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Lawsuit against political consultant Kevin Looper is one of a trio filed by the city attorney in an attempt to collect unpaid business taxes and fees.

by Courtney Vaughn

A prominent political consultant and co-founder of People For Portland is being sued by the city of Portland for unpaid business taxes.

A lawsuit filed Tuesday in Multnomah Circuit Court against Kevin Looper, who runs the business and political consulting firm, Wheelhouse Northwest, alleges Looper’s company owes more than $46,000 in unpaid business taxes.

The unpaid taxes stem from 2021, according to the city’s lawsuit. Looper, who lives in Tigard, has played key roles in Oregon political campaigns. State records show former Gov. Kate Brown’s campaign paid more than $20,000 to Looper’s consulting firm. 

Outside of his political consulting business, Looper is one of Portland’s biggest critics. Looper is president of People For Portland, a Salem-based, privately funded public policy advocacy group that has fixated on trashing Portland-area politicians and the city itself.

In recent months, People For Portland has heavily fundraised and pressured local elected leaders to ramp up prosecutions, and clamp down on public drug use and homelessness. The group credits its advocacy with helping get the city’s daytime homeless camping ban passed. That ordinance now faces legal challenges in court.

People For Portland was also behind the “Portland is a Schmidt Show” billboard downtown, targeting the policies and leadership of Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt. Before starting People For Portland, Looper was a donor to Schmidt’s election campaign in 2020.

Looper did not respond to requests for comment about the unpaid business fees.

The lawsuit is one of three filed this week in court against businesses with unpaid fees to the city. The largest offender so far is Forever 21, an international clothing company with retail locations in Portland. In that case, the city’s legal department alleges Forever 21 owes more than $161,000 in fees, primarily from unpaid Portland Clean Energy Fund taxes. 

An attorney for the city wasn’t immediately available to answer questions about the debt collection or how many other businesses the city is filing legal action against.