[Portland, OR] – Today, Democratic nominee for Governor Tina Kotek hosted a roundtable discussion on campaign finance reform and repeated her call to get big money out of politics.
In stark contrast, Republican candidate Christine Drazan is bankrolled by billionaire Phil Knight, who has already spent nearly $7 million this cycle in an effort to single-handedly turn Oregon into a red state.
Tiffany Muller, the leader of End Citizens United, also called out Drazan for getting support from the president of the very company that led the U.S. Supreme Court to declare that money is speech and corporations are people: Citizens United. Last week, Drazan accepted $5,000 from David Bossie, the head of Citizens United and a former top advisor to Donald Trump:
“So, if there’s one thing I can leave you with: the head of Citizens United supports Drazan, End Citizens United has endorsed Kotek because she is going to fight to change these laws and protect democracy.”
Today’s conversation also included: Nathalie Paravicini, Pacific Green Party of Oregon Steering Committee Member, former candidate for Oregon governor; Jason Kafoury, Honest Elections Oregon; and Jay Costa, Executive Director, Voters Right to Know.
“Corporate special interests, corporate polluters, and a single, conservative billionaire, are spending millions of dollars to influence our election and turn Oregon red,”said Katie Wertheimer, communications director. “Let’s be really clear here: their goal is to elect Christine Drazan and turn Oregon into a red state. We can’t let them get away with it.”