A few weeks ago, a political action committee with the Orwellian name "Unite Portland" began spending thousands of dollars a week on negative ads attacking Mayor Ethan Strimling.

Unite Portland hasn't said where their money comes from. They have violated state campaign finance disclosure rules and federal tax laws barring charities from engaging in elections. Their ads are full of misleading claims often by unidentified speakers.

The publicly identified president of "Unite Portland" was a leader in the campaign to block the renovation of Portland's crumbling elementary schools--which won in every precinct in the city and passed on the ballot with 65 percent of the vote.

And now the Portland Press-Herald reports that Unite Portland put the nonprofit status of one of the biggest nonprofit affordable housing organizations in the state at risk.

By their own admission, Unite Portland isn't "for" anyone or anything. They exist only to attack and tear down. Unite Portland's illegal ads and negative campaigning are bad for the city and harmful to our politics.

We call on them to shut down their negative ads attacking Mayor Strimling immediately.