Sources: Kafoury still taking contributions, but can't be re-elected

Plus, plans to abolish single-family zoning are proving controversial wherever they're tried and which parties had the highest returns for the 2018 general election.

Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury continues to collect campaign contributions after winning re-election in the May 2018 primary, even though she cannot run for re-election again because of the two-term limit specified by the Multnomah County Charter.

Kafoury was first elected chair in May 2014. According to the most recent filing with the Oregon Secretary of State's Office, since this year's May 15 primary election, Kafoury has reported receiving over $1,900 in contributions. Her committee did not need the money. She finished the primary with a surplus, and donated $19,000 to other campaigns during the general election.

Kafoury says the contributions since the primary were not solicited and have come mostly from organizations who endorsed her re-election. She has been mentioned as a potential Democratic candidate for Oregon governor in 2022. Kafoury says she's focused on her current job.

Infill plans generate conflict

Plans to abolish single-family zoning are proving controversial wherever they're tried.

In Portland, the Residential Infill Project recommendations, intended to encourage smaller multifamily projects in 96 percent of existing single-family neighborhoods, has both supporters and opponents, while the City Council's underlying push for more so-called missing middle housing is being challenged in court.

The Minneapolis City Council recently abolished single-family zoning with a new land-use plan, but not before it drew 7,000 public comments and two lawsuits that were dismissed by a judge just before the vote. it is called Minneapolis 2040.

And in Seattle, a coalition of six neighborhood groups has mounted a legal challenge to a rezoning plan intended to create a greater range of lower-priced housing in that city. The Seattle Coalition for Affordability, Livability and Equity claims Seattle's mandatory housing affordability plan will make the city more unaffordable and less diverse.

Which parties had the highest turnout?

Participation by Independent Party of Oregon members may have suffered in the 2018 general election because their candidate for governor withdrew and endorsed Democratic incumbent Kate Brown about two weeks before Election Day.

Despite achieving major party status, IPO turnout was 70.5 percent, which was well below the 81 percent achieved by Democrats and Republicans, according to state elections officials. It also was below the 73 percent achieved by the Pacific Green Party, which had the highest turnout of any minor party.

Only 45 percent of nonaffilitated voters returned their ballots, suggesting an enthusiasm gap among voters automatically regisistered under the state's "motor voter" law, where that is the de facto classification if they don't select a party.