PORTLAND, Ore. — An endorsement flyer for Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler’s re-election campaign that was mailed out to voters is coming under fire. Commissioner Chole Eudaly and the Portland Timbers and Thorns are listed as having endorsed Wheeler, even though they say they have not.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Eudaly said she would not be endorsing city council positions in the primary election. The post reads, “It’s too complicated during my own campaign with current and future colleagues, past and present city employees, and personal friends in the race.”
Eudaly is also running for re-election for Portland City Council Position 4.
On Thursday, when Timbers and Thorns owner Merritt Paulson was asked about the team's logos on the flyer, he initially said it was, “100% not something I was aware of.”
Paulson said he had personally donated to Wheeler's re-election campaign, and records show he made a $3,000 contribution.
Later Thursday night, Paulson tweeted the team’s logos appearing on the endorsement flyer was a miscommunication between one of the organization’s employees and Wheeler's re-election campaign.
Paulson tweeted that the Timbers President of Business Mike Golub thought that his own name and title would be used as an endorsement for Wheeler, not the teams. Golub gave $2,000 to Wheeler’s re-election campaign in 2019.
“I support Ted but don’t allow our teams to be vehicles for political endorsements and am upset this happened. We apologize for the confusion,” Paulson said.
In a statement, the Timbers said, “Miscommunication is always possible, and we are confident there was no malicious intent regarding the use of team logos in campaign materials. As an organization, the Portland Timbers and Thorns FC do not endorse political candidates.”
KGW News has reached out to the mayor's campaign for comment but has not heard back.
This comes days after Wheeler's campaign was sued by election opponent Sarah Iannarone, and others, claiming the mayor received more than $170,000 in campaign donations that should be considered illegal.
The lawsuit comes after a landmark decision by the state Supreme Court last week, which ruled campaign contribution limits are not "facially invalid," meaning they’re not automatically unconstitutional.
Portland’s city auditor says the city will start enforcing a $500 donation limit on Monday, May 4.
Mayor Wheeler’s campaign said the lawsuit is political and has “no merit.” Wheeler said last week he’d follow the new $500 limits.