Portland Mayoral Candidate Rene Gonzalez, at his election night party held at Kell’s Pub in Portland, Ore., Nov. 5, 2024.
Troy Brynelson / OPB
A judge overturned a decision by the Portland Auditor’s Office on Thursday, ending a drawn-out debate between former city commissioner and mayoral candidate Rene Gonzalez and Auditor Simone Rede’s office.
Last year, Rede levied $11,580 in fines against Gonzalez for violating campaign finance rules. Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Melvin Oden-Orr ruled that the city had denied Gonzalez the constitutional right to defend himself at a hearing before Rede made her determinations.
Oden-Orr did not comment on whether or not Gonzalez had, in fact, violated campaign finance rules. But his decision may require that Portland adjust its election rules.
The ruling requires the city return the fines. Gonzalez celebrated Oden-Orr’s decision Thursday in a post on his campaign’s Facebook page.
“While we can’t undo the election these disputes tarnished, hopefully this decision will provide some justice for supporters and lay the groundwork for a fairer campaign finance system in the future,” he wrote.
Last October, days before the mayoral election, Rede announced that Gonzalez had violated the city’s campaign finance law by using taxpayer money to edit his Wikipedia page. She argued that he had been using public dollars to make edits that benefitted his campaign, not his work as a city official. The office stuck Gonzalez with a $2,400 fine.
Rede also slapped a heftier violation on Gonzalez after he lost his bid for the mayor’s office. That ruling accused Gonzalez of receiving dozens of campaign donations that exceeded the city-mandated contribution limits. The finding came with a $9,180 fine.
Gonzalez appealed both violations, arguing they stripped him of his constitutional right to due process, meaning a chance to defend himself in a hearing. Oden-Orr agreed.
When the auditor’s office decides that someone has violated election rules, it must give them an opportunity to respond to the ruling with documents defending their actions within 10 days. Oden-Orr ruled that, while Rede did not violate this city policy, the policy itself violates constitutional due process rights.
In a statement Thursday, Rede stood by her actions, but said she was open to adjusting city laws as needed.
“We enforced the city’s campaign finance law as approved by Portland voters,” Rede said in a statement. “We appreciate the court’s guidance and are assessing options to make any necessary changes to the law. We will work with city council to support voters’ interest in fair and transparent elections while respecting candidates’ individual due process rights.”
Gonzalez has previously accused Rede and her staff of using politically-motivated rulings to impede his mayoral campaign. On Thursday, Gonzalez’s lawyer, Peter Grabiel, continued to frame the decision as political.
“This ruling is an important step towards ending the harassment moderate Democrats like Rene have been suffering at the hands of more extreme political actors willing to abuse well-intended campaign finance laws to undermine rather than strengthen our democracy,” Grabiel wrote.
