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News Release
Salem City Club Virtual Informed Voter Series Considers Campaign Finance, Oregon Measure 107 - (Noon Oct 23) - 10/18/20

The Salem City Club will present its fourth program of the 2020 Informed Voter Series on October 23. The program will be a debate on the pros and cons of Measure 107. Portland public interest attorney Dan Meek, who represents Honest Elections Oregon, will speak in support of the measure. Kyle Markley, a member of the Oregon Libertarian Party, will speak in opposition.

Campaign finance reform has been on the minds of Oregonians for years. A long history of actions and non-actions has designated Oregon as one of the five states that places no limits on how much people can give to campaigns. The central reason for this designation is a 1997 Oregon Supreme Court opinion that said campaign contributions amounted to free speech, and so could not be limited.

Dan Meek, a graduate of Stanford Law School, has practiced law in Portland since 1987. Before that, he was a law clerk to Chief U.S. District Judge James Burns, legal counsel at the California Energy Commission, and the staff director of two subcommittees in the U.S. Congress. Meek represents groups and individuals that sponsor ballot measures in Oregon, including Honest Elections Oregon, Common Cause, League of Women Voters, STAR Voting, FairElections Oregon, groups advocating the creation of People's Utility Districts (PUDs), Citizens for Safe Water, and others.  On election law matters, he has represented groups in court and before the Oregon Legislature and agencies, including Common Cause, the Oregon Progressive Party, and the Pacific Green Party.  Meek and colleague Linda Williams are co-founders and co-chairs of the Independent Party of Oregon.

Kyle Markley is a Libertarian political activist and five-time candidate for elected office.  He serves on the Libertarian Party of Oregon's board of directors and founded the Statements for Liberty PAC, which helps Libertarian candidates get published in the Voters' Pamphlet.  Markley was a member of the 2015-2017 Joint Interim Task Force on Campaign Finance Reform. Markley's educational background is in computer science, and he has worked in an engineering role at Intel for more than 20 years.

The Informed Voter Series will take place on Zoom. To access the webinar, go to https://salemcityclub.com/, click the tab that says “Events,” click “Register” for any of the Informed Voter Series events listed, and once you register, your spot will be reserved for the event. You will then be sent a link for the Zoom Webinar. Meetings are free for members and $5 for nonmembers.

Here is the upcoming program schedule:

  • November 13, 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM: Election Wrap-Up and Analysis with political scientist Dr. Ed Dover
  • December 11, 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM: The Year in Poetry - Featuring  Salem Poets and Their Work.

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