Portland Elections Office Investigating Rene Gonzalez For Using Taxpayer Funds on Wikipedia Edits
Portland's Elections Office is investigating potential campaign finance violations by City Commissioner Rene Gonzalez. The Auditor’s Office, which houses the Elections Office, confirmed the investigation to the Mercury Friday, after receiving three complaints about the commissioner’s expenditure of $6,400 in city funds to edit his Wikipedia page. Gonzalez, who was elected to Portland City Council in 2022, is currently running for mayor. The use of taxpayer funds to enhance Gonzalez’s Wikipedia page was first reported...
Portland Commissioner Rene Gonzalez spent thousands in city funds to polish Wikipedia page
Gonzalez’s office at City Hall hired a New York-based company in March to develop a handful of requested edits, records obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive show.
Trump's top campaign money bundler connected to Ohio's largest public corruption scandal ever • Ohio Capital Journal
FirstEnergy was the company behind the largest political bailout and bribery scandal in Ohio history. This week, Sludge reported that Trump’s top campaign money bundler advised FirstEnergy on its contributions to a dark money group that pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in that scandal.
Oregon lawmakers' overseas trips funded by lobby groups, Taiwanese government – Oregon Capital Chronicle
Oregon lawmakers jetted off to Taiwan, Portugal, Denmark and tech hubs in California this fall, all paid for by companies and groups that have a keen interest in the laws they’ll pass. These junkets, once common, have been rarer in recent years due to the COVID pandemic and associated travel restrictions. One planned trip to […]
Letter from the Editor: Oregon ethics panel needs better system for informing public
The Oregon Government Ethics Commission should have an efficient and transparent way to inform reporters and Oregonians when it has voted to investigate public officials.
Portland City Council members, other top leaders could see big raises
A draft proposal by the five-person salary commission proposes a pay hike for officials elected to Portland’s new form of government in 2025, which will expand the size of City Council from four to 12 members.
U.S. Supreme Court justices take lavish gifts — then raise the bar for bribery prosecutions – Oregon Capital Chronicle
Justice Clarence Thomas might be the most egregious when it comes to taking gifts and not disclosing them, but he’s not alone. His colleagues on the U.S. Supreme Court also haven’t been shy about taking fancy freebies from rich people — many of whom have an interest in the actions of the court. The justices […]
Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan is quietly moonlighting as a consultant for embattled pot company
Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan, a Democrat, has been consulting since February for a cannabis company with strong political ties to elected Democrats — and large sums of unpaid taxes.
Ethics questions arise as Oregon audit argues for easing regulations on cannabis industry
The secretary of state says she made clear to staff in February that she could no longer be involved in the audit, due to an impending contract with a couple whose business practices have since come into question.
Oregon elections director who worked for Democratic Party will not recuse h
Oregon's new elections director worked for the Democratic Party of Oregon but will nonetheless oversee an investigation of the party's large cryptocurrency donation.
What happened when a public institute became a de facto lobbying arm of the
Internal emails show a tax-funded agency created to educate people about forestry has acted as a public-relations agency and lobbying arm for Oregon's timber industry, in some cases skirting legal constraints that forbid it from doing so.
Oregon taxpayers foot $100,000 bill for Gov. Kate Brown’s political consult
In February 2020, Gov. Kate Brown's staff asked state procurement officials to prepare a no-bid contract worth up to $150,000 for her former communications director so he could assist with Oregon’s share of work on the Western Governors’ Association electric vehicle recommendations.
Audit: Oregon should boost ethics officials’ independence, anti-corruption
Oregon state auditors released a report Wednesday that recommended several opportunities for legislators and other officials to strengthen the state's ethics laws and increase the independence of the state's ethics commission.
A decade after Oregon cracked down on lobbyist wining and dining, lawmakers
Oregon law currently bars legislators and other public officials from accepting more than $50 per year from any entity that wants to influence a government decision. Lawmakers are considering eliminating that limit.
How a public institute in Oregon became a de facto lobbying arm of the timb
Internal emails show a tax-funded agency created to educate people about forestry has acted as a public-relations agency and lobbying arm for Oregon's timber industry, in some cases skirting legal constraints that forbid it from doing so.