So between just the those two alone the taxpayers will have shelled out $800K?

Now that's money well spent.

Portland is a joke!!!! Happy, voters????

I now see why you guys were so against VOE, and I agree.

In that race, five candidates (Fritz, Lewis, Smith, Branam, and Bissonnette) got about $150,000 each in the primary, plus this additional $400,000, for a total of a cool $1.15 million. Throw in Middaugh's $150,000, and you're up to $1.3 million.

What a waste.

I view that that as legalized municipal crime.

And it just shows are far gone the judgement and ethics of the sitting politicians are.

Anyone who thinks this is an improvement to our democratic election process has some equally poor judgement.

I wonder how bad this would be beaten into oblivion if ever it was given a public vote?

Perhaps Mayor Sam will put it to a vote?

Why would Sam allow something to chance defeat that his friends have used to get elected?

The only "friend of Sam" to win with VOE funds was the chief architect of VOE (and now retired commissioner) Erik Sten.

Ben,

I believe it's less than $700,000 that will be spent on Fritz and Lewis following the general election ($145k x 2 + $200k x 2). Not $800,000 but not exactly chump change.

This is what a Meritocracy looks like.

Anybody who observed Amanda Fritz's style on the Planning Commission knows that she loves to her herself talk. She probably talked as much as all the other commissioners combined no matter what the issue.

1.3 million dollars...500,000 people in the city of Portland... about $2.60 per Portland citizen to hold an election that allows civically engaged citizens to avoid being under the puppet strings of big business interests and to get their butts on the streets, campaigning...possibly reducing the number of pork projects doled out by the city council..

I'm willing to make that investment, Jack. Perhaps that pork project might someday be another Tram that you'd love to fight, that a potentially elected Charles Lewis would be able to denounce without fears of losing money for his next campaign.

just sayin'.

500,000 people didn't participate by voting: they only participated by picking up the tab (despite never having been asked to do so).

On a per vote received basis, the also rans paid about $12/vote.

Does a crowded field of political neophytes benefit Portland? I don't see how.

Private fundraising is a much better way of weeding out the pretenders from the contenders.

I believe that in 2010 the Portland voters will have a chance to vote on whether they want VOE to continue. Want to bet the "NO" votes win in a landslide?

Amand atalks so much she is incapable of listening....or of speaking truth when she talks.

possibly reducing the number of pork projects doled out by the city council..

I used to think anything's "possible," but come on, "clean money" makes this problem much worse. Middaugh and Smith were municipal bankruptcy artists in the making.