Skip to main content
The fallout continues from the unscheduled May 27 appearance of Betsy Johnson, the unaffiliated candidate for governor, at the ideas conference TEDxPortland.
The Oregon Department of Justice today told WW that it had received seven complaints about Johnson’s appearance.
Johnson’s parroting of National Rifle Association talking points on gun control angered some in the crowd; others objected to TEDx providing an audience of thousands to one of three candidates for governor, in possible violation of federal tax code that prohibits 501(c)(3) nonprofits such as TEDx from supporting candidates.
Here’s what the Internal Revenue Service, which grants nonprofits their tax-exempt status and regulates them, says on its website about 501(c)(3)s and candidates for office:
“Under the Internal Revenue Code, all section 501(c)(3) organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office.”
That tax code was referenced by at least one complainant.
“TEDxPortland violated IRS code by including Betsy Johnson, who is running for Governor, as a surprise guest,” wrote one complainant, Howard Bales of Portland. “This is an egregious abuse of their non-profit status. The harm done to the election process is significant. Please investigate this intentional breach of the code.”
DOJ spokeswoman Kristina Edmunson said her agency would forward the complaints to the IRS.
TEDx issued a statement apologizing for giving Johnson a platform, although it called Johnson—who announced her candidacy last October and has already raised more than $8 million—as a “potential candidate.” (Although she has been raising money and campaigning, Johnson has not yet turned in the signatures required for the secretary of state’s elections division to make that candidacy official.)
“Having a potential political candidate for public office on our stage this morning was not the right decision,” TEDx said in a statement May 28. “We apologize for the error in judgment and the distraction this moment created.”
Asked for comment today, Johnson’s campaign reiterated the statement she made over the weekend about her TEDx appearance.
“While the vast majority of people were supportive, a few folks tried to shut down productive dialogue. That’s unfortunate, but I remain undaunted,” Johnson said. “To keep this country from coming apart at the seams, we must seek to understand those we disagree with. Forcing your views on others destroys trust and any sense of community.”