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Portland Commissioner Rene Gonzalez, who finished in a distant third in his bid for mayor last week, broke city campaign finance laws after he repeatedly failed to return donations that exceeded Portland’s strict contribution limits in a timely manner, the city auditor’s office ruled Wednesday.
The auditor’s office issued Gonzalez a fine of $9,180 — three times the $3,060 in illegal funds his campaign collected but was too slow to refund to donors, according to a copy of the determination.
In a statement Thursday, Gonzalez said his campaign had “worked with the top treasury firm in the state that virtually every other candidate used and always acted in good faith to be compliant.”
“Our campaign garnered broad and deep support from Portlanders and some made multiple donations that inadvertently exceeded small donor caps,” he said. “We received no benefit from these donations, as they were refunded as soon as they were discovered.”
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Earlier this week, the Gonzalez campaign sent an email to supporters asking them to donate money to help pay down an unspecified amount of campaign debt.
Campaign manager Amy Wood told The Oregonian/OregonLive that the money raised would, in part, help pay for legal fees and other costs associated with the auditor’s investigation. Wood did not disclose an exact amount of debt accrued by the Gonzalez campaign but said it was in the “thousands” of dollars.
Under city rules, candidates are required to decline or return any amount over $579 donated by an individual during an election cycle within seven calendar days. The limit tightens to $350 for those candidates participating in Portland’s public matching funds program, which Gonzalez had.
The commissioner and his campaign failed to do so on at least 17 occasions, the auditor’s office said, taking between 31 and 223 days to issue refunds.
“Gonzalez held on to the unlawful contribution for weeks, and even months in some instances, giving the campaign an opportunity to make use of the funds (essentially, giving the campaign a no-interest loan),” wrote Chief Deputy City Auditor Reed Brodersen in the notice sent to Gonzalez.
Brodersen’s determination said the auditor’s office launched an investigation into the alleged campaign finance violations after receiving a complaint from Seth Woolley, a longtime elections watchdog.
The findings mark the third time that the auditor’s office determined Gonzalez broke campaign finance laws during his run for mayor and the second time it issued a fine against him.
In early October, the office determined that Gonzalez had failed to disclose who paid for a large campaign banner on display in Southwest Portland.
Later that month, the auditor’s office hit Gonzalez with a $2,400 penalty for using taxpayer funds to spruce up his Wikipedia page, which it found had in part helped bolster his mayoral prospects.
— Shane Dixon Kavanaugh covers Portland city government and politics, with a focus on accountability and watchdog reporting.
Reach him at 503-294-7632
Email at [email protected]
Follow on X @shanedkavanaugh or on Blue Sky @shanedkavanaugh
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