Clatsop County District Attorney Josh Marquis says Oregon's debate over legal weed is fast becoming a "real contact sport"—one that's grown more personal than he expected. You don't have to look far to see what he means.
The contentious race over Measure 91 is erupting in complaints and attacks with less than two months to go before the November 4 election.
Let's start with the most recent. Marquis, the state's most-strident critic of legal weed, filed a complaint with state elections officials earlier today against "Radical" Russ Belville, a longtime Portland marijuana activist and host of online radio program The Russ Belville Show.
Marquis says an "investigation" into him by Belville—financed by thousands of dollars in in donations—is a thinly veiled effort to fight for Measure 91. As such, Marquis says Belville needs to report his donations and expenditures with the state.
Meanwhile, Marquis is named in a pair of complaints filed earlier this month—including a letter from four state legislators calling on Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum and the Oregon Secretary of State's Office to investigate whether public resources are being inappropriately used to fight the pot measure.
Those complaints have to do with a "marijuana educational tour" of the state scheduled for next month. As initially planned, the tour involved events in 13 Oregon cities [pdf], and featured a prominent national anti-pot speaker, with much of the focus [pdf] being on marijuana and its potential downsides. But the whole thing was thrown into chaos over concerns—including those of a pro-pot US Congressman— that it was little more than an effort to oppose Measure 91 using federal dollars.
The federal funds were pulled, and it's unclear just how many of the original events are still in the works. But state senators Chip Shields (D-Portland) and Floyd Prozanski (D-Eugene), along with state representatives Paul Holvey (D-Eugene) and Alissa Keny-Guyer (D-Portland), said in a lengthy letter [pdf] on September 11 they are concerned public employees and resources are still being used to plan the tour. They're asking the Oregon Department of Justice to look into the matter, along with elections officials.
"By all appearances, the Tour and its sponsors are violating Oregon law," the lawmakers wrote.
The DOJ says it hasn't decided whether to investigate, and is waiting to see what the secretary of state's office turns up.
A local pot activist has also filed a complaint [pdf] over the educational tour.
In the complaint he filed this morning, Marquis says Belville is effectively campaigning for Measure 91, and so should be required to register with the state.
"He is obviously free to criticize and even lie about my record in his own blog, on his own 'Internet radio show' or by giving away articles to places like the Huntington Post [sic]," Marquis wrote in an email sent to the Oregon Secretary of State's Office. "But when he raises and expends thousands of dollars to affect the outcome of an imminent ballot measure he...is required to register with the Secretary of State and report the name, amount, and occupation of his contributors."
Marquis is citing an Oregon law dictating that anyone who spends more than $750 in a calendar year to support or oppose a cause must file a statement with the secretary of state.
As support for his contentions, the DA offers a link to a crowdfunding site set up by Belville to "help us fight the use of public funds to defeat marijuana legalization in Oregon." That fundraising campaign had raised $2,435 as of this afternoon.
"I’m just a citizen who's concerned that the district attorney and others in the state and county government have been using grant money to illegally campaign against Measure 91," Belville tells the Mercury. "My actions have merely been to gather records."
In a lengthy blog post on his site, Belville details records requests he filed for communications by five Oregon district attorneys regarding the educational series. Paying for those records request, he argues, doesn't come close to campaigning.
In his complaint, Marquis also charges Belville with being the "author and creator" of the website www.joshmarquisexposed.com, which appears as a sponsored link when you google search the DAs name. The site is full of lies, Marquis complains, though he acknowledges he's fair game as a public official.
"This is probably the most uncivil campaign that I’ve been around in my entire life," he notes. (It's also the first time Marquis has had to go up against an established political machine in the fight over recreational pot.)
Belville denies being behind the hit site, and says he has no idea who put it up, though he "assumes" they'll contact him at some point in the future.
In their own complaint, the four state lawmakers make a case that the "educational tour"—taking place directly before an election over pot and featuring solely anti-marijuana speakers— amounts to campaigning. And even though many groups have backed away from the effort in recent weeks, the legislators contend public employees still feature heavily.
"Based on our review of the available materials, in nine of the twelve counties where the Tour is scheduled to appear, county workers are listed as sponsors," the letter reads. "Those public employees... are participating in organizing the tour stops while "on the job."
State law prohibits public employees from opposing or promoting political efforts while on the clock. From the complaint:
