Eight candidates are expected to opt into Portland’s public campaign financing program for the three City Council seats that were regularly scheduled for an election this year. That’s a small enough number to guarantee all will receive the full 6-to-1 match rate throughout their campaigns, the city announced Tuesday.
Officials said candidates running in the races for mayor, for city commissioner position number 4 (the current seat of Commissioner Chloe Eudaly, who’s running for reelection) and for position number 1 (occupied by soon-to-retire Commissioner Amanda Fritz) are guaranteed to see $6 from the city for every $1 they raise throughout their campaign, true for up to $50 of every donation.
Candidates participating in the city’s public campaign financing program had already been receiving the 6-to-1 match. But whether or not it would continue depended on how many new candidates entered and asked to dip into the $3.5 million fund.
Susan Mottet, who oversees the program, said that number is no longer in flux for the three regularly scheduled races. Seven candidates have officially been certified. This does not include former mayor and now council candidate Sam Adams, who is on the cusp, but still needs to hand in his petition to the city auditor’s office.
It’s a different story in the race for the seat that opened up after the death of Commissioner Nick Fish. Whether the dozen or so candidates who have entered that race will also get to see this 6-to-1 match rate remains up in the air.
Candidates in that race have until Friday to give the program a heads up that they want to take part.
Mottet told OPB last month that she'd need about $1.7 million more in funding from the City Council to cover the 6-to-1 match for that race. She said she could ask for the additional money during the spring budget process.
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