Since last year, a mysterious Portland multimillionaire has poured nearly $2 million into local political campaigns and advocacy groups in pursuit of a very specific and ambitious goal: legalizing the commercial sex industry in Oregon.

Aaron Boonshoft, the 58-year-old heir to a commodities trading fortune, seems an unlikely leader for such a hot-button issue. He has no major track record of political activism and hasn’t donated to a national campaign in nearly 18 years, when he supported John Kerry’s presidential bid.

But in a little over a year, the younger Boonshoft has become the primary funder of prostitution-legalization efforts in the state, bankrolling at least two ballot initiative proposals and an army of lobbyists to push for legislation. Activists told the local press that they hoped to use these efforts as a testing ground for similar initiatives across the country.