Marc Koller for Portland

"All summer long, we were right out in the open. You didn't have to be paranoid anymore, you didn't have to be worried about the cops," said John Hood, a 61-year-old drug addict living on the streets of Oregon’s most populous city.

Oregonians should cautiously cheer the news that lawmakers have added campaign finance reform to their agenda for the short legislative session. Voters have made it clear for years that they support statewide limits on campaign contributions, but legislators in recent sessions have been unable to answer the call. Turns out, it’s tough for politicians to turn off the spigot of unlimited cash landing in their campaign