Portland’s Bipartisan Café served as venue for the Montavilla Partisans last month to encourage contributions to the campaigns of Democrats seeking to take over the Republican-controlled U.S. House and Senate.

One wall of the café features bios of Democratic candidates largely in swing districts. The bios are littered with blue dots, each representing a member of the Montavilla Partisans’ intention to give to his or her campaign.

Peter Emerson, who is a member of Montavilla Partisans, typically hosts political events at the café for free. But the coffee shop on Southeast Stark Street tends to draw only events held by liberals, because Montavilla is a predominantly liberal neighborhood, Emerson said.

The café was designed to offer neutral ground for people of various political backgrounds to enjoy a cup of coffee and have civil discourse, an art Emerson saw disappearing in recent election cycles.

“You are welcome whatever your views as long as you are civil, but in my opinion, we are all partisans,” Emerson said.