← All firms The hired hands · #20 by business-side money

CN4 Partners

Paid $3K by Portland’s business-backed and conservative campaigns and PACs since January 2025.

Business & conservative side, 2025–26$3K

Progressive side, 2025–26—

Every Oregon committee, 2025–26$3K

Every Oregon committee, all years$2.79M16 committees since 2018

Who’s behind it

Dean M. Nielsen, Founding partner. Began on Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign. He was national political director of Progressive Majority, founded the Washington Institute for a Democratic Future, and sits on the Fuse Washington board. cn4partners.com
Breann Pugnetti, Partner and chief operating officer. Joined CN4 in 2018. Earlier worked with the Washington House Democratic Campaign Committee and staffed state Rep. Kristine Reeves. cn4partners.com

It also files in Oregon as Cerillion N4 Partners. Under both names it has been paid $2.79M, mostly by Nathan Vasquez, Dan Ryan and Rene Gonzalez. ORESTAR
Its Oregon page, headlined “We win Oregon campaigns”, claims wins for Dan Ryan, Rene Gonzalez and DA Nathan Vasquez. cn4partners.com
It says it has worked for “every major progressive organization in Washington State”, including the state Democratic Party. cn4partners.com
Nielsen's bio lists work for Govs. Whitmer, Evers, Murphy and Inslee, and the firm cites clients including SEIU and AFSCME. cn4partners.com

No other Oregon committee paid this firm since January 2025.

$2.79M from 16 committees since 2018. The biggest:

Earlier: Zimmerman 2024 ($66K, filed as Cerillion N4 Partners).

Portland race payments: the campaigns’ own ORESTAR filings. Other clients and all-years history: a Ballast vendor search of every Oregon committee in ORESTAR. Both pulled Oct 19, 2026.
CN4 Partners website
CN4 Partners, team
CN4 Partners, Oregon page
CN4 Partners, Washington page