Medford-Jackson County Chamber mired in money and controversy

ChamberPAC solidifies its role as partisan political heavyweight.  

The Chamber of Medford/Jackson County PAC made the front page of the Mail Tribune. They got it for being a Republican money campaign conduit. 

The PAC is in the big time now. They are players in the Swamp.

Chamber PAC under scrutiny

The ChamberPAC leaders surely knew that their contributions and expenditures would be subject to question when they entered the big time of political operations. Prior to the Jordan Cove gifts to the PAC of $70,000, the ChamberPAC generally received relatively small contributions from easily identifiable local businesses and individuals, which, after due consideration of both Democratic and Republican candidates, they then gave to the Republican.

It didn't get a lot of attention.

Then the ChamberPAC got the windfall from the Jordan Cove Pipeline owners, which the Chamber promptly re-gifted. That raised the stakes and made them part of the scrutiny being given the Jessica Gomez/Jeff Golden State Senate race, and to the secret mailings done by the upstate PACs.

The effect of money in Oregon politics is a dividing issue between the two candidates. 

Jeff Golden has said that big money interest group contributions are inherently corrupting. He refuses PAC money. Still, some PACs want to support Golden, so they do so indirectly. He is the intended beneficiary of multiple mailings by teachers and other interests. A candidate can refuse their help, but they are independent and can do what they want. Golden protests it.

Republicans accuse him of secretly actually welcoming those mailings. Golden says he does not, because they are more likely to hurt him than help him, and cites the history of 3rd party mailings in this district, which backfire on negative campaigns. 

Jessica Gomez says the money she is getting is not corrupting. She says donations will have no effects on her votes. She is raising significant amounts of money from PACS and businesses, and observes that she was not well known, so she had no option but to raise money to become known through advertising.

Her donations draw attention. So far she has received $55,000 from Sid DeBoer, $50,000 from Karen DeBoer, plus donations from Alan DeBoer and Alan DeBoer's political campaign committee. Gomez also gets big dollar contributions from upstate PACs with the goal of electing Republicans. Less intuitive and expected are big dollar contributions from businesses including these recent ones: Albertsons/Safeway $2,500; Kroger $5,000; PacifiCorp $5,000; Altria (Phillip Morris) $2,000; The Standard $5,000; National Drug Chain Stores $1,000.

This is completely legal, but people inclined to be suspicious are suspicious. That suspicion and the social media gossip about it put the Chamber onto Page One.

Chamber PAC enters LaBrea Tar Pit Swamp

People are suspicious of politicians. There is no intended influence between the donation and future policy choices? Businesses make donations for nothing? All that Jordan Cove cash is just free good-government community building?

This is unpersuasive to many people, both Democrats and Republicans. 

Republican partisans think Golden simply must be indebted to his allies, even when he protests to the contrary. Democratic partisans think Gomez simply must be influenced by the Jordan Cove, the Chamber of Commerce,  and other PAC and business money, notwithstanding her protests to the contrary. 

Donald Trump defined politics as "the swamp." A great many voters accept that characterization. This blog has complained about the behavior of the big PACs that are big players in this political arena. The ChamberPAC now plays with the big boys, which means they entered that Swamp and are investigated with the cynicism people bring to consideration of that Swamp. 

They have increased their reputation as a fearsome political force, but diminished their credibility as a civic minded unifying community resource.