Oregonian Editorial Board Snubs Small-Dollar Candidates
After trying to quash small-donor financing in 2016, The Oregonian editorial board refuses to interview top recipients of small-donor funds
Readers likely received The Oregonian’s recent endorsements of employer-friendly, corporate-backed City Council candidates with little surprise.
After all, the newspaper’s editorial board has, over its 175-year existence, endorsed a KKK-backed gubernatorial winner, greenlit Chamber of Commerce-led mobs trying to (unsuccessfully) break the great 1934 Longshore strike, lauded federal incarceration of people of Japanese descent — and endorsed a Republican presidential candidate every election until 1992.
It’s more intriguing to see a gap open up between the Editorial Board’s hardline support for ruling-class priorities and reporting by the paper’s own news staff.
Oddly, the editorial bosses refused to even interview the top recipients of small-donor contributions in District 3 and 4 (Tiffany Koyama Lane and Mitch Green, both backed by Portland DSA).
Koyama Lane is also the top overall recipient of small-donor funds across the entire city — putting her ahead of all 78 city council/mayoral candidates participating in the small-donor program.
The Oregonian’s contempt for working-class political action isn’t new here, either. The Editorial Board opposed both the 2016 small-donor campaign finance resolution and the 2023 voter-led government charter reform measure. Respectively, these bills launched the small-donor financing program and overhauled Portland’s Jim Crow-era city government. The Oregonian also lobbied against passage of ranked-choice voting, which threatens to upend the corporate-backed status quo in City Hall.
In contrast, the newspaper’s journalists apparently see something different brewing in city politics. The paper’s October 9 edition featured a front-page article overviewing the 30+ candidates running in District 3.
Koyama Lane was above-the-fold:
“People are sick of finger pointing,” said Tiffany Koyama Lane, a third grade teacher and union organizer who currently leads the citywide field in money raised by a prospective city councilor. “They really want the government to get it together.”
Portland DSA’s backing was noted as well:
“Koyama Lane has been endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America — one of two Portland City Council candidates to get that nod. She said that while it was hard to participate with two elementary age kids at home, the 2023 teacher strike showed her the power of collective action.”
Similarly, an October 1 X.com (formerly Twitter) post by staff reporter Shane Dixon Kavanaugh heralded Portland DSA’s unprecedented canvassing operation on behalf of Koyama Lane and Green, at a time when most other candidates are struggling to get doors knocked:
It is no surprise to us that our candidates would uniquely attract regular people to back their campaigns. After all, both Tiffany and Mitch demonstrate a strong commitment to our vision of a city run by the working class, not bosses, landlords, and big corporations.
Portlanders are worked to the bone just to keep a roof over their heads, and that won’t change with tepid “reforms” drawn up in consultants’ board rooms. Tiffany and Mitch will bring the power of our movement to fight for what we all deserve: guaranteed quality housing, plentiful public services, and a beautiful, livable environment.
Reliable as they are, we can expect the Portland Business Alliance-affiliated Oregonian to advocate for its interests. But it’s clear working-class Portlanders, over-represented among the small-donor rolls, want something different.
Contribute $10 or more (split between Tiffany and Mitch) to have your money matched 9:1
