González said the campaign-spending limits "are not currently in force and were not in force at the time of the filing, nor were they in force at the time of the cited contributions," and that these portions of the code "have been ruled unconstitutional by the Multnomah County Circuit Court." The latter was echoed in the auditor's office initial letter to the candidates—which seemed to acknowledge that until the limits are upheld in court, they can't be enforced.