Portland auditor rescinds ruling that California-based nonprofit violated lobbying code

PORTLAND, Ore. ( KOIN ) — In an effort to circumvent a legal battle with a nonprofit that runs homeless shelter sites in Portland, the city auditor has revoked lobbying allegations against the organization.

In a letter sent on Tuesday, Auditor Simone Rede notified Urban Alchemy’s attorneys that she had rescinded the previous ruling that accused the nonprofit of violating city lobbying code.

“Because of recent Council actions that we believe could cause a protracted dispute about the interpretation of the lobbying code, which we do not believe to be in the public interest at this critical moment in the transition to a new form of government, we withdraw the finding of a violation of the lobbying code and the official warning we issued Urban Alchemy,” Rede wrote to Tonkon Torp’s Danny Newman and Paul Balmer.

According to the warning letter issued in May, the San-Francisco-based organization violated Portland’s lobbying regulations at some point between April 2022 and December 2022 — when officials were deciding what entity would oversee the city’s next temporary alternative shelter site.

An investigation determined that Urban Alchemy staff spent nearly $4,000 on flights, car rentals and lodging in the fourth quarter of 2022, as they vied to become the new shelter provider. Local law requires organizations to register any lobbying within three days of spending at least $1,000, or after exceeding eight hours of activity.

Tonkon Torp promptly asked Rede to walk back the violation. The law firm stated that Urban Alchemy is a direct services provider and, therefore, not a lobbying entity.

Attorneys sent the auditor a more formal request for reconsideration in mid-May, alleging that her interpretation of “lobbying” is too broad. Portland code defines lobbying as “attempting to influence the official action of city officials.”

Attorneys also claimed that just a portion of the funds listed in the initial investigation were spent on communications with Portland officials.

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