A political action committee spent nearly $12,000 on negative mailers targeting three Hillsboro City Council candidates days before the Nov. 3 election.

The mailers attack Diana Jackson, Karim Delgado and Dorian Russell, who are running for Wards 1, 2 and 3, respectively. The same mailers promote their opponents: Luis Garcia, Ivette Pantoja and Titonian Wallace Sr.

The Hillsboro Herald reported Oct. 30 that the mailers were paid for by NW Oregon Unity in Action, a PAC whose founding director is Hiral Pandya, according to public records on file with the Oregon Secretary of State. The Herald described Pandya as an Intel Corporation engineer based in Hillsboro who serves as a state commissioner on the Oregon Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs.

The Herald's article, which cited state campaign finance records filed with the Oregon Elections Division (ORESTAR), reported the PAC paid $11,687.68 to consultant Jared Sclar and Associates LLC to produce and distribute the mailers.

Who funded the PAC

Among the PAC's donors, the Herald identified Erickson Group LTD, which contributed $5,000 with a $2,000 net amount after a partial refund. The Herald described the Erickson Group as major landholders within a contested 1,700-acre agricultural reserve west of Jackson School Road.

Friends of Janeen Sollman, the campaign committee for state Sen. Janeen Sollman, contributed $1,500 on Oct. 22, according to the Herald's ORESTAR review. The supplied source material did not include the PAC's full donor list.

Overlapping donor networks

The Herald noted that some of the same donors and political interests funding the PAC also contributed to the campaigns of Garcia, Pantoja and Wallace Sr.

Garcia's campaign, Garcia for Council 2026, received $7,500 from the Washington County Chamber PAC in two contributions on Sept. 5 and Oct. 13, according to the Herald. Landowner Thomas J. Vanderzanden gave Garcia $500 on Sept. 5. The Herald described Vanderzanden as a spokesperson for the Northwest Hillsboro Alliance, a group advocating to bring the 1,700-acre agricultural reserve into industrial tech zoning through Senate Bill 1586, sponsored by Sollman.

Pantoja's campaign received $7,500 from the Washington County Chamber PAC, $10,839.78 in combined support from the Oregon Realtors PAC, $1,500 from Friends of Beach Pace (Hillsboro Mayor Beach Pace's committee) and $1,000 from Friends of Janeen Sollman, according to the Herald.

Wallace Sr.'s campaign received $7,500 from the Washington County Chamber PAC and $1,500 from Friends of Beach Pace, the Herald reported.

Under Oregon law, candidates cannot coordinate with independent expenditure PACs.

What's at stake

The Herald tied the spending to two policy issues: 17 Enterprise Zone tax abatements the city has granted to data center operators and the push to rezone the 1,700-acre agricultural reserve for industrial use. As we reported Oct. 30, data center development has become a central issue in Washington County races.

The Herald article was categorized as opinion and carried a disclosure: "Paid for by Kipperlyn for Community PAC ID: 22512." The financial figures it cited have not been independently verified by Hillsboro Today against ORESTAR records.

No responses from Pandya, the Erickson Group, Sollman's office, or any of the six candidates appear in the Herald's report. The Herald invited corrections from anyone mentioned.

Ballots are due by 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3.