City Auditor’s Office finds Sarah Silkie violated City’s campaign finance law by omitting disclaimer on newspaper advertisement, issues Letter of Warning and Education

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 28, 2024

Contact:

Deborah Scroggin, Elections Division Manager

Today, the City of Portland Auditor’s Office issued a determination following an investigation into a complaint that Sarah Silkie’s campaign, Portlanders for Sarah Silkie, violated campaign finance law. On October 14, 2024, the City Elections Division, a Division within the Auditor’s Office, issued a complaint alleging that Sarah Silkie’s campaign had violated Portland campaign finance law – which is enforced by the Auditor’s Office – for not disclosing required disclaimer information on a campaign advertisement circulated in a local newspaper, The Bee.

Silkie is a candidate for City Council for District No. 4 in the November 5, 2024, General Election. The Elections Division issued the complaint after receiving notification from Silkie that the disclaimer had been unintentionally omitted from the advertisement. When the Auditor’s Office has reason to believe that a City Charter campaign finance violation has occurred, it is required to issue a complaint.

After an investigation, the Election’s Division found evidence of two violations of campaign finance regulations. All communications requiring a disclaimer must include the name(s) of all political committees, individuals, or entities that paid to either provide or present the communication and the names of the top five dominant contributors. The Elections Officer determined that the Portlanders for Sarah Silkie campaign advertisement did not comply with the disclaimer requirements by omitting both the political committee and its dominant contributor. The Auditor’s Office and has issued a Letter of Warning and Education for the campaign’s self-reporting, cooperation, and lack of previous violations, as detailed in the determination letter.

More information about the City’s campaign regulations can be found in City Charter Chapter 3, Article 3 Section 3-303 and Portland City Code Title 2, Chapter 2.10.030. The determination letter for Complaint No. 2024-07-SS is posted on the City Elections Division website.