Courtney Vaughn

Inbox: initiative petition filed to try to repeal Oregon's vote by mail. Petitioners want a 2026 ballot measure. They need 1,000 signatures (and a ballot measure title review) to get there. Edtl, a Republican who ran for state office 2x, is an outspoken opponent of mail voting.

Conclusion was Portland For All made the video independently using unpaid volunteer time (less than $250 reporting threshold) BUT auditors alerted SoS of potential errors in campaign $$ reporting by Portland For All.

More campaign trail news: Portland Auditor's Office says no violations by Carmen Rubio's campaign after 2 different election-related complaints/investigations. The complaint referenced here alleged Portland For All worked w/Rubio on an endorsement video w/o proper disclosure.

Is he taking notes from Trump? “This is the first time in almost two decades of enforcement that the Auditor’s Office has seen an attempt to apply this magnitude of pressure on its staff by a person under investigation,” the Auditor’s Office stated. portlandmercury.com/news/2024/10/2…

@BoboLewis13 This is a different investigation. The sign issue resulted in a warning and has been resolved. portlandmercury.com/news/2024/10/0…

News: Portland Auditor's Office reopening its investigation into potential campaign finance violations by Commissioner and candidate Rene Gonzalez. A previous "close call" determination has been withdrawn. portlandmercury.com/news/2024/10/0…

@renaud_pdx Good question. Per the city's campaign finance info, most likely fines ranging from "two to 20 times the amount of unlawful contributions." "Other violations are subject to civil penalties of up to $3,000 per violation." More info here: #toc-enforcement-complaints-investigations-civil-penalties" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">portland.gov/elections/camp…

@C__Vaughn Courtney, what are the potential consequences for Gonzalez?

This fracking guy.

ICYMI: Here's the initial reporting on the expenditure that triggered all this by @shanedkavanaugh oregonlive.com/politics/2024/…

NEW: The Portland Auditor's Office has received complaints over Rene Gonzalez spending $6400 in city money to update his personal Wikipedia page during the thick of his mayoral campaign. The Elections Office is now investigating. portlandmercury.com/news/2024/08/1…

This story from @taylorjgriggs is worth a read. Unionized KOIN employees report only 1.5% raises since 2017. Mgmt refuses to bargain. @NXSTMediaGroup continues to ignore labor laws, even after a federal appeals court noted “substantial evidence” of Nexstar’s labor violations.

Portland Police just released the 2024 Q2 traffic stop report. There were 5,833 traffic stops in Portland in Q2. This is down 563 compared to last quarter, and up 1,443 from Q2 2023. 41% of those stopped were drivers of color.

You know the American political landscape is truly unhinged when you have to Google "JD Vance couch f*cker"

Fireboat 21 on scene of a structure fire on Ross Island. Working to shuttle personnel to the island to help with fire suppression Portland Fire also on scene of a mutual aid wildland fire on Sauvie Island

12-hour timelapse of American Airlines, Delta, and United plane traffic after what was likely the biggest IT outage in history forced a nationwide ground stop of the three airlines.

@AshleyKochKGW This is so good, I thought it was scripted. 😆

After today's SCOTUS decision on homeless policy, @taylorjgriggs and I talked to service providers, aid groups, and attorneys about what the ruling means for Portland and Oregon, and what comes next. portlandmercury.com/news/2024/06/2…

Update: PGE estimates it won't have power restored to customers in SE until around midnight.

#PGE #portland #poweroutage

Portland partied too hard on the first day of summer. ⚡🔦🕯️