District 4 candidate Chad Lykins has refunded $145 in contributions following a report by Willamette Week journalist Sophie Peel. The report highlighted discussions among several city council candidates, including Lykins, Michael DiNapoli, Michael Trimble (District 4), and Sam Sachs (District 2), about exchanging $5 donations to help one another meet the 250-donor threshold required for public matching funds.
Although several candidates participated, Lykins was the only one who ultimately qualified for matching funds. Under campaign finance laws, donations exchanged solely to receive a reciprocal contribution are ineligible for public matching. Attorneys interviewed for the report also suggested that other campaign finance violations might be involved.
Lykins responded to the story on Twitter, thanking Peel for her reporting and stating, “Out of an abundance of caution, we’re refunding all $145 from the 15 donations we received.” According to Peel, Lykins also sought guidance from the Secretary of State’s office to determine whether the contributions violated campaign finance laws. An official opinion is still pending.
