Legislators to introduce bill that would limit donations to all port campaigns

Two Democratic state lawmakers plan to introduce a bill that would cap campaign donations for port races after the Port of Vancouver commissioner campaigns collected $650,000 in contributions from two organizations.

State Reps. Sharon Wylie and Monica Stonier, both from Vancouver, announced their plan last week.

According to their news release, the Legislature already enacted limits for the Port of Seattle and the Port of Tacoma commissioner races, but left all other port races uncapped.

“That is a loophole large enough to steer an oil tanker through,” Stonier said in a press release. “Contribution limits force candidates to seek broad support from the community and help to ensure all voices can be heard in our democratic process.”

Under current law, contribution limits are only in place for port commission races with 200,000 or more registered voters in the district; only Seattle and Tacoma meet that threshold. The proposed legislation would impose the same $2,000 contribution limit on individuals, businesses and organizations on all port races, regardless of size of district.

“How can the public be assured there will be no conflicts of interest when a candidate’s campaign can be almost single-handedly bankrolled by a single donor?” Wylie said in the press release. “Most races for public office, including mine, are subject to contribution limits. It’s clear, based on what we’ve seen in our local port commissioner race, that contribution limits should apply statewide.”

The Legislature will convene Jan. 8.

This story was originally published November 12, 2017 at 4:21 AM with the headline "Legislators to introduce bill that would limit donations to all port campaigns."