In Eugene’s Ward 1, supporters of City Council candidates Eliza Kashinsky and incumbent Emily Semple have both filed complaints against the other candidate, leading to contention between the campaigns.
Both sides allege that donations were made to each candidate under a false name. The Oregon Secretary of State has yet to come to a conclusion about the accusations, illustrating how easily the complaint system can be used to discredit candidates and distract from the election itself.
With less than a week before the election, and no state law in place that sets a timeline in determining the outcome of an investigation, the two complaints will most likely remain pending until after voting is over.
The first complaint was filed against newcomer candidate Kashinsky in September, claiming that she accepted a donation from the Eugene Realtors For Community Political Action Committee (PAC), when the money was actually provided by the National Association of Realtors. The story was first covered in a Eugene Weekly article.
Shortly after the complaint against Kashinsky was filed, a mailer began circling around the ward claiming that Kashinsky was subject to a criminal investigation by the Oregon Department of Justice. While the complaint is being investigated by the Oregon Secretary of State and was referred to the DOJ, DOJ has not confirmed any investigation.
The mailer also insinuates that Kashinsky may have known there was a contribution under a false name, and says “knowingly receiving such a contribution is also a felony.”
“What I know about the mailer is, first of all, I believe it contains materially false statements,” Kashinsky says. She cites ORS 260.532, in saying that publishing false information about a candidate could warrant a civil lawsuit. Kashinsky says she is going to meet with a lawyer to see what she will do next.
Then, a complaint was filed against Ward 1 residents Paul Conte, Tom Happy and George Brown, who Kashinsky says each sent her a letter about the complaint filed against her campaign with the same post office box as the original flyer. On the mailer, the return address is listed as “Oregonians for Clean Campaign Financing.” According to the Oregon Secretary of State’s office, the organization was registered as a business under Conte’s name on Sept. 30.
This complaint, into which the Oregon Secretary of State has not yet opened any investigation, alleges that because Oregonians for Clean Campaign Financing is responsible for the mailer and that Conte, Happy and Brown used the same PO box, they “have worked together to send out this mailer.” In which case, the complaint says the group has not filed for a Statement of Organization as a PAC.
In response, Conte emailed this statement: “The postcard was truthful and perfectly legal. The only mistake in the postcard was the amount that the National Association of Realtors has contributed in support of Kashinsky’s campaign. The postcard said $10,000 but according to the Secretary of State’s records, the actual amount is over $34,000.”
The Secretary of State’s office compliance specialist Alma Whalen says in an email that its process for complaints and subsequent investigations involves sending inquiries and follow-ups to the person involved in the complaint. She says they make a determination after evaluating all the information.
“We have two days to notify the subject that a complaint has been filed against them, but there is no additional deadline provided in statute related to making a determination,” Whalen writes.
But regardless of the contents of the complaints, Jillian Schoene, executive director of Emerge Oregon, says she has seen how the complaint process has been abused over the years and distracts from the elections. Emerge Oregon is a program that trains and coaches female Democrat politicians to run campaigns. “That can manipulate the outcome of an election,” she says of filing complaints.
Going forward, Schoene says, the Oregon Secretary of State office needs to resolve complaints in a more timely manner and before Election Day. She adds that many of them are found to be false, anyway.
“I think we need to work on what changes we need to make so that the Oregon Secretary of State can finish the process by the election.” In this scenario, she says both sides have abused the complaint process.
Everyone should be held to the highest level of integrity, she continues, adding that creating a false narrative against an opponent is wrong no matter who does it.
Kashinsky defends her campaign and maintains that the allegations made in the complaint against her are untrue.
“I can’t figure out what the action is that was supposedly happening. I’m not ashamed. Getting a donation is not anything to be embarrassed about. The Eugene Realtors support me because of my commitment to making sure everyone in Eugene can find a home,” Kashinksy says.
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