03-05-2025
Gray Panthers summit forced out of Portland city building over campaign law violation
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — An advocacy group's summit was kicked out of a Portland city building Friday after councilors learned it broke the law to have them there.
The Gray Panthers originally said the summit would feature speakers including Portland Mayor Keith Wilson and Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.), with topics touching on the current impact of the Trump administration. But additions to the speaker list were the problem.
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In January, Panthers coordinator Lew Church reached out to Councilman Sameer Kanal, asking him to sponsor the group in order to host a summit in the Portland Building. Kanal's team said he agreed, paying a little more than $1,000.
But one day before the event, Kanal's team said they learned candidates running for elected office were asked to speak. According to a memo from the City Attorney's Office, Oregon law prohibits the use of taxpayer dollars and resources on a campaign event, so they pulled the plug.
'We dispute the rule,' Church told KOIN 6 News. 'I did go to law school, but I haven't practiced. So we're evaluating if we want to do legal action about the switch in the room.'
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The mayor never showed up and his team says he was in another meeting at the same time. After catching up with Rep. Dexter when she found out the room was closed for the event, she told KOIN 6 News it was disappointing.
'If the mayor was coming down and we were going to have it in a different venue, that could be easily shown, I would absolutely do that,' Dexter said. 'But I think we're really gathering in the hallway and I feel like we need to have a real forum and make sure that people can be heard.'
Those candidates who were invited to speak are running for seats on the Portland Public Schools board, including Virginia La Forte running for Zone 5. She told KOIN 6 News she was planning on speaking, but didn't know it violated any rules
Both Kanal's team and the Gray Panthers said they tried contacting the other party multiple times in recent days and couldn't connect.
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