Portland mayoral candidate Rene Gonzalez broke the law by using taxpayer money to edit a Wikipedia page, an auditor finds

Portland Commissioner Rene Gonzalez, who is running for mayor, violated campaign finance rules when he used public money to refresh his Wikipedia page, the city comptroller’s office announced Monday.

In a memo to Gonzalez and his campaign, Deputy Chief Auditor Reed Brodersen wrote that the mayoral candidate committed a campaign finance violation by using time, money and services from city employees while serving a New York resident this spring Company paid $6,400 to help him advertise that he is a Democrat on his Wikipedia page.

“The commissioner’s role in Portland is nonpartisan; Therefore, the resources and time spent on this Wikipedia edit are unrelated to Gonzalez’s city duties or performance as a city commissioner,” the comptroller’s office wrote in a news release Monday. “Specifically, when asked, Gonzalez was unable to provide a reason why a Wikipedia change regarding his status as a Democrat was related to city business.

The auditor’s office fined Gonzalez $2,400 for the violation.

Gonzalez questioned the impartiality of the investigation in a statement Monday, citing the deputy comptroller’s connection to the head of the progressive advocacy group that filed the initial complaint against Gonzalez.

The decision came after Brodersen originally concluded in September that “there was no violation,” saying there was insufficient evidence to determine whether Gonzalez’s use of city funds furthered his electoral ambitions. Broderson said at the time that the office’s decision was “extremely narrow” and that it had referred the case to the Oregon Secretary of State for further investigation “in light of the facts that have emerged.”

Brodersen said in his letter Monday that the auditor’s office was still waiting for additional relevant documents at this time. In early October, it decided to re-examine the case after additional evidence emerged.

Gonzalez raised $195,000 from private donors to fund his campaign, and that money was matched by $100,000 in city funding, campaign finance records show.

The comptroller’s office on Monday defended the impartiality of the investigation while accusing Gonzalez of interfering in the review by asking the comptroller to remove Brodersen from the investigation, asking the comptroller to rescind the referral to the secretary of state, and “made unsubstantiated claims that the investigation failed.” was tainted by political bias.”

It also said that Harrison Kass, Gonzalez’s political adviser, and Shah Smith, Gonzalez’s chief of staff, misled the auditor’s office about key evidence in the case by falsely telling him that a wanted email account Attachment did not exist. That appendix, the auditor’s office said, contained initial Wikipedia edits on which Gonzalez’s office had sought assistance from the New York-based consultant, including a proposed addition that said, “Gonzalez has been registered as a Democrat for X years.” Kass is running for Portland City Council in District 3.

“This is the first time in nearly two decades of enforcement that the comptroller’s office has experienced an attempt to exert pressure on its employees to this extent by an individual under investigation,” the comptroller’s office wrote in its press release. “We consider this and the auditor’s misleading about an important document in the investigation to be relevant in the context of determining penalties in this matter.”

The Oregonian/OregonLive reported earlier this month that Brodersen was in a long-standing romantic relationship with Andrés Oswill, the chief executive of Portland For All, the progressive advocacy group that sought an election investigation into Gonzalez’s possible campaign violations and has always supported his rival Commissioner Carmen Rubio’s candidate for mayor of Portland still owns a house.

Gonzalez called on auditor Simone Rede to exclude Brodersen from the investigation following the news outlet’s report earlier this month. In the email, Gonzalez said Brodersen had not disclosed his potential conflict of interest to Gonzalez’s office or campaign, the public or the secretary of state.

“Would you trust a referee who owns a house with the opposing team’s head coach and has a romantic relationship with him?” Gonzalez said in a statement on Monday. “There is a clear conflict of interest in the auditor’s office. We are confident voters will see this for what it is: a distraction from the important work we need to do to move Portland forward.”

Despite the possible appearance of an actual or potential conflict of interest, Brodersen said at the time that he would continue to be the final arbitrator of the case. He defended his decision not to recuse himself by saying that the comptroller’s office has strict protocols for dealing with perceived conflicts and he has communicated any such conflicts with his colleagues.

Elections chief Deborah Scroggin defended that decision on Monday.

“Across the country, election officials are being attacked and portrayed as politically motivated when they are simply carrying out their duties as local authorities or the public have asked them to do,” Scroggin said in a statement. “The auditor’s office is committed to impartial, independent oversight and conducting thorough, timely investigations as required by city charter.”

— Jamie Goldberg oversees The Oregonian/OregonLive’s politics, education and homelessness coverage. She can be reached at [email protected] or 503-221-8228. You can find them on X under @jamiebgoldberg

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