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Oregon Gov. Kate Brown

(Michael Lloyd)

What happens when the "progressive" majority in Oregon politics is offered a progressive solution to the problem of unlimited campaign contributions?

We're about to find out.

Progressives hold several "truths" to be self-evident:

The U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 decision in Citizens United gave corporations free rein to buy elections. The Koch Brothers' cash is uniquely corrosive. And the sanctity of free speech is more essential in Oregon than any limits on campaign contributions.

But Common Cause Oregon and Kate Brown - in her former life as Secretary of State - have helped to arrange a provocative forum on money and power at the state Capitol.

And it will be fascinating to see if the Legislature's Democratic leadership and benefactors maneuver to sabotage the proceedings and maintain the status quo.

On April 21, the Senate Committee on Rules - chaired by Diane Rosenbaum, the majority leader - will hold a hearing on legislation that would refer to the voters a constitutional amendment authorizing limits on contributions to candidates.

Oregon has no such restrictions. When Nike's Phil Knight gives $250,000 to John Kitzhaber's 2014 re-election campaign, it's all good.

That this Senate hearing was even scheduled speaks to the uneasiness over that. Big money not only governs elections, but demeans and discourages the average voter. "The individual voter feels his vote no longer counts," says Tom Bowerman. "They don't have access. No one is listening to them."

Bowerman - the son of Bill Bowerman, Nike's co-founder - is an earnest environmentalist. Last September, he sat down in Eugene with Kate Titus, the executive director of Common Cause Oregon, and Jeff Lang, a Portland insurance broker, to brainstorm on contribution limits.

Common Cause is a national public-interest group that has long sought to illuminate the impact of money in politics. Titus knew Brown, then Secretary of State, wanted to submit bills on contribution limits during the 2015 session, and hoped to provide input.

"It's is a very complicated topic," Bowerman concedes. "It revolves around federal statutes, federal constitutional issues, Oregon constitutional issues, and Oregon political realities."

Those realities include a passion for Article 1 Section 8 of the Oregon Constitution, an ardor shared by voters and the Oregon Supreme Court. The court has argued, most recently in 2012, that limits on contributions violate our free-speech protections.

In Senate Joint Resolution 5, Brown attempted a different approach. She asked the Legislature to offer voters the chance to amend Article II, which allows the Legislature to enact laws to regulate elections.

That puts the Democratic leadership -- including Brown -- in something of a bind.

Playing by the current rules, Democrats rule the roost. The Republicans can't figure out where to gather for their winter convention, much less win a state-wide office. So what if 68 percent of Kitzhaber's contributions in 2014 came from less than six percent of his donors?

Why fiddle with a winning formula?

Let's see: Because we're still reeling from Kitzhaber's resignation? Because Gov. Kate Brown is concerned about "trust in state government?" Because guys like Ron Eachus believe American democracy is in peril?

"Looking at campaign finance in the short-term, and how it benefits you, is a fool's errand," says Eachus, a former PUC commissioner who's on board with Common Cause.

On April 21, Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, D-Beaverton, will testify in favor of allowing Oregon voters to consider contribution limits.

"I'm strongly supportive of this," Steiner Hayward says. "I think American politics have been taken out of the hands of the average voter, the average citizen, by Big Money. We have to level the playing field. I know that it's tough, but I hope that by limiting campaign contributions across the board, we can spend less money on elections and more on things that make a direct difference in people's lives."

A progressive notion, that. What are the odds that it rules the day?

-- Steve Duin

sduin@oregonian.com

503-221-8597; @SteveDuin