Oregon

Oregon’s ‘30 Years War’ over campaign finance reform approaches its final battle – Oregon Capital Chronicle

Published

2 years ago

February 29, 2024

Oregon’s ‘30 Years War’ over campaign finance reform approaches its final battle – Oregon Capital Chronicle

How did we get to the point in Oregon’s current legislative session that leaders of both parties and representatives of major business and labor groups are uniting in an effort to enact long-overdue limits on big money donations to candidate campaigns?

One reason: Voters clearly want something done. A 2023 poll by the Oregon Values and Beliefs Center found 75% of Oregonians agree that “laws should be passed to regulate unlimited money in political campaigns.”

Another reason: Reformers have used the initiative process to keep this issue in front of voters and the courts for 30 years now.

But the real reason: With voter approval of a constitutional amendment to authorize campaign funding and spending limits in 2020, sponsors of the latest campaign finance reform initiative (Initiative Petition 9) have the political winds at their back as they work to qualify their measure for this year’s general election ballot.

In short, the good government reformers appear to be holding a winning hand, and institutional insiders want to reshuffle the deck. But it has taken too long, with too many election wins overturned in unfriendly courtrooms and promises made but never delivered by cagey lawmakers for the reformers to fold their hand now.

For three decades, Oregon voters have been supporting ballot initiatives to limit the role of big money in candidate elections. In 1994, they approved Measure 9 by 72% in favor and 28% against to limit contributions to candidates and campaign spending. But, just three years later, the Oregon Supreme Court gutted the measure and left candidates free to pursue unlimited contributions from wealthy donors and well-funded political action committees.

I remember sitting in a legislative hearing room on the February morning in 1997 when the Supreme Court released its decision (in Vannatta v. Keisling) invalidating the contribution limits in Measure 9. A staff person whispered the news to the chair of the committee, who immediately recessed the hearing, took a few steps from the dais and, gesturing like a gambler pulling the lever of a slot machine, quipped to those nearby: “Ka-ching, ka-ching.” I thought at the time: That says it all.

But the good government groups behind Measure 9 never gave up. They took a two-pronged approach to the ballot in 2006, with proposals to amend the state constitution to authorize campaign contribution and spending limits (Measure 46) and another to place specific limits in statute (Measure 47). The former failed, but voters approved the contribution limits in the latter, only to have the secretary of state declare them unenforceable and the courts to affirm them as inoperative without a constitutional amendment or a reversal of the Vannatta decision.

Then, in 2020, the reformers got both. The Oregon Supreme Court reversed its decision in the Vannatta case in response to yet another campaign finance measure approved by the voters in Multnomah County. And, later that year, voters statewide approved a constitutional amendment (Measure 107) to allow the enactment of campaign contribution and spending limits at the state and local level. The vote for Measure 107 was 78% in favor, even stronger than the vote for Measure 9 in 1994.

In the wake of these victories, the drafters of IP 9 are well on their way to delivering a viable campaign finance proposal to Oregon voters. According to the summary of IP 9’s provisions approved by the Oregon Supreme Court, the initiative would limit contributions to candidates and political committees, limit the carry forward of unspent campaign funds after elections and require political advertisements to identify their top four funders, among other provisions.

If ever there was a more determined and singularly focused use of the initiative process to advance the will of the voters over the entrenched and dogged resistance of institutional interests, I can’t think of one. And, whatever one thinks of the mind-numbing details of campaign contribution limits and the risk of driving big money into the dark corners of independent expenditure campaigns, the reformers who brought us to this point deserve our respect.

Perhaps it is a kind of respect that they’re now getting from the Legislature. Lawmakers are not only paying attention, they’re trying to enact legislation that will give themselves a first mover advantage on an issue they’ve been resisting for decades.

In these election year legislative sessions, it’s not unusual for the governor and lawmakers to engage with the sponsors of competing ballot measures, broker compromises and enact legislation to avoid what are always called “costly ballot measure fights.” In other instances, they’ve joined those fights, by referring their own alternatives to the ballot.

But what’s happening this time is different. Backers of IP 9 don’t want to negotiate any changes; they’re confident that they’ll have the support of the voters in November. Meanwhile, lawmakers and their major donors aren’t interested in going head-to-head with IP 9 by sending their own measure to the ballot. Instead, by enacting their own proposal, legislators hope to convince voters that there’s nothing to see here anymore and it’s time to move on to other issues.

I’m not taking sides at this point on the merits of the Legislature’s plan (House Bill 4024-3) versus IP 9. But I do think voters deserve to consider any alternative proposal from the Legislature on equal ground with IP 9.

For now, it’s worth recognizing what has created this moment of legislative urgency and business-labor cooperation. As a spokesperson for Oregon Business and Industry, the state’s largest business group, told Oregon Public Broadcasting, “We think the current system, frankly, works just fine. But we’re responding to a reality where campaign finance reform is coming. The days of the current system are over.”

Give credit to the backers of IP 9 for creating that reality. And stay tuned for what’s likely to be the final battle in Oregon’s “30 Years War” over campaign finance reform in which the good government reformers once again take on the institutional insiders.

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Oregon

How Wisconsin Badgers logistically pulled off extended West Coast trip

Published

2 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

How Wisconsin Badgers logistically pulled off extended West Coast trip

Wisconsin has taken time zone changes into account when planning West Coast trips like the recent one to Oregon and Washington.
Oregon and Washington were ‘super hospitable’ to the Badgers when they were traveling from Feb. 23-28.
Wisconsin’s Lindsay Lovelace and Eli Wilke have done a “really good job” in their operations roles.

SEATTLE – Wisconsin men’s basketball’s day that ended with a resounding 90-73 win over Washington did not exactly have a resounding start.

After loading the bus at the team’s downtown Seattle hotel before the Feb. 28 game roughly four miles away at Alaska Airlines Arena, there was a slight issue.

The bus broke down.

But the Badgers had another bus and were only delayed “maybe 10, 15 minutes at the most.”

“All the managers and everybody moved all the bags onto the other bus,” said Lindsay Lovelace, Wisconsin’s assistant director of basketball operations. “So thankfully we had that second bus, and then the bus company did a really good job of getting us another one really fast.”

Wisconsin’s quick pivot was part of the extensive efforts that have gone into an extended road trip like what the Badgers recently concluded against Oregon and Washington.

“Knowing where we’re going, we reserve flights in July and August,” Lovelace said. “Once we finalize game times and stuff, then we can finalize our flight times and everything. And then I started booking hotels for every trip in September-ish, I would say – September, early in October.

“It kind of starts with those big pieces, and then about a month, month-and-a-half out, we start doing meals and scheduling with itineraries.”

The pair of West Coast games made for a six-day, five-night trip as the Badgers played at Oregon on Wednesday, Feb. 25, and at Washington on Saturday, Feb. 28. It was just UW’s second time this season staying on the road between road games, albeit not nearly as long as the 11-night stay in Salt Lake City and San Diego in the nonconference schedule.

“It seems like it’s a big trip, but it’s essentially just two trips, two days each basically,” said Eli Wilke, who is in his first season as Wisconsin’s operations coordinator after previously working as a graduate manager.

As UW did for the Salt Lake City/San Diego trip earlier in the season and the Los Angeles trip last season, the Badgers arrived two days before the first game instead of the typical one day for shorter road trips on the Big Ten schedule.

“We all decided that it’s just the best to get out there one night earlier, try and get their sleep adjusted as best as possible and then give them a day to sleep in and get up and then practice,” Lovelace said.

Lovelace, who has been in her role since 2021, had the benefit of leaning on last season’s Los Angeles trip and past postseason trips. But the Oregon-Washington trip marked the Badgers’ first road game at Washington since 1955, and it was the Badgers’ first regular-season road game at Oregon since 1990.

The Badgers did have a blueprint for traveling to Eugene following their 2023 NIT game against the Ducks. This trip naturally allowed for much more planning time, too, than a postseason game.

“I said to [UW general manager] Marc [VandeWettering], ‘I remember liking the hotel that we stayed at for the NIT,’” Lovelace said. “And he agreed. The food was good, and the setup they had was really good. It was pretty close to the arena.”

Lovelace also turned to her counterparts who work with Wisconsin football and volleyball, which have similarly been adjusting to the new Big Ten cities. UW volleyball made its first trip to Seattle during the 2025 season, and both UW football and volleyball played in Eugene.

“I talked to John [Richter, UW’s director of football operations] a little bit, but a lot with Jess Williams from volleyball,” Lovelace said. “And she kind of gave me some pointers on traffic and making sure you plan ahead for Seattle because traffic can be really busy at times.”

Wisconsin’s men’s basketball operations staff got a helping hand, too, from Oregon and Washington’s operations personnel.

“Especially with these West Coast trips, these teams are used to it now with these teams doubling up,” Wilke said. “Because they’re all super hospitable and trying to help us out.”

That hospitality includes everything from laundry service to logistical information such as parking and practice options.

Wisconsin secured two practice times in the two days leading up to the Wisconsin-Washington game at Alaska Airlines Arena. The Badgers practiced at Matthew Knight Arena in Oregon the day before and had a shootaround the day of the very late game.

The Badgers were at the mercy of whenever Alaska Airlines Arena was available, though, which turned out to be on a Thursday evening and Friday evening before a Saturday early-afternoon game.

“We know that we really have to be flexible on what they give us,” Lovelace said. “I think everybody wanted to practice at Alaska Airlines Arena. … If we wanted to have an earlier practice, we could have looked elsewhere for gym time, too.”

Washington provided laundry service for Wisconsin on the Badgers’ first night in Seattle. The courtesy is not something to be taken for granted either after what nearly happened when the Badgers traveled to San Diego.

“I was looking at all the laundromats,” Wilke said, following the suggestion of the tournament organizers.

That’s when Nick Boyd – UW’s team leader in points and assists – delivered a big off-the-court assist after playing with his connections at San Diego State, where he played in 2024-25 before transferring to the Badgers.

“Nick connected with one of his old managers, who connected with the current manager at San Diego State and helped connect us with their equipment person who was willing to help us out,” Wilke said. “We got lucky with Nick there.”

The extended trips often come with a larger travel party and the added responsibility of managing logistics for non-basketball excursions. The activities help “keep guys fresh and keep loose,” Wilke said.

The San Diego trip earlier in the season involved a visit at the zoo. The year before, Wisconsin went to an NBA game while in Los Angeles for the USC and UCLA games. This time, UW toured a joint military base in the Seattle-Tacoma region on Feb. 27.

This is Lovelace and Wilke’s first season spearheading Wisconsin’s men’s basketball operations together. VandeWettering was the team’s director of basketball operations for eight seasons before being promoted to a new general manager role in the summer.

UW then promoted Wilke to operations coordinator, all while he continues to finish his master’s degree in sports leadership. He has yet to miss an assignment although he does “cut it very close.” When Wisconsin played Iowa on Feb. 22, he had an assignment due that day.

“I was writing my paper as our guys were doing pregame warmup shots,” Wilke said. “One of the event staff was just laughing behind me because they saw me. I’m just typing away.”

Coordinating operations specifically at a place like Wisconsin “makes my life easier,” Wilke said.

“I don’t really have to worry about guys forgetting things because they’re pretty on top of it,” Wilke said. “I think that’s kind of how the culture of the program’s been over the last few years.”

Even when life is not so easy – an already-loaded bus uncharacteristically breaking down might be one of the top examples – UW’s operations duo has earned rave reviews.

“There’s a lot of moving parts, and there’s going to be hiccups,” VandeWettering said. “And I think you just got to understand that there are going to be things beyond your control, and you just got to be able to roll with it. I think they’ve both done a really good job of continuing to do that to the best of their ability.”

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Oregon

Oregon Lottery Pick 4 results for March 1

Published

14 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

The Oregon Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at March 1, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Pick 4 numbers from March 1 drawing

1PM: 4-1-6-1

4PM: 6-5-5-6

7PM: 2-1-9-9

10PM: 6-2-5-4

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the Oregon Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 7:59 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 7:59 p.m. on Tuesday and Friday.
Pick 4: 1 p.m., 4 p.m., 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. daily.
Win for Life: 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Megabucks: 7:29 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by an Oregon editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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Oregon

Editorial: A legislative ‘solution’ that only creates more loopholes

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Editorial: A legislative ‘solution’ that only creates more loopholes

Legislators are bypassing a straightforward solution that would help ski resorts and other recreational providers stave off lawsuits claiming minor negligence and instead are overcomplicating the picture, the editorial board writes. Lawmakers should follow the example of other states rather than create its own path.

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