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A large sign supporting Rene Gonzalez for mayor left out a fine print financial disclosure. A separate investigation into his use of taxpayer funds was recently reopened.

by Courtney Vaughn

The Portland Auditor’s Office is issuing Rene Gonzalez’s campaign a warning letter after the campaign displayed a campaign sign without disclosing who paid for the political sign. In response to a Sept. 2 complaint submitted to the Elections Division about the non-conforming sign near the Vista Bridge in Southwest Portland, the Auditor’s Office concluded it was missing the proper fine print. 

Gonzalez, a current Portland city commissioner, is also a leading contender in the mayor’s race. Since it was his first campaign finance violation, Gonzalez’s campaign received a “letter of warning and education” from the city over the violation. 

“Certain campaign signs equal to or larger than six square feet are required to include information on who paid for the sign under the City’s campaign finance law,” Deborah Scroggin, Portland’s elections division manager, stated in a news release. “The disclaimers provide transparency to the public on the actual sources funding political communications.”

In response to the notice, Gonzalez’s campaign manager, Amy Wood, said the sign was from a prior campaign and was immediately removed.

“Upon receiving the complaint, we immediately requested that the volunteer remove the banner,” Wood told the Auditor’s Office. “This was an outdated banner from our previous campaign headquarters. The volunteer immediately removed it upon our request.”

Thomas Orleck, who noticed the sign and submitted the complaint, said the decision to report wasn’t personal or political.

“If Carmen or Viva or Mingus or whatever had the same thing, I would still be sending this email,” Orleck wrote. “Nothing really against the commissioner.”

Scroggins said auditors found just one violation related to the Gonzalez signage complaint. The decision is the latest out of the Auditor’s Office regarding the Gonzalez campaign. 

The office is reinvestigating a separate complaint regarding Gonzalez’s use of $6,400 in taxpayer funds to spruce up his personal Wikipedia page as his campaign was well underway. In that case, complainants argued the expenditure amounts to an improper campaign contribution. 

The Auditor’s Office initially said it lacked sufficient evidence to confirm any campaign finance violation, but called it an “exceedingly close call.”

On Wednesday, the office announced a reversal of that determination in light of new information related to the Wikipedia edits complaint. Auditors, who investigate elections-related complaints, withdrew their prior determination and said a new decision will be made by the end of October.

It isn’t the first campaign in which Gonzalez has been accused of campaign finance violations. During his initial bid for Portland City Council in 2022, the city’s Small Donor Elections program said Gonzalez’s use of a deeply discounted downtown office space owned by Jordan Schnitzer should have been reported as a campaign contribution. The Small Donor program issued hefty fines to the Gonzalez campaign. The fines were later dismissed after a judge’s ruling.