We have some major and exciting news to share.
Last night, the Portland City Council voted to establish the Clean Elections program! It was approved by voters last November, but the City Council had to workshop and plan the details for how it would work. Similar to what we recommended in our memo, the Council adopted the ordinance that closely mirrors the Maine Clean Election Act. This Charter modification will go into effect in time for the November 2023 election, and the modification also includes an ordinance prohibiting foreign contributions. 🎉🎉
This ordinance sets up a strong Clean Elections program, ensuring that Portlanders of all walks of life can run for office without having to be beholden to special interests. Voters can trust that candidates who use the Clean Elections funding will have reason to put the needs of their constituents first.
What comes next?
With the new program in place, we encourage all candidates for mayor, city council, and school board to run Clean, and Portland voters to donate $5 qualifying contributions to candidates that you support. With strong participation from candidates and citizens, Clean Elections will make our city better and ensure all voters' voices matter!
Ahead of the November 2023 election, we plan to launch a voter education series in an effort to inform Portlanders about the program, how it works, how they can use it to run for office, and/or how they can support their preferred Clean Elections candidates. Want to support our work? Consider contributing $5-25 today. Contributions like these help fund our election education materials, which are always nonpartisan, unbiased, and voter-focused.
We would like to thank the City Council, staff, and Perkins Thompson attorneys for their hard work in developing this policy, and we would especially like to thank Councilor Anna Trevorrow for her leadership in securing support for the final proposal.
Thank you for your support of Clean Elections in Portland!