Concerned about Farley case, Clackamas County Democrats seek meeting with DA Wentworth before endorsement

Weighing his office’s handling of the David Farley sex abuse case, the Democratic Party of Clackamas County will vote on whether to endorse Clackamas County District Attorney John Wentworth for reelection at a meeting March 12.

March 12 is also the filing deadline for May’s primary election, in which Wentworth is currently running unopposed for the DA’s seat.

Wentworth also ran unopposed in 2020. The county Democrats granted him their endorsement that year.

Wentworth and his office have been repeatedly panned by patients of former West Linn doctor Farley, who claim prosecutors’ callousness and lack of effort in the case, along with multiple failures by the West Linn Police Department, were why a grand jury decided last year not to bring charges against the doctor.

More than 130 women and girls have come forward claiming Farley sexually abused them under the guise of medical care in a civil lawsuit now worth nearly $1 billion. Seventy-one of those women and girls last year sent a letter to Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum decrying the DA’s office and WLPD’s handling of the criminal case, and asking Rosenblum herself to take it on.

Rosenblum’s office still has not decided about taking the case, but a report released last week by the city of West Linn regarding WLPD’s actions during the investigation of Farley validated much of what the former patients have said in their criticisms of local law enforcement. Wentworth, for his part, said that the mistakes made by WLPD did not impact the grand jury process.

According to Democratic Party of Clackamas County Chair Cris Waller, precinct committee representatives for the county Democrats voted Feb. 15 against an “early endorsement” for Wentworth, as many members were largely unaware of the criticisms of the district attorney and his office’s handling of the Farley case.

Waller said the party would like more information, and thus has invited Wentworth to an upcoming meeting with the endorsement committee to answer questions. The meeting would not be open to the public, Waller said, but its outcome would be shared with the party membership.