Read on Twitter
I've been thinking about this all day, and I'm not a lawyer (but @alankesslr is and I'd love to hear his thoughts), and I'm wondering if the City Auditor's office is potentially breaking the law here, or at a bare minimum, breaking their own policy... (thread) https://twitter.com/andymcmillan/status/1311507573175013376
So per the Auditor's own FAQ about Portland's campaign finance laws, "... the Auditor’s Office has enforced regulations related to contribution limits (outside of the self-funding provision in Charter Section 3-301(b)(3))." https://www.portlandoregon.gov/auditor/article/760300
Charter Section 3-301(b)(3) reads, "(b) A Candidate or Candidate Committee may receive only the following Contributions during any Election Cycle:...(3) A loan balance of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) from the candidate;" https://www.portlandoregon.gov/citycode/article/706636
As $150,000 is definitely more than $5,000, this is a straight-up violation of Section 3-301(b)(3). It is undeniable. Yet...
... here's where I think the Auditor might have broken the law. Section 3-305(e)(1) reads, "(e) Upon receipt or issuance of a complaint, the City Auditor: (1) Shall examine the complaint to determine whether a violation has occurred and shall make any investigation necessary."
So by City law, they need to determine whether a violation has occurred and investigate. A violation definitely occurred. No where in the Charter does it say, "You get to skip it if you think the Supreme Court will cite precedent to the contrary." It's a dereliction of this duty.
Our recourse, per the Charter, is to appeal within 30 days for the Circuit Court to decide. I have no idea what that involves or what it would cost, but I sure as heck would through a few bucks into a fund to do so. https://www.portlandoregon.gov/citycode/article/706641
At a bare minimum, I find Wheeler and his lackey's (which I consider the Auditor's office to be part of the Wheeler lackey camp) complete disregard for the will of the people, *even if it would eventually be overturned by the Supreme Court*, beyond distasteful.
If through some miracle Ted wins this November, this farce alone is worthy of a recall petition for both the mayor and the Auditor. It only takes 35,925 signatures. I feel like we could round that up in record time.
