SEPTEMBER 14, 2016
Portland and Seattle Volume XXXVIII No. 50
25
CENTS
News .............................. 3,9-10 A & E .................................... 6-8
Opinion ...................................2 Seria Cease-ire ...............9
Calendars ........................... 4-5 Bids/Classiieds ....................11
CHALLENGING PEOPLE TO SHAPE A BETTER FUTURE NOW
PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER PHAN VIA WIKIME-
DIA COMMONS (GNU FREE LICENSE)
CAMPAIGN FINANCE
Oregon voters have until Oct. 18 to register to vote.
Washington voters have until Oct. 10 to register
online or through the mail, but can register in
person through Oct. 31.
In Oregon, voters must
register by Oct. 18; in
Washington, by Oct. 10
The Skanner News Staf
T
he 2016 election is eight weeks
away, and Oregon voters receive
their ballots in six weeks (and
must mail them by Nov. 3 if voting
by mail, or submit by 8 p.m. Nov. 8 if vis-
iting a dropbox) — but it’s not too early
to check on one’s registration status.
Last year the Oregon legislature
passed a law making voting registra-
tion automatic for anyone who’s had
contact with the state’s Department of
Motor Vehicles — whether to get a li-
cense or renew it, or apply for a state
AP PHOTO/ANDREW HARNIK, FILE
See VOTING on page 3
In this Sept. 11, 2016 ile photo, Democratic
presidential candidate Hillary Clinton waves after
leaving an apartment building in New York. Hillary
Clinton’s doctor says she is recovering from her
pneumonia and remains “healthy and it to serve as
President of the United States.”
World News
Briefs
page 10
Kam Reviews ‘Sully’
page 6
PHOTO BY ARASHI YOUNG
Voter
Registration
Deadlines,
Events Loom
Commissioner Amanda Fritz held a forum at Matt Dishman Community Center on publicly-inanced elections. The proposed plan would match small
donations, up to $50, at a six to one rate.
Fritz Proposes Public Campaign Finance Plan
Advocates say the program would make it easier for minorities to run
Arashi Young
Of The Skanner News
P
ortland City Commis-
sioner Amanda Fritz
wants to bring back
publicly
inanced
elections through a new
campaign funding sys-
tem. Under the proposal,
small donations would be
matched six times -- ampli-
fying the contributions of
average voters.
Fritz held a forum on the
plan last Thursday in the
Matt Dishman Communi-
ty Center auditorium. She
opened her remarks with a
call to action to increase di-
versity in the Portland City
Council.
“We’ve had two people
of color on council in 164
years. We’ve had seven
women on the council in
164 years, and that is not
relective of the values we
hold,” Fritz said.
Under the proposed plan,
every donation from $5
to $50 would be matched
by public funds at six to
one rate — a $50 donation
would efectively turn
into a $350 contribution.
Money to match donations
comes out of the City of
Portland general fund. To
participate, candidates opt
into the matching funds
program and then commit
to not accept any donations
over $250.
Before receiving these
funds, city commission-
er candidates will have to
have collected $2,500 from
250 individuals. Mayoral
candidates need to have
$5,000 collected from 500
people.
Candidates who use
this program have spend-
ing limits; city council
hopefuls can spend up to
$250,000 in the primary
and $300,000 in the gen-
eral election. Those run-
ning for mayor can spend
$380,000 in the primary
and $570,000 for the gener-
al election.
Fritz said that she hopes
to have the proposal in
front of city council for a
vote before the end of the
year.
This would be the second
time the City of Portland
has publicly-inanced elec-
tions. In 2005, the council
voted for a program that
would give a lump sum to
council candidates who
had collected 1,000 signa-
tures and $5 donations.
In 2006, council hopeful
Emilie Boyles defrauded
the program, violating
election laws with falsi-
ied signatures and inap-
propriate spending — in-
See CAMPAIGNS on page 3
IntersectFest II Opens Thursday
Organizer Anna Vo talks about arts festival,
which centers and celebrates people of color
By Christen McCurdy
Of The Skanner News
L
ast fall a small group of organiz-
ers decided to put together a
Portland arts festival focused
speciically on work by people of
color. Now that festival is entering its
second year.
IntersectFest II — a festival of art,
self-publishing and do-it-yourself
and punk culture, organized by peo-
ple of color — kicks of Thursday
with a dance circle and an inter-trib-
al art and ilm festival at Ford Food
and Drink in southeast Portland. The
festival continues through Sunday
with events ranging from a Friday
comedy show at Ford Food and Drink,
and hip-hip and punk shows. The lat-
ter will be headlined by Breathing
Light, an all-Black punk band from
Chicago who, according to organizer
See INTERSECTFEST on page 3
Chicago punk band The Breathing Light will
headline a punk show Saturday night featuring
bands primarily composed of people of color.
The show is part of IntersectFest II, an arts
festival organized for and by people of color.