The Oregon Secretary of State’s Office is investigating People for Portland for possible election law violations. The controversial nonprofit organization became an influential voice in the local debate regarding homelessness in 2021 after advocating for aggressive policies meant to prevent unhoused people from occupying public spaces.
A complaint filed March 15 on behalf of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555 argues People for Portland violated Oregon statutes by failing to file a statement of organization or as an independent expenditure filer. The violation would mean People for Portland raised and spent funds in an attempt to support or oppose a clearly identified political candidate without meeting legal requirements to do so.
At the time of publication, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555 had not responded to Street Roots’ request for comment.
According to the complaint, first reported on by The Oregonian in March, People for Portland raised funds for political candidates and aired advertisements to influence voters during the 2022 primaries without registering as a political action committee, or PAC. A list of ongoing Oregon Secretary of State investigations obtained by Street Roots shows the office is actively investigating the complaint.
Ben Morris, Communications Director for the Secretary of State’s office, confirmed the investigation is ongoing.
“The Oregon Elections Division is currently investigating this complaint,” Morris said. “An investigation does not imply any wrongdoing.”
Morris said the Secretary of State’s office cannot comment further on the allegations until the investigation is completed but did confirm People for Portland never submitted any paperwork to establish itself as a political committee.
According to Morris, most penalties for campaign finance violations are monetary civil penalties. The penalty for failing to establish a political committee is $250. The maximum penalty for failing to file campaign finance transactions is 10% of the amount of the transactions.
Morris said the office could not provide a time frame for when officials will complete the investigation.
People for Portland is associated with a PAC called Everyone Deserves Safe Shelter, which has raised more than $450,000 in contributions. According to the Secretary of State’s office, Everyone Deserves Safe Shelter is a separate entity whose activity is outside the scope of the complaint.
The complaint cites a series of Facebook ads allegedly targeting Metro Council President Lynn Peterson amid a successful reelection campaign. In one example, a Facebook ad states, “We’re giving grades to local politicians for their promises. See what you think.” Below the text is an image showing Peterson alongside Gov. Kate Brown, Mayor Ted Wheeler and Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury over a report card with the word “FAILING” in red capital letters stamped above them.
Another example cites a Facebook post titled “People for Portland Statement on the Wheeler/Adams Memo” that reads, “Don’t blame us for the mayor’s incompetence or bad ideas. This one is both.” The post criticizes the mayor, county chair, Metro president and governor for failing to adequately address homelessness. “We will keep putting pressure on them until they do their jobs, resign or are replaced.”
The complaint argues the post is a clear push to engender criticism of elected officials, stating “People for Portland’s aim is to have them ‘replaced.’”
People for Portland provided Street Roots with a copy of its formal response to the Secretary of State’s Office, which maintains People for Portland is not advocating for or against particular candidates and requests UFCW’s complaint be dismissed.
“People for Portland does not advocate for anyone to be elected or defeated. Its purpose is to advocate for bolder action from those in government now,” the response said. “To do that, it seeks to educate the public about what their governments—state, city, county, and Metro—are and are not doing, and it helps the public contact them to express their views.”
People for Portland also maintains it is not a political committee, because it has “received no contributions for the purpose of advocating for the election or defeat of any candidate for office.”
The complaint notes People for Portland has a donation portal on its website and references an OPB article published in February reporting the nonprofit received donations from several donors, including a $15,000 donation from local developer David Gold, and also ran multiple Facebook advertising campaigns intended to criticize public officials and influence voters.
People for Portland is a 501(c)(4), which means it is potentially exempt from filing tax forms disclosing financial information. A search of IRS records returned no such tax filings.
People for Portland’s self-described mission is to advocate for solutions to the “unsheltered homelessness crisis, the unchecked accumulation of trash in public spaces, and public safety.”
While the organization claims to target public safety, in practice its efforts zero in on homeless Portlanders, and the group has sought to rally public support for tactics focused on forcing unhoused people from the streets. These efforts included developing a ballot measure introduced in March proposing to divert money from affordable housing and homeless services in favor of emergency shelters. The measure also sought to force Portland-area governments to implement strict police enforcement of bans on unhoused people sleeping in public in order to receive funding.
Metro initially rejected the measure after finding it violated the Oregon Constitution, and a judge later backed the findings after People for Portland challenged Metro in court. After two failed attempts to sustain the measure, People For Portland’s PAC Everyone Deserves Safe Shelter returned more than $360,000 in contributions, including multiple donations topping $40,000, including $50,000 donations from Killian Pacific, Schnitzer Properties and Harmony Capital Investments.
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