018, as well as a similar one that was passed by Multnomah County voters in 2016.
The Portland measure amended the city charter to limit individual or political committee donations to $500 per election cycle in city races. The measure also limited campaign spending and required campaigns to disclose advertising funders and as well as impose other restrictions.
Multnomah County Circuit Judge Eric Bloch struck down the county rule in 2017 and did the same to parts of the Portland rule in June 2019, saying they violated the Oregon Constitution’s prohibition on limiting free speech.
The decision on the county measure was appealed to the Oregon Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments in November 2019. A ruling is expected later this year and will likely impact the Portland measure. A city appeal of Bloch’s ruling is on hold until the Supreme Court rules in the Multnomah County case.
Buel’s complaint against Wheeler took issue with more than $40,000 contributed in 15 cash and in-kind donations. Buel claimed Gonzalez, a TriMet board member, and Kerfoot, a retired renewable energy consultant, each have accepted four donations over $500.
Kerfoot was initially campaigning for incumbent Commissioner Chloe Eudaly’s seat on the council. City records show Kerfoot has since refiled to instead seek the position vacated by Commissioner Nick Fish, who died of cancer Jan. 2.
Buel told Scroggin in an email that he disagreed with the dismissal of the complaints and questioned what would happen if the Oregon Supreme Court reverses the lower court decision at a later stage of the election cycle.
Scroggin said Tuesday that Buel can appeal the decisions to the Multnomah County District Court.
Amy Rathfelder, Wheeler’s campaign manager, said they are “happy to move past the matter and are focused on running a fair and accountable campaign.”
Gonzalez’s and Kerfoot’s campaigns didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.
-- Everton Bailey Jr; ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 | @EvertonBailey
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