A coalition of labor unions has formed a new political action committee (PAC) to advocate for pro-worker candidates for Portland’s new 12-seat City Council. Working for a Better Portland PAC, helmed by the Northwest Oregon Labor Council (NOLC), is starting out with $10,000 each from the labor council, the Portland firefighters union PAC, and Laborers Local 737’s PAC.
NOLC executive secretary-treasurer Laurie Wimmer said Working for a Better Portland will make independent expenditures to try to elect pro-worker candidates.
Independent expenditure campaigns allow supporters of a candidate to financially help their odds without running into campaign finance limits. Independent expenditures can pay for communications like direct mailers or TV advertisements, but the spender isn’t allowed to coordinate with the candidate about how it will use its funds.
Other labor groups are expected to cut checks to the PAC, Wimmer said.
The PAC will also educate voters on the new ranked-choice voting system so they fill out their ballots correctly.
“Because this is the first time we’ve ever done it in Portland, there’s a lot of room for misunderstanding and error. So we’re hoping that the work that we do will help voters not make those kinds of mistakes,” Wimmer said. “We’ll try to help them understand who the best are to vote for, and also how to cast that ballot correctly.”
