As director of the Small Donor Elections program for the city of Portland, Susan Mottet holds the keys to the public coffers that can bankroll a city councilor’s bid for reelection. The program’s first and only director, she evaluates whether candidates have received sufficient grassroots support to unlock ascending tiers of taxpayer dollars—up to $300,000 per candidate for City Council.
Yet last year, records obtained by WW show, Mottet used her free time to lobby city councilors on behalf of a progressive interest group. Lobbying reports list Mottet attending four meetings in 2025. (Prep time for such meetings counts as its own distinct lobbying activity; records reflect Mottet prepared for two of those meetings.)
The fact that a city director was lobbying the same elected officials to whom she might later allocate public campaign finance dollars raises ethical questions for some observers, who say it could compromise Mottet’s neutrality during election season…