Rene Gonzalez cleared in City of Portland campaign finance investigation tied to edited Wikipedia page

PORTLAND, Ore. ( KOIN ) – A complaint that Portland City Commissioner Rene Gonzalez had violated campaign finance law by using public funds to beef up his Wikipedia page has reached its conclusion after the City of Portland Auditor’s Office determined that there was insufficient evidence to prove it.

According to records obtained by KOIN 6 News in August , Gonzalez’s office had paid a total of $6,400 in taxpayer money to Codename Enterprises, which operates under WhiteHatWiki and offers “ethical Wikipedia strategy” and writing services, in June 2024.

A complaint that was filed with the Auditor’s Office on Aug. 16 argued that Gonzalez had violated campaign finance law by receiving an unlawful contribution during his campaign for mayor in the November 2024 election.

The complaint led to an investigation that determined Gonzalez had, in fact, hired an independent contractor to assist in the edits of the “Rene Gonzalez (politician)” WIkipedia page, but that the action was within legal bounds.

“The Auditor’s Office determined that the evidence obtained to date is insufficient to find that a violation of the City’s campaign finance law occurred, and therefore issued a finding of no violation,” according to a statement from the auditor’s office. “However, as detailed in the determination letter, the Auditor’s Office finds this an exceedingly close call.”

The office shared the following details that informed their decision:

To find a violation of the City’s campaign finance law, the Auditor’s Office must determine that it is more likely than not that the City provided funds or services to or on behalf of Gonzalez in his capacity as a candidate. It is undisputed that Gonzalez’s office spent $6,400 of City funds to retain an independent contractor (WhiteHatWiki) to assist it in creating eight edits for the “Rene Gonzalez (politician)” Wikipedia page, that were submitted to Wikipedia in June 2024. It appears that Gonzalez’s primary interest in doing so was that he wanted to remove an entry on the Gonzalez Wikipedia page stating that he had been criticized for tagging on Twitter a member of the far-right group, Patriot Prayer. In addition, there is evidence Gonzalez knew of and approved of all the Wikipedia edits, and multiple of the edits could be interpreted to relate to Gonzalez’s campaign for mayor. However, the record also contains mixed evidence on the motives behind the Wikipedia edit project. Based on the current record, the Auditor’s Office does not believe the evidence that City resources were provided to Gonzalez in his capacity as a candidate is strong enough to definitively outweigh contrary evidence that suggests that City resources were provided to Gonzalez in his capacity as a commissioner.

According to the Auditor’s Office, investigators expect to receive more evidence via a public records request from the City of Portland. If the office chooses to withdraw their determination, it must be done within the next 30 days.

A separate investigation was moved to the Secretary of State’s Office to determine whether Gonzalez violated state law by having his employees “engage in political activity during working hours.”

Stay with KOIN 6 News as this story develops.

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