The Portland City Auditor’s Office announced Monday that it found “insufficient evidence” to support allegations of campaign finance violations from City Commissioner and mayoral candidate Rene Gonzalez.
The investigation was launched after the city’s Elections Office (a division of the Auditor’s Office) received two emailed complaints and one formal complaint last month about Gonzalez’s use of taxpayer money to alter his Wikipedia page.
Complainants asserted the use of taxpayer funds by a sitting commissioner to enhance his Wikipedia page during election season should be investigated as a potential campaign finance violation.
After an investigation, the Auditor’s Office issued a finding of no violation, citing insufficient evidence to establish a violation of Portland’s campaign finance rules, but the office called it “an exceedingly close call.”
“It is undisputed that Gonzalez’s office spent $6,400 of City funds to retain an independent contractor (WhiteHatWiki) to assist it in creating eight edits for the ‘Rene Gonzalez (politician)’ Wikipedia page, that were submitted to Wikipedia in June 2024,” the Auditor’s Office stated.
Investigators noted the primary motivation for the edits was to remove a 2022 Mercury morning news roundup that referenced Gonzalez’s tweet thanking a member of far-right group Patriot Prayer for his “support” of Gonzalez.
Auditors noted that “multiple” edits requested by Gonzalez’s staff had “no obvious relation” to his position as a city commissioner and at least one was most likely related to his current campaign for mayor.
Still, they cited “mixed evidence” about the motivations for the Wikipedia edits paid for by Gonzalez’s office.
“To find a violation of the City’s campaign finance law, the Auditor’s Office must determine that it is more likely than not that the City provided funds or services to or on behalf of Gonzalez in his capacity as a candidate,” a letter from the Auditor’s Office to Gonzalez’s campaign states. “While there are facts that suggest this transpired, based on the current record, the Auditor’s Office does not believe they are strong enough to definitively outweigh contrary evidence that suggests that the funds and services were provided to Gonzalez in his capacity as a commissioner.”
The 2022 tweet that prompted the Wiki edits wasn’t the only time Gonzalez made a public nod to a controversial right-wing figure.
In a response letter to the Auditor’s Office, Gonzalez insisted “there was no improper campaign contribution or use of my office’s funds and your investigation should be closed.”
Gonzalez noted the Wikipedia page about him was created “organically” by members of the public and not by him or his office.
“After nearly a year in service, our office initiated an evaluation of vendor that could assist the office in training staff and updating the Wikipedia page to reflect my time in office and general context in which I have served,” Gonzalez wrote, adding, “No campaign staff have directed or have been involved in the June 2024 Wikipedia requested changes or engaged with the vendor.”
But the issue investigated wasn’t whether campaign staff edited the page; rather, the investigation asked whether paid city staff edited the page to benefit Gonzalez’s current political campaign.
The Auditor’s Office says it submitted the matter to the Oregon Secretary of State to investigate whether any city employees engaged in prohibited political activities, and whether Gonzalez violated state law by asking city employees to engage in political advocacy during working hours.
Investigators also say they are waiting on additional public records related to the matter, including some that have yet to be turned over by Gonzalez’s office. If those records change the Auditor’s Office’s conclusions within the next 30 days, the office has the right to withdraw its determination and issue a new one.
In response to Monday’s announcement, Portland For All, a voter education and advocacy group, commended the city’s investigation, and its decision to forward the matter to the Secretary of State.
“We request that the Secretary of State take up this investigation promptly so voters have all the facts before they vote in November,” a statement from the organization reads, adding that voters should be “deeply concerned” about Gonzalez’s behavior.
Jackie Yerby, a volunteer board member at Portland For All, was one of the complainants in the case.
