Elections Complaint Alleges Livability Oregon PAC Hid Top Donor While Promoting Local Candidates

By Rebecca Wallis

Yamhill County, OR – March 24, 2026

A formal complaint filed with the Oregon Elections Division is raising serious questions about transparency, legality, and voter deception tied to Livability Oregon PAC, a political action committee run by Democratic operative Maryl Kunkel out of Newberg.

At the center of the complaint is a direct allegation: Livability Oregon PAC repeatedly failed to disclose its top donor despite clear legal requirements, while actively promoting a slate of local candidates to voters across Yamhill County.

Oregon law is clear. When a political action committee receives $10,000 or more from a donor within an election cycle, that donor must be prominently disclosed on every communication produced by the PAC. In this case, that donor is Frank Foti, who contributed $10,000 in June 2025.

According to the complaint, that disclosure did not happen. Instead, voters were presented with campaign materials that omitted the required information while promoting candidates Neyssa Hays and John Linder for Yamhill County Commissioner and Cindy Johnson for Yamhill County Clerk.

A Visible Example in the Community

The complaint outlines a pattern across multiple communications, including campaign mailers, fundraising materials, and signage, all allegedly lacking the required donor disclosure. One example is visible across Yamhill County right now. See the FB Post here.

Field signs promoting candidates backed by Livability Oregon PAC include a “paid for by” statement, but do not list the PAC’s top donor as required under Oregon law. Under ORS 260.266, those signs should clearly state:

“Paid for by Livability Oregon PAC #24388. Top Donor: Frank Foti.”

Instead, the donor disclosure is missing entirely, and the font size of the existing disclaimer appears smaller than what the law requires for large-format signs. These signs are currently displayed throughout the community, meaning voters are seeing political messaging without the legally required disclosure of who is funding it.

A Pattern, Not an Isolated Error

Taken together, the allegations describe more than isolated mistakes. The complaint characterizes the conduct as a consistent failure to comply with Oregon election law, effectively shielding the identity of a major financial backer while promoting candidates for public office.

The issue is further complicated by the PAC’s relationship with the candidates it supports. According to the filing, all three candidates promoted by Livability Oregon PAC also contributed funds back to the PAC, raising questions about whether it is functioning as a centralized vehicle for a coordinated slate campaign without proper reporting of expenditures or in-kind contributions.

This is not the first time political committees in Yamhill County have operated under broadly appealing, nonpartisan branding, while questions about transparency and disclosure have followed.

Why This Matters to Voters

For voters, the issue is not technical. It is about transparency and trust.

Political action committees are allowed to advocate, fundraise, and promote candidates. In exchange, the law requires transparency so voters can see who is funding the message. When that transparency is missing, voters are left without critical information needed to evaluate the credibility and motivations behind political messaging.

The complaint does not allege wrongdoing by Frank Foti. Under Oregon law, the responsibility to disclose rests with the political action committee. If the allegations are substantiated, Livability Oregon PAC would be required to include his name prominently on campaign materials for the remainder of the election cycle, and could face civil penalties and required corrective action.

The Elections Division will now review the complaint and determine whether violations occurred.

For voters in Yamhill County, the central question remains: who is funding the political messaging they are seeing, and why was that information not disclosed? Yamhill County News will continue to follow this story as it develops.

Photo Credit: Yamhill County News File