INVESTIGATION: AG Rosenblum and Meeker’s Ownership in Willamette Week is a Tangled Web

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

GoLocalPDX News Team

(L) Richard Meeker and his wife, AG Ellen Rosenblum (R) PHOTO: Byron Beck

An ongoing six-month investigation into the tangled relationship between Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum and her husband, Willamette Week publisher Richard Meeker unveils a lack of boundaries between her office and his business interests.

This is the first in a multi-piece series on the relationship between the business interests and the Department of Justice in Oregon.

In some cases, Meeker’s Willamette Week received favoritism and in other cases his company benefitted economically by avoiding paying costs that other news organizations, the public, inmates and attorneys were requested to pay for preparing documents.

Free Ride on Records Requests

Starting in March 2015, GoLocalPDX requested emails between Attorney General Rosenblum and her government staff relative to communication between Rosenblum’s husband, the then-publisher of Willamette Week, and the staff of the paper.

In addition, GoLocal requested a series of other documents including how much Rosenblum’s office requested in payments for public information requests.

Since Rosenblum became Attorney General, her office has demanded over $129,000 in fees from news organizations, community groups, an inmate, attorneys and the general public when they request documents under Oregon’s Freedom of Information Act.

In contrast, her husband’s publishing company has received a free ride. Since Rosenblum assumed office, Willamette Week has submitted dozens of record requests to the Department of Justice, but according to documents received from Rosenblum’s office, Willamette Week never paid for one document.

GoLocalPDX repeatedly requested to interview Rosenblum and those requests were denied.

In addition, in reviewing more than 1,000 emails and thousands of pages of communications between the staff of Meeker's company and Rosenblum's staff, more than 50 times reporters at Willamette Week avoided the FOIA by making the request directly to staff.

The relationship was often friendly. In one email between then-Rosenblum public relations official, Jeff Manning and Willamette Week’s Nigel Jaquiss, Manning congratulates on the paper’s story on Jefferson Smith unveiling a confrontation he had -- read below.

Hey Nigel,

Really interesting story from Mesh on Stimson and the Oregon Transformation Project. I love their website. Those guys are so compassionate about the plight of the little guy.

And congrats again on the Jefferson scoop. Shaking things up as always.

I need to ask you about two of your public records requests.

One was for the worst deadbeat parents in Oregon. The other was for anything we had on the dismissal of Riddell's bar complaint.

I had given you a head's up that the odds of us releasing anything on the first was slim to none. And I don't know that we have much of anything from OSB on the second.

Do you want to go forward with these requests? The people who process these requests need to know.

Thanks,

Jeff

Prior to serving as Rosenblum’s spokesperson, Manning was an investigative reporter at the Oregonian. He returned to the paper after on year on Rosenblum's staff.

Similarly, an email from reporter Kate Wilson of Willamette Week to Kristina Edmundson, Communications Director for Rosenblum, asked for a range of documents directly by-passing the formal request process. In the middle of Wilson’s request for documents for her story is an invite to the Attorney General’s spokesperson to come to the annual block party hosted by Willamette Week. She also mentions that her boss (Richard Meeker) surely invited Edmundson's boss (Rosenblum) -- a gentle reminder of the relationship between the company and the Attorney General's Office.

Happy Thursday, Kristina. I’m so glad you’ll be able to come to the block party. I imagine Rosenblum will have been invited by our boss, and of course we hope to see her there as well.

Can you help me with the following records:

Rosenblum’s Calendar going back to the date of hire, which I think was June, 2012.

Screenshots of her email Outlook folders and subfolders

A list of all employees who have left the agency since July 1, 2012

A list of the claims filed against the agency (This might be big, so I’m happy to figure out a manageable way to narrow this)

Cheers!

Kate Willson, reporter
Willamette Week
Office: 503-445-1538
Cell: 503-410-4524

In response to questions from GoLocal about "no fees" being charged to Willamette Week, Edmundson wrote in an email, "In terms of recent memory, I am not aware of a public records request from Willamette Week that required us to search for a lot of documents or require a large amount of staff time to review. As I indicated to you from the beginning, we were happy to reduce (or eliminate) the fee we charged your organization if you were willing to reduce the scope of your public records request."

While other news organizations and the public were charged, Willamette Week was not

Willamette Free Ride, Others Charged Thousands

In contrast, a FOIA request by Attorney Alfred Carlton for documents regarding Swift Rock Financial was flagged by Rosenblum’s office to cost $30,000 for his information request. Similarly, an inmate in Oregon’s prison system, David Raymond Durham who requested “Appellate case records - judicial review of parole board orders, including case #s” was given a cost by the Attorney General’s office of $141.00.”

This is the first in a multi-piece series about the public and political relationship between Meeker, his company and business interests and Attorney General Rosenblum and her office.

Editor's Note: Since GoLocal began this investigation of the relationship between Rosenblum and Meeker, his position at the publishing company changed. There is no report of his and her ownership interest changing. As previously stated Rosenblum refused repeated interview requests.

Related Slideshow: Slideshow: The Top 11 Political Scandals in Oregon History

GoLocalPDX lists some of the biggest and most shocking political scandals in Oregon history, from illegal sexual encounters to land fraud, over the last 100 years.

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Neil Goldschmidt

2004

Former Oregon governor, Portland mayor and secretary of the U.S. Transportation Department admits that in the 1970s he had a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl. He said the “relationship” went on for 9 months. Goldschmidt was 35 and married at the time.

While Goldschmidt was not holding elective office at the time, he stepped down from his positions at the Oregon Board of Higher Education and Oregon Electric Utility Company. In 2000, he briefly reappeared on the public stage with a quixotic campaign to reconnect the North and South Park Blocks in downtown Portland. Goldschmidt retreated from public life. He was never charged with a crime.

Photo Credit: OrHi 102947 Courtesy Oregon Historical Society (image cropped)

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Sam Adams

2005

Former city commissioner and then-mayor of Portland, Sam Adams admitted to having a sexual relationship with an 18-year-old male legislative intern after denying the charges and urging the boy to do the same. The two were together before Adams began campaigning for the office of mayor and before the young man was 18.

Adams eventually admitted to the relationship and agreed to cooperate with any investigation, but did not resign from office. The Department of Justice found no incriminating evidence in the investigation, so he was never charged. Adams chose not to run for re-election.

Prev Next

Bob Packwood

1992

US Republican Sen. Bob Packwood resigned from the Senate after 1995 when allegations of sexual harassment and abuse brought threats of expulsion. In a story in the Washington Post, 10 women claimed the senator had sexually abused and assaulted them.

Packwood’s diary, parts of which were turned over to the Senate Ethics Committee, allegedly documented his abusive behavior. It was later found out that he had removed some of the incriminating pages from the diary and allegedly made threats against other members of Congress. After resigning, Packwood spent time in an alcoholism clinic, blaming his actions on his drinking problem.

Photo Credit: [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons (image cropped)

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Cover Oregon

2014

Oregon’s attempt to create a new health insurance marketplace was passed by the Oregon Legislative in 2011. Issues with a failing website that cost over $160 million of state funds caused the enrollment to switch to paper forms. Contractor Oracle sued Cover Oregon for breach of contract, claiming they were never paid for their software. A month later, Oregon sued Oracle Corporation for a breach of contract as well.

Carolyn Lawson, the former chief information officer for the Oregon Health Authority who received the brunt of the blame in the fiasco, sued Oregon for wrongful discharge and defamation. The lawsuits are still ongoing.

Photo Credit: iStock (image cropped)

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Mark Hatfield

1980's

As the Washington Post Reported in Mark Hatfield's Obit:

In the 1980s, his wife accepted $55,000 in payments for real estate work from a business tycoon with a multibillion-dollar contract before Congress. Mr. Hatfield apologized for the appearance of wrongdoing and gave the money to charity.

Several years later, in 1992, he was formally rebuked by the Senate ethics committee for not disclosing more than $42,000 in gifts from friends and lobbyists — the result of a “careless” clerical error, he said at the time.

Photo Credit: Ground at en.wikipedia [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons

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Oregon Land Fraud

1905-1907

In 1870, the Oregon and California Railroad was granted 3 million acres on which to build a rail line from Portland to California. The excess land was to be sold to settlers in small portions, yet the president of the railroad decided to sell the land to timber companies for a greater profit. He hired surveyor Stephen A. Douglas Puter to gather people from saloons to register for land that would be transferred to Puter and sold to the highest bidder for timber harvest.

With more than 1,000 initial indictments issued in the case, some U.S. senators and representatives were charged. Of the four major politicians brought to trial, only two—Rep. John Hicklin Hall and Sen. John H. Mitchell—were found guilty for failing to investigate the case. Hall was later pardoned by President William Howard Taft and Mitchell died from a tooth-extraction complication while waiting for his appeal.

By John_Hicklin_Hall.png: Republican Party [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons (image cropped)

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David Wu

2011

The Oregon Democrat congressman from Portland, was asked to resign after a young woman alleged Wu forced her into an unwanted sexual encounter. An 18-year-old girl told the Oregonian she had an “aggressive” sexual encounter with Wu. Wu admitted to the encounter, but claimed it was consensual. He fought resigning, but finally gave in.

It was not the first allegation of its kind against Wu. In 2004, a 1976 incident involving the alleged rape of his former girlfriend was looked into. Despite the attention, Wu won the election that year. Wu continues to live in the Washington, D.C. area.

Photo credit: Official portrait

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Jeff Cogen

2013

While chairman of the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners, Jeff Cogen was investigated for using taxpayer money to pay for hotel rooms and trips for an extramarital affair with a county Health Department policy director. He was also accused of frequently smoking marijuana and using cocaine while in office.

Cogen refused to speak to state investigators and ignored calls to resign until a few months after the incident. No evidence was found to charge him with any crimes. This year he worked with a petitioning firm that gathered signatures for legalized marijuana.

Photo Credit: public domain

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Jefferson Smith

2012

The Willamette Week reported that Portland mayoral candidate Smith was cited for a 1993 for a misdemeanor assault on a women. The alleged assault took place when Smith was enrolled at the University of Oregon. Witnesses said that the victim woke up with Smith on top of her, and started hitting him. Smith claimed that "it was the worst night of his life" and that he tried to take responsibility for it immediately.

Smith said he agreed to 20 hours of community service, apologized to the woman, and paid her medical bills. He said the charge was dropped in exchange.

Photo credit: public domain

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Multnomah Bridge Scandal

1924

In 1924 three county commissioners were recalled for "graft, bribery, and malfeasance" after awarding a construction contract for the repair of the Burnside Bridge and the construction of the Sellwood and Ross Island bridges. They voted to select a bid offered as a joint effort by three local construction firms, who would each build a new bridge. It was $500,000 more than the only other bid that was entered in a rushed, 24-hour window.

The public started a recall petition for the commissioners and the Oregon State Attorney started an investigation, charging the commissioners with soliciting, accepting bribes, and malfeasance for not picking the lowest bid. Although no charges stuck, the commissioners were kicked out of office by a large majority of voters.

By Steve Morgan (Own work), via cc (image cropped)

Prev Next

Terry Schrunk (Bonus)

1957

Schrunk was the mayor of Portland for 16 years, 1957-1973. His first year as mayor, allegations of bribery and perjury charges landed him before a special Senate committe.

Schrunk was accused of raiding the rowdy 8212 club with fellow deputies in 1955 when he was a Multnomah County Sheriff, and accepting a $500 bribe from the manager to leave and look the other way.

Schrunk denied having taken any bribe, but did admit that his deputies had raided the 8212 Club, seen illegal activity, and left without further action. Schrunk was tried on bribery and perjury charges and found not guilty.

Photo Credit: Oreg. Hist. Soc. Research Lib., bb005787 (image cropped)