Murmurs: Former Staffer Says Eudaly Was Racist

FORMER STAFFER SAYS EUDALY WAS RACIST: As City Commissioner Chloe Eudaly entered the final week of her reelection battle against challenger Mingus Mapps, a former staffer hit her with a public allegation of racism. On Oct. 26, Robyn Stowers, a Black woman who briefly worked as an aide to Eudaly in 2017, circulated a letter describing her time there as a "bombardment of institutional racism, white feminism, divisive politics and dysfunctional office culture." Stowers' allegations range from Eudaly making racially inflammatory remarks to erratic but not bigoted behavior. Stowers recalled Eudaly responding dismissively to a City Hall visit by the family of Quanice Hayes, a 17-year-old fatally shot by Portland police in 2017. Stowers recalls: "[Eudaly] rolled her eyes and said 'not them again.'" Eudaly called the letter a baseless "smear campaign," saying, "I was surprised and dismayed to read Ms. Stowers' various unsubstantiated allegations."

POLICE OFFICERS DEMAND NEW BOOTS: Portland police officers have started a new trend since protests against police brutality began in May: filing legal claims against the city for clothing damaged by paint during demonstrations. In their tort claims, the officers ask for a variety of items, including pants and shirts. By far the most common item is boots. At least 14 officers of the Portland Police Bureau filed tort claims since July 1 requesting a new pair of boots after theirs were damaged by paint-filled balloons or water bottles thrown by protesters. "While serving on PPB's Rapid Response Team in crowd control situations during a violent riot," one officer wrote in a September claim, "I was struck with a balloon filled with paint that covered my boots and pants in pink and blue paint ruining their appearance." The boots range from $145 to $370 a pair; all told, officers are asking the city to pay over $2,700 for new boots. Heather Hafer, spokeswoman for the city's Office of Management & Finance, says before Black Lives Matter protests began this spring, it was "very uncommon" for city employees to submit tort claims for clothing damaged while working. "However," Hafer says, "since late May it has become somewhat more common—particularly for Portland Police Bureau employees."

GOV. BROWN FUNDS HOUSE AND SENATE RACES: Gov. Kate Brown's political action committees have been spreading the money around this fall, including $85,550 in expenditures since Oct. 14 to support candidates in key state legislative races. Those contributions include $40,000 to Melissa Cribbins, Democratic nominee for an open Senate set; $20,500 to Democratic challenger Jason Kropf, who has the best chance of defeating a Republican incumbent in the House, Rep. Cheri Helt of Bend; and $25,000 to Deb Patterson, who is challenging Republican incumbent Sen. Denyc Boles of Salem. So far this year, Brown has spent more than $225,000 to support campaigns or make contributions directly to other PACs. She still has $442,000 on hand in one PAC, a notable sum for a governor who is ineligible to run for reelection. "Some of those may be close races and others we anticipate will be overwhelming victories," says Brown campaign spokesman Thomas Wheatley. "Gov. Brown is particularly excited to be supporting a number of candidates of color this year."

OREGON COULD OUTLAW DOXXING: Oregon lawmakers are working on a pair of bill concepts for the 2021 legislative session that would make it illegal to post someone's personal information online with the intent to humiliate them, and that would prohibit law enforcement from releasing mug shots to the public in many circumstances. If the first bill concept is passed into law, "doxxing," which entails posting an individual's private and identifying information online, would become a class A misdemeanor punishable by up to 364 days in jail and a fine of $6,250. Doxxing has long been a specialty of Portland anti-fascist organizations, which regularly post the home addresses and other personal details of alleged white supremacists and neo-Nazis. The second legislative concept would prevent law enforcement from widely distributing a person's booking photo, also known as a mug shot. Conservative activists posting mug shots on social media has become a matter of controversy amid wide-scale arrests at Portland protests.

WILLIAMSON FINDS LOBBYING JOB: Former House Majority Leader Jennifer Williamson (D-Portland) has a new gig, joining the lobbying and political consulting firm Strategies 360. The firm tends to collect progressive officials who leave office: It's where former State Treasurer Randall Edwards and onetime City Commissioner Erik Sten hang their hats, and where former House Speaker Dave Hunt (D-Gladstone) worked until recently. Williamson quit her House position to run for secretary of state, then bailed on that race after WW reported on her unusual spending of campaign funds. She cannot lobby lawmakers until she's been gone from Salem for a year—two more months from now. Williamson could not be reached for comment.