The Democratic candidate running against incumbent Democratic Rep. Jules Walters in a Clackamas County House district has given nearly $400,000 to state and federal Republican candidates and causes over the past 20 years, campaign finance records show.
Brian Maguire, the CEO of a data storage company, filed fewer than two hours before the March 12 filing deadline to challenge Walters, a first-term representative and the former mayor of West Linn. The winner of the Democratic primary will face Republican Ben Edtl in November, and Democrats hold an edge in the district.
Maguire’s history of political contributions, though, belie his decision to run as a Democrat. He contributed more than $284,000 to state and local candidates and organizations since 2008 and more than $110,000 to federal candidates since 2003, state and federal campaign finance databases show, and nearly all of that money went to Republican candidates or conservative causes.
That includes giving $25,000 to 2022 Republican gubernatorial nominee Christine Drazan and just more than $25,000 to former state Rep. Knute Buehler, R-Bend, in his 2018 race for governor. In 2020, Maguire gave $9,999 to the House Republicans’ campaign arm, the Evergreen PAC.
Other Republicans he supported include Donald Trump in his 2020 presidential election bid, U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, former state Rep. Julie Parrish and Clackamas County Commissioners Tootie Smith and Ben West. (See more information in italics below.)
Maguire told the Capital Chronicle he was an independent voter for most of his youth, and that he didn’t recall when he joined the Democratic party.
Records provided by the Secretary of State’s Office show he changed his voter registration from Republican to Democrat in February 2020. He was a registered Republican prior to July 2015, when he registered with the Independent Party of Oregon, then switched back to the Republican Party in January 2017.
Maguire said he chose to run because he didn’t think Walters has accomplished anything.
“I gave her a chance by not running last time, but she is backed by the people who voted for tolls and that is a non-starter for me,” he said.
Along with fellow Democratic Clackamas County Reps. Annessa Hartman and Coutney Neron, Walters pushed last year to delay plans to collect tolls along Interstate 205. Gov. Tina Kotek ordered a moratorium on toll collection until 2026.
Now supports Kotek
Maguire said he supported Drazan in her gubernatorial run because of tolling and because he believed Kotek would be too similar to then-Gov. Kate Brown, who he described as “awful.” He has since changed his mind about Kotek and fully supports her, he said.
He credited a campaign contribution he made to former Republican Clackamas County Chair Larry Sowa for helping add 16,000 acres to a protected wilderness area around Mount Hood. That contribution isn’t reflected in the state campaign finance database ORESTAR, which only goes back to 2007, but Maguire said he contributed to Sowa’s campaign after he convinced Sowa to support the federal bill.
“To my surprise, the county forester nixed support for the bill,” Maguire said. “Coincidentally, not five minutes after I learned of the withdrawal of support, Larry called me regarding the contribution. I asked him why the county backed out and, after a few choice words, said he would fix it. He did and that is how Salmon River Meadows, Lower White River, Big Bottom, Clackamas Canyon, Sisi Butte and extensions onto the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness got approved.”
Maguire said Walters bought her West Linn home for $300,000 less than market value in 2019, but didn’t respond to a follow-up question about why he believes that. Public property tax records and historical market estimates on the real estate site Redfin show that Walters paid $547,000 for her home in January 2019, Redfin estimated its value to be around $600,000 later in 2019 and its current market value is close to $850,000.
Hannah Howell, executive director of the House Democrats’ campaign arm FuturePAC, said Democrats in the 37th House District have a clear choice.
“Jules Walters is a lifelong Democrat,” Howell said. “She has served in our Legislature with distinction, recently playing a pivotal role in stopping tolling. Brian Maguire is a Republican. He has donated to Donald Trump and given hundreds of thousands of dollars to Republicans across Oregon and the United States. We are confident that the Democrat will win the Democratic primary.”
Walters said she has served the community as mayor and in the Legislature and has been a leading voice against tolling and attacks on LGBTQ+ and reproductive rights.
“It appears a MAGA Republican mega donor has come out of the woodwork to run,” she said. “I’m confident my fellow Democrats will see this for what it is.”
Other contributions
In 2019, Maguire gave $500 apiece to a political action committee that raised funds for Republican senators who walked off the job to protest climate change legislation and to the Oregon Firearms Federation’s political action committee. In 2017, he gave more than $41,000 to three different groups that opposed a ballot referendum to continue funding Medicaid expansion through a tax on insurance premiums.
Former Republican state Rep. Julie Parrish got $60,000 from him, split between her races in 2016 and 2018. He spent more than $11,000 boosting Republican Peggy Stevens in her unsuccessful 2020 race for the state House and gave $250 to Aeric Estep, the Republican who lost to Walters in 2022.
Maguire also spent money on local races, including giving $7,500 to Ben West and $2,500 to Tootie Smith, both Republican members of the Clackamas County Commission, during various elections. His most recent state contribution was $1,000 in October to Lynn Schofield, a Republican running for Clackamas County sheriff.
He has also contributed to candidates in federal elections, including giving $500 to Donald Trump’s 2022 campaign and hit the maximum allowed federal contribution to candidates including U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Oregon, and Alek Skarlatos, the 2022 Republican candidate for Oregon’s 4th Congressional District.
He also has given the maximum federal contribution to other federal Republican candidates, including former appointed Arizona Sen. Martha McSally and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham. Federal contribution limits are indexed for inflation and are currently $3,300 per election.
There are no current limits on contributions to state candidates, but a law passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Tina Kotek will allow individuals to give candidates no more than $3,300 per election beginning in January 2027.
-- Julia Shumway, Oregon Capital Chronicle
The Oregon Capital Chronicle, founded in 2021, is a nonprofit news organization that focuses on Oregon state government, politics and policy.