Auditor's Office refers Portland campaign finance review to Secretary of State's Office
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Although the city watchdog determined Portland Commissioner Carmen Rubio has not violated campaign finance laws, it has turned to the Secretary of State’s Office for an investigation into a political organization that endorsed her for mayor.
The Portland Auditor’s Office uncovered the findings of its own investigation on Wednesday, announcing there was not enough evidence to determine that Carmen for Portland and Portland For All violated the city’s campaign finance laws.
Despite this, the office has advised Oregon officials to launch their own assessment into whether PFA violated state laws.
Portland Elections Division Manager Deborah Scroggin said the division received the complaint against Rubio and the political organization on Sept. 22. Both parties were accused of committing a campaign finance violation by failing to disclose who paid for the endorsement video PFA produced and shared in support of the candidate.
The complainant also alleged the video was an “unreported campaign finance contribution.”
Local law requires individuals and organizations to include a “paid for by” disclaimer for city candidate elections communications that exceed $250. But the Auditor’s Office found that no funds were used to create PFA’s endorsement video that included footage of Rubio at a political event.
The office additionally determined the video wasn't an “in-kind contribution” to Rubio’s campaign, because she and the organization did not coordinate the production or the dissemination of the video together.
The commissioner, her mayoral campaign and PFA were unaware of what the footage would be used for as it was being recorded, according to Scroggin’s notice of determination.
However, the Auditor’s Office is recommending that the Secretary of State’s Office look into the political organization’s nonprofit and its political action committee.
“In conducting its investigation, the Auditor’s Office unearthed a pattern of City candidates reporting in-kind contributions from both the Portland for All PAC and the Portland for All 501(c)(4) that have not been reported by Portland for All (in either capacity),” Scroggin wrote.
She added that the group could have unknowingly formed two separate political committees that are required to report contributions and expenditures to the state.
In a statement, the organization told KOIN 6 it “appreciates and supports the Portland Auditor's Office efforts to keep our elections fair and transparent."
“Even as a volunteer organization, we worked hard to make sure we gave the Auditor’s Office what it needed to complete its investigation,” PFA's Moira Bowman said in an email. “If asked, we would do the same to support the Secretary State’s Office in fulfilling its role. We are confident that we have accurately reported our limited in kind donations to candidate campaigns. If the Secretary of State identifies any issues, we will work to remedy them quickly.”