A handful of registered Democrats vying for seats in local government are backed by donors who have also supported Republicans and Portland conservatives. That’s according to state data collected and presented in a new web project called Who’s Buying PDX.
The project, compiled by Kaliko Castille, came together quickly last weekend. It’s part of the ongoing democracy tools he’s been building for the past year that utilize AI to parse through campaign finance data. Castille is the civic engagement director at the Asian-led advocacy organization APANO, but worked on the project in his personal capacity. He told the Mercury he’s been ruminating on the patterns he noticed in campaign finance data that suggested Republicans were supporting centrist Portland candidates to put progressive candidates on their heels.
“What we’re seeing is that the liberal moderates are the ones who are actually doing all of the attacking, and then teaming up with the same entities—whether it’s business organizations or people who also support and finance the Republican side,” Castille told the Mercury. “The progressives and the socialists of the world are trying to build a solidarity framework and movement, and we have a bunch of people in the moderate camp who are actually undermining that by using the framing of the Republicans.”
The Mercury analyzed the backend data that supports the site, as well as documents outlining the development process. The data is available for download on the site.
Over the weekend, Castille reviewed state campaign finance data and built the Who’s Buying PDX website—with the Anthropic AI model Claude. It does not include Portland’s Small Donor Elections program data, which does not have individual donor data readily available.
With the use of AI programming, Castille tracked contributions from 132 households—245 Portland conservative donors merged into 132 households using reported street addresses—to six current candidates who are backed by business interests. That includes Multnomah County chair candidate Julia Brim-Edwards, District 3 candidates Steve Novick and Kellie Torres, and District 4 candidates Eli Arnold, Eric Zimmerman, and Olivia Clark.
The result makes the allegiances visible in a flow chart on the homepage, demonstrating how the money has moved from donors to more conservative candidates. Castille said knowing where the political alliances are is important in a state predominantly run by Democrats, where primary elections are rarely competitive. “Insiders usually beat outsiders,” the website reads. And Portland city government is nonpartisan, making it easier for candidates to obfuscate where allegiances lie.
“This sort of donor data helps us actually illuminate that web of connections in a way that we otherwise just assume, all these people are progressive,” Castille said. “Because if you’re framing yourself as a practical progressive, who are we to say you’re not? Unless we have some data otherwise.”
Metro Chamber PAC is a major player in local campaign funding
Many donations Castille tracked run through the Portland Metro Chamber’s political action committee (PAC) United for Portland Action Fund. United for Portland has redirected nearly all its $412,000 this cycle to closely related PACs like Coalition for Portland’s Future. That PAC is run by the same two people as United for Portland: Director Doug Moore, and the Metro Chamber’s prolific lobbyist, Jon Isaacs.
United for Portland is also the main funder of a recent billboard campaign that is facing a state elections law complaint alleging the organization created three new PACs for the sole purpose of buying political billboards and obscuring the funding sources.
Another major contributor, the Swickard Management Co., contributed $150,000 to United for Portland in August and September this year. State records show another $50,000 contribution in October as well, which is not included on Who’s Buying PDX.
Jeff Swickard, who has recently acquired a number of downtown properties including Big Pink, Five Oak Building, and Park Avenue West, said in an email to the Mercury that his political contributions are in the interest of animal welfare, public safety, and affordability. He has contributed $100,000 to Tina Kotek’s campaign, and has not donated to Christine Drazan.
Swickard said those issues are personal to him.
“Animals cannot speak for themselves, and I believe our compassion for them should never be defined by politics,” Swickard said. “I love Portland and care deeply about its future. I support people and causes across the political spectrum who share my hope for a better city.”
Swickard said he wants Portland to be a place where families can afford to stay, businesses can thrive, and everyone feels safe, welcomed, and hopeful about the future.
“No political party has all the answers,” Swickard said. “We need more people willing to listen, find common ground, and work together. I’m investing in Portland because I believe in its people, and my political contributions come from that same place. I simply want to do my small part to help a city I love thrive again.”
While the use of AI remains controversial and has been known to “hallucinate” inaccuracies, the Who’s Buying PDX site defines how it sorted donors, and why.
A “GOP donor” is defined as a contributor who gave to one of 25 Republican-aligned candidates, caucuses, or party committees since 2006. In addition to direct contributions to county Republican central committees, that includes Governor-hopefuls Drazan and Chris Dudly; state legislators Jeff Helfrich, Kim Thatcher, Tim Knopp and others; and Republican funding committees like Bring Balance to Salem PAC, and Evergreen Oregon PAC.
“Portland conservative” donors are defined as those who gave to at least one of six recent right-leaning campaigns: former mayoral hopeful Rene Gonzalez; his 2022 Portland Accountability PAC; Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez; Partnership for Progress, Go Portland Go founder and former Multnomah County board candidate Vadim Mozyrsky; former mayor and county commissioner candidate Sam Adams, and Washington County Commissioner and chair candidate Pam Treece. The list only includes those who supported business-backed candidates and did not support any progressive councilors currently running for office.
Where those contributions overlap is what Castille’s project elucidates.
“For most people, if you’re aligned with Christine Drazan and giving to a [Portland] City Council candidate, there should be some questions about whether that City Council candidate has the full range of the progressive movement in mind when they’re making decisions,” Castille said.
Candidates respond to the data
The data shows there is virtually no crossover from those who contribute to GOP or Portland conservative campaigns and those who contribute to their progressive challengers. That’s particularly true in Portland City Council District 4—downtown, Eastmoreland, Sellwood—where incumbent candidates Clark and Zimmerman, and progressive Mitch Green are trying to hold their seats. Arnold, a Portland bike cop, is also running in the district, and progressive candidates Jamey Evenstar, Jeremy Beausoleil Smith, and others are looking to shake up the district’s representation on Council.
But of those candidates, Zimmerman sees the most contributions from those who also give to GOP committees or conservative candidates. State campaign finance records show that since 2023, 52 percent of Zimmerman’s 254 individual donors who have given him more than $100 also gave to Republican campaigns or other Portland conservatives.
Zimmerman, a registered Democrat, said in an email to the Mercury that he has the most endorsements of any candidate, and enjoyed broad support across the political spectrum, including labor unions, in both his previous and current campaign. He said the city’s new charter, ranked choice voting systems and Small Donor Elections program were designed to guard against any one group or ideology having a hold on elected leaders.
“I’m proud to be a big tent candidate,” Zimmerman said. “I focus on the biggest issues facing Portland, and the support I’ve earned shows that.”
Arnold is right behind Zimmerman, with 49 percent of his 83 individual donors over $100 also contributing to GOP or conservative campaigns since 2023. In a text message to the Mercury, Arnold said the numbers represent just a small portion of his overall support, particularly when factoring in the Small Donor Elections program.
“I believe that the campaign message has broad appeal,” Arnold said. “Everybody should be able to support affordability, public safety, and a thriving economy. I also think people like that I have on the ground experience. Looking at these numbers I don’t see any real indication of significant conservative support.”
Clark finds that 37 percent of her 292 individual donors who meet the threshold have also supported conservatives. Clark did not respond to the Mercury’s requests for comment at the time of publishing.
In District 3, which covers Southeast Portland, two incumbent candidates—Tiffany Koyama Lane and Angelita Morillo, both democratic socialists—are trying to hold onto their seats. The business class—like Go Portland Go, and Metro Chamber-aligned PACs—have coalesced around more moderate candidates to shift power at City Hall.
Torres, a current Portland Parks & Recreation employee and former chief of staff to Councilor Dan Ryan who brands herself as practical and progressive, received donations of at least $100 from 201 individual donors, and 45 percent of those have contributed to conservative campaigns.
“I’m proud to have earned broad support of Portlanders who want meaningful change in City Hall,” Torres said in an email to the Mercury Tuesday. “Most of our donors are Portland residents giving through the Small Donor Elections program, which certified our campaign based on strong local support.”
Novick, who is also running for reelection in District 3 alongside Koyama Lane and Morillo, is often a swing vote. The data suggests business interests find him closer to the middle as well, with a comparatively low 31 percent of the $100 donors since 2023 coming from historically conservative donors. But compared with his election in 2024, conservative donations have jumped from just 19 percent to 40 percent in this year’s election.
In an email, Novick told the Mercury he and his colleagues brought the Small Donor Elections program to reality in 2016—something he said has “made DSA a far bigger player than they otherwise would be and now they think I’m the enemy.” He said he doesn’t screen every contribution to see who else they gave to, but when he finds one that could be a conflict of interest, he returns it.
“I think what’s happened this year is that just as the DSA is attacking all non-DSA candidates, some people in ‘the business community’ are more organized than they were last time to give to all non-DSA candidates,” Novick said. “So I guess some people are giving to me because of that.”
Conservative donors in Multnomah County race
Brim-Edwards, who is running for Multnomah County chair against Shannon Singleton and Sharon Meieran, has raked in 468 individual donors. Of those, 46 percent have also donated to conservatives, according to the site’s data. Two of Singleton’s donors have been linked to Republicans and Portland conservatives.
Tony Morse, Brim-Edwards’ campaign manager, said in a statement to the Mercury that she has received contributions from a broad range of people who “appreciate her long list of progressive accomplishments.”
“The reason is clear: people across the ideological spectrum agree that the next Multnomah County Chair has to end the dysfunction to deliver on what our community urgently needs, and they see Julia as the candidate with the experience, priorities and competence to get that job done,” Morse said.
But for Castille, the progressive wing of the party is “where the juice is,” meaning they’re bringing in new voters, making connections, and growing a movement.
“That is a threat to the power centers that run the Democratic Party in this state, and that is why they are being attacked,” Castille said. “Not because they’re wrong or because they’re popular— because they are popular and they’re right.”
