ACLU claims campaign to reform Measure 110 broke finance laws

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – The ACLU of Oregon filed a complaint with the Oregon Secretary of State's office on Friday, claiming the Coalition to Fix and Improve Measure 110 campaign violated multiple state campaign finance and transparency laws.

Among their concerns, the ACLU claims the coalition -- which is behind multiple initiative petitions -- has been spending campaign money since October on at least two petitions without filing the required statement of organization or forming a petition committee despite a requirement for campaigns to file the information within three days of spending campaign funds.

Additionally, the complaint alleges that the coalition failed to report $30,000 in expenditures on the most active petitions -- the same ones without a committee or statement of organization -- which the ACLU says is "obscuring the actual beneficiary of the political spending."

“Transparency is critical in a free and fair democracy. This campaign is richly funded by large corporate donors and billionaires and led by a former chief of the Oregon prison system who also was a state legislator, former head of the House Judiciary Committee, and lawyer. It is deeply concerning that a group like this with the resources to pay for the best lawyers and accounting services would show such indifference for Oregon laws and voters. Instead, they are carelessly forcing their political agenda through our state’s political processes to pressure Oregon to return to the failed war on drugs – to criminalize user-level drug addiction even though this tactic is not a real solution to solving homelessness, drug addiction or poverty and will significantly harm Black and brown people and low-income people," said Sandy Chung, executive director of the ACLU of Oregon.

"At best, this is utter disregard for our election laws, and at worst it’s a demonstration that this campaign thinks it is above the law," Chung continued. “I hope the Secretary of State investigates this issue quickly and creates accountability accordingly."

In response to the complaint, Paige Richardson, a strategist for the Coalition to Fix and Improve Measure 110 said “The committee appreciates the ACLU of Oregon bringing this administrative error to our attention. We are strong supporters of transparency, and efforts are underway to make the necessary corrections."

The initiative would modify voter-approved Measure 110 by prohibiting the use of hard drugs in public places, making possession of lethal drugs (like fentanyl, meth and heroin) a crime again, and would replace voluntary treatment with required addiction treatment and prioritize diversion and treatment over prosecution and jail.

The writers of the initiative say a key component following successful treatment is clearing a person’s criminal record, so it doesn’t haunt them later in life.

The measure would maintain using cannabis taxes for addiction treatment, but it would also expand penalties for drug dealing.

“The purpose here is not to criminalize addiction. That’s not what we are looking to do. What we are looking to do is to give the community public safety tools they need that simultaneously create a pathway and a roadmap for people who are dealing with addiction, to have the motivation to actually seek treatment and recovery,” said Max Williams, a former state lawmaker with the Coalition to Fix and Improve Measure 110.