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Pastor E.D. Montainé says he won't run for reelection as president of the NAACP of Portland after The Portland Mercury published an investigation Oct. 14 into his treatment of former parishioners at Celebration Tabernacle, the North Portland church he leads.
The Mercury presented serious allegations against Mondainé, president of NAACP Portland branch 1120-B.
"The Mercury spoke with Ray [a pseudonym] and two other men who say they were repeatedly sexually and physically assaulted by Mondainé during a period of time spanning the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s," reporter Alex Zielinski wrote. "The Mercury also interviewed eight other people who shared experiences of psychological abuse at the hands of Mondainé while attending Celebration Tabernacle during this time period."
In a press conference this morning, Mondainé denied any wrongdoing, saying he was a victim of cancel culture. He attributed The Mercury's story to a relationship from two decades ago that "ended poorly and rocked the congregation."
"These allegations bear no truth," Mondainé told reporters.
But Mondainé also said he is withdrawing his candidacy for reelection as president of the NAACP Portland branch.
"I've chosen to remove myself from running," he said.
His candidacy was already under heavy fire prior to the Mercury story as a dissident group of NAACP members calling themselves Rise Up PDX wanted Mondainé out, alleging he'd misspent NAACP funds and mistreated members. Mondainé acknowledged traveling first class to a national NAACP gathering but denied mistreatment allegations.
Rise Up PDX also criticized Mondainé for his apparent use of the NAACP seal to support an independent expenditure campaign to reelect Mayor Ted Wheeler that launched last week.
Mondaine declined to answer questions today, ending the press conference after a brief statement.