New ballot measure operation targets the Democratic coalition in Salem

It looks like we’re about to enter another cycle of ballot measure warfare in Oregon.

From the mid-1990s through the early 2000s, Oregon voters confronted dozens of initiatives on every general election ballot, most of them devised to advance a limited-government, low-tax and anti-union agenda championed by Republican Bill Sizemore and a handful of big donors.

Now another Sizemore-like effort is being launched by a new crop of big donors, combining tax-cutting targets with proposals to loosen government regulations, promote government accountability and, in a populist twist, ban both union and business contributions to candidates. Their agenda is now on full display in 11 different ballot initiatives filed last week for the November 2026 election.

You can find these initiatives on the Secretary of State’s website, listed as Initiative Petition 57 through 67. All are sponsored by John von Schlegell, managing director of Endeavour Capital, a Portland-based investment firm.



https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2025/11/14/new-ballot-measure-operation-targets-the-democratic-coalition-in-salem/