To: Dr. Maxine Dexter, Oregon Democratic Congressional Candidate, District 3

From: The Undersigned Oregon Voters

Dear Dr. Dexter:

As Oregon voters, we are dismayed and distressed by the news revealing large amounts of outside spending on behalf of your campaign for US Congress in Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District. We agree with Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley as he says, “I strongly condemn the dark money campaign underway to smear Susheela Jayapal in OR CD3 and any other dark money campaigns that are underway or planned. They are despicable and damaging to our democracy.”

You have spoken about your commitment to keeping big money out of politics, to fairness in campaign funding so that such money does not influence policymakers, to full transparency by candidates, and to your commitment to reject negative advertising. We are perplexed by your nonchalant attitude when the dark money is aiding your campaign. Oregon voters have worked for years to keep dark money and cynical politics out of Oregon’s fair and democratic elections. This simply does not match the values of the voters in your district nor in any part of Oregon.

As Oregonians, we reject this outside sourced money from PACs or Super PACs interfering in Oregon’s politics that are trying to buy elections. In addition, the nastiness of the negative advertising against your opponent is not at all aligned with the values of the voters in this district, or Oregonians, in general. We expect you to condemn this dark money in a full and unequivocal fashion.

We recently learned of your connection to the Pro Israel America PAC -- an effort launched by senior figures affiliated with AIPAC in 2019 -- and find it particularly concerning considering the brutal Israeli assault on Gaza that was already in clear violation of international law before you launched your candidacy and your consistent usage of AIPAC approved talking points in answers to questions about your stance. To us, this demonstrates, at best, a serious lack of judgment, and at worst, an indifference to the value of Palestinian lives.

AIPAC is not aligned with Jewish values, nor is it in sync with Democratic voters’ values. AIPAC is a right-wing hawkish group that has, for years, stood against policies meant to ease tensions in the world (for example opposing the Obama nuclear deal with Iran). AIPAC is consistently aligned with policies that violate the human rights of Palestinians. The group has stood in support of far-right politicians, including insurrectionists, and is spending large sums of money to defeat progressive candidates.

We ask you to commit to your ethical, professional and moral values. Money coming from any source in the “Pro-Israel” lobby is supporting gross human rights violations and plausible genocide that is being carried out in Gaza by the Israeli military. This is what you are implicitly supporting by accepting the intervention of this money of outside sources on your behalf in the negative campaign ads being circulated currently.

What we ask of you:

• Publicly call on PACs like 314 Fund and Voters for Responsive Government -- who are spending in support of your campaign and against your opponents -- to reveal their donors;
  
• Publicly call on these same PACs to cancel their current commercials and stop running political advertisements in Oregon. You must demand that these ads cease immediately;
  
• State clearly whether or not you are taking ANY funds from AIPAC or AIPAC-aligned PACs or donors;
  
• Commit to declining any more of this type of support for the rest of the campaign;
  
• Commit to becoming a candidate who does not go along with “how things are done in politics”, but who truly embodies a politician as a leader upholding values that are principled and ethical; and
  
• Take a more direct and stronger position against plausibly genocidal Israeli aggression in Gaza.
  

As smart and ethical policy, we would also encourage you to come out publicly to solidify your stance for an immediate and permanent ceasefire to end the killing in Gaza, to demand that Israel allow all necessary humanitarian aid to enter, and to call on the United States to leverage its position for peace by withholding the transfer of all weapons to Israel as long as they are being used in violation of US and international humanitarian law. These positions are in line with the views of the majority of voters.

Truly, we are very disappointed not only by the lack of principled campaign practices thus far, but by your lack of commitment to living by the positions around campaign finance that you tout on your campaign website. We want a US Congressional Representative who is not bought by big money. We seek honesty and integrity from anyone who will represent us.

Sincerely,

The undersigned Oregon voters and community organizations;

American Council for Palestine, Health Care Workers for Palestine-Portland, Jeremy Beausoleil Smith for Portland City Council District 4, Andra Vltavín for Portland City Council Distict 4, Robin Ye for Portland City Council District 3, Christopher Olson for Portland City Council District 2, Tammy Carpenter (Beaverton School Board), pdxjustice Media Productions, Philips Consulting Group, Hillsboro Friends Church, Americans Committed to Justice and Truth, Respond to Racism in Lake Oswego, Jewish-Palestinian Alliance of Oregon, Veterans for Peace, Coy & Co. Curatorial Floral, Julia Ford, Laurel Swerdlow, Maxine Fookson, Frank Afranji, Alex Ibrahim, Maye Mohamed, Ned Rosch, Katie Clark-AlSadder, Hannah Snyder, Sam Hunaidi, Adel Jaber, Rod Such, Zahra Baloch, Mairin Peck, Raumene Rahatzad, Brice Suprenant, Nour Aboelez, Erin Cadena, Tazma Ahmed-Datta, Katy Drawhorn, Nafisah Ula, Chris Coughlin, Amie Thurber, Alison Lewis, Ben Anderson-Nathe, Susan Jacobson, Philip Viana, Ted Khoury, Judith Lienhard, Nasrin Rahatzad, Rich Reese, Au Nguyen, Mary Emerson, Lydia Kiesling, Betsy Zucker, Lisa Mae Osborn, Linda McGavin, NAEL SAKER, Shawn Bargouti, Caio Peixoto de Sousa, Arielle Ross, Hala Barghouty, Yasmeen Hanoosh, Mark Baugher, Courtney Childs, Kevin Oldenburger, Hend Barghouti, Carol Blenning, Emily Bookstein, Lama Hamilton, Nick Neumannm, Caroline Toney-Noland, Lisa Storey, Chelsea Hetelson, William Singer, linda sawaya, Jeremy Smith, Joel Beinin, Molly Katzman, Travis Sergi, Amanda Sloane, Peter Miller, Manny Hotchkiss, Max White, Mara Zusman, Mariah Terrill, Nader Absood, Susan Crowley, Dianne Eckstein, Angelina Vasile, Ruba Leech, Antoinette Foster, Misha Dee, Eva Miller, Peggy Bronson, adrienne kelley, Jordan Lewis, Megan Gibbard, Sadie Blessing, Valerie Osterberg, Allen Menegay, Pat Bognar, Laura Horani, Adam Segal, Bruce Poinsette, Lucas Potter, Dr. Cooper Lee, Leanne Hogie, Shannon McMullen, VM Zellers, Charlie Raymond, Rivka Sidelsky, Dustin Sims, Jackie Brookman, Christina Buck, Kathleen Juergens, Mary Turner, Christian Mecham, Linda Fitch, Megan Newel, Sophia Aepfelbacher, Michelle Inness, Julie Walcer, Wael Elasady, Nancy Hedrick, Edgar Mendez, Oakley Rae Phoenix, Laurence Qamar, Ken Rosenberg, Cornelia Wagner, felicia desrosiers, Colin McKellips, Sanela Besic, Rachel Knauss, Scott Carpenter, Avery Lewis, Jennifer Mead, Andy Miller, Brooke Herout, Ted Whitney, Harmony Eberhardt, Lily Mitchel, Lauren Flanigan, Nick Gilla, Steve Smithsted, Zia Laboff, Pamela Smithsted, Mary Davies, Celeste Aguilar, Carrie Seros, Aaron Dukes, Lavinia Marx, Mazen Malik, Dan Dover, Carla Basom, Mark Trolan, Ryan Beam, Gail Lehrman, Sarah Alibabaie, Cary Sneider, Lamarra Haynes, Yasmine Barghouty, Malaya Lualhati, Hallie Saber, Lindy Trolan, Mike Weaver, K. 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