David Wu Files for Re-Election, Names New Treasurer

This photo of U.S. Rep. David Wu landed in staffers' inboxes after 1 am on a Saturday morning as concerns about the Democratic congressman's behavior grew. A spokesman for Wu called the photo "a moment with his kids."

U.S. Rep David Wu filed paperwork Wednesday to run for re-election in 2012 and also named a new campaign treasurer to fill the recently vacated position. The action comes even as pressure mounts for Wu to resign in the wake of news, first published by WW on Feb. 18, that staff tried to force Wu to seek psychiatric help in the final days before the Nov. 2 election.

Wu, who has declined to speak with WW for two weeks, will be in Portland tomorrow to visit television news stations. He has responded only to written questions from WW through a spokesman.

One lingering question for Wu has to do with prescription painkillers. On Feb. 22, in response to written questions from WW from Feb. 19, Wu admitted to WW that he had used prescription painkillers in fall 2010. He also said he accepted an "alternative painkiller" from a campaign donor on Oct. 26 after he left his own medicine in Washington, D.C. Wu has not responded to follow-up questions about what kind of tablets the donor gave him. The donor told WW it was ibuprofen.

Wu's new treasurer is Robert B. Ross, a Portland-area lawyer. "He asked me to do it on an interim basis, and I said I would," Ross tells WW.

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