Talk:Rene Gonzalez (politician)

Campaign Feedback

Hi there, this is a shared account from commissioner-elect Rene Gonzalez to provide feedback until his communications team takes over (late 2022 or 2023). Acknowledging potential conflicts per wikipedia guidelines, with the following initial suggested revisions:

1. Here is the Oregonian Endorsement, which we recommend be linked (Willamette Week and Tribune's are already linked): https://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/2022/10/editorial-endorsement-november-2022-rene-gonzalez-is-voters-best-choice-for-portland-city-council.html
2. Please reach out to campaign@reneforportland.com for a photo, but note the campaign owns the photo used in the Oregonian endorsement, which may be used here.
3. With respect to the lease, here is the final Administrative Law Decision: https://www.portland.gov/sites/default/files/2022/appeal-order.pdf Key quote in decision (p.15) on the fine: "According to the overwhelming weight of the evidence, the Director’s methodology and calculations were oversimplified and inappropriate to determine fair market value of commercial real estate in downtown Portland under the current socioeconomic conditions affecting the market."

Would appreciate consideration in adding above. Please let us know if we can be of further assitance to editors at campaign@reneforportland.com. Reneforportland (talk) 16:30, 19 November 2022 (UTC)

@Reneforportland: Thank you for commenting on the Talk page, really appreciate not diving straight into the article. Some replies:

1. I've added this, thanks for the link
2. Photos on Wikipedia are a bit of a pill, but tl;dr: is that we can't just take the photo from the Oregonian based on being told so here. You can upload a photo directly at our media repository if you have permission to share a freely-licensed photo, or I can shoot you an email and help find an easier workaround.
3. Wikipedia generally doesn't cite primary sources, and the article does note already that the fine was overturned in court. Are you suggesting we should add the reason?

Thanks, Steven Walling • talk 16:53, 19 November 2022 (UTC)

For #3, the court's reasoning might be helpful for readers, as the court did not find this a close case. For example, in a couple of places the court noted the evidence was overwhelming in Candidate Gonzalez's favor:

Page 14: "According to the overwhelming weight of expert testimony, the current state of the commercial real estate market – particularly ground-floor retail and office space – in downtown Portland is weak due to repeated civil unrest, increased homelessness, vagrancy, as well as both personal and property crimes."

Page 15-16: "According to the overwhelming weight of the evidence, the Director’s methodology and calculations were oversimplified and inappropriate to determine fair market value of commercial real estate in downtown Portland under the current socioeconomic conditions affecting the market."

If secondary sources cite, we will be sure to share. Reneforportland (talk) 18:53, 19 November 2022 (UTC)

Here is picture that can be used (now uploaded to wikipedia):

File:City DSC0471 - Copy.jpg

Portland City Commissioner-Elect Rene Gonzalez, Downtown Portland in Background.

Reneforportland (talk) 01:01, 23 November 2022 (UTC)

Good morning Steve. Some notes:

The Oregonian Endorsement link above still looks broken on the main page.

Vandalism and Threats Against Campaign. Another part of the story in race was that our campaign office was vandalized 3 times, and a 4th vandalism/direct action attempt was thwarted by police. 2 of the 4 vandalisms/attempts were tied to what called police have called "anarchist' or "antifa" groups; a third also appears likely politically motivated. Here are stories for each:

1. Late July. https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2022/08/portland-city-council-candidate-rene-gonzalezs-campaign-headquarters-vandalized.html
2. Late September. https://www.koin.com/news/crime/schnitzer-enough-is-enough-of-downtown-portland-vandalism/
3. Late October. https://www.kgw.com/article/news/crime/portland-city-council-candidates-downtown-campaign-office-vandalized/283-43d47808-9cf2-4b3b-95b4-fc9f06bb708d#:~:text=%E2%80%94%20The%20campaign%20office%20of%20Portland,a%20rock%20inside%20the%20building.
4. Election Night -Anarchist Attempt Stopped by Police. https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/suspect-charged-protest-rene-gonzalez-election-night/283-8e890026-a37d-4b61-ae8f-7220b9dc49aa.

Here is some more detail on threats made against campaign:

https://thepostmillennial.com/portland-antifa-member-who-advocates-for-political-violence-works-for-far-left-group-hired-by-city-to-train-cops (please note - the city disputes the portion of the story indicating that the one making the threat works for an organization retained by the city of Portland; we are unable to verify independently).

https://twitter.com/MrAndyNgo/status/1589837787158958081?s=20&t=dp5GYwuyA_719kx5xgmGSg. Threats made in advance of election night.

False Claims on Political Affiliation. The campaign sent a cease and desist letter to our opponent during the campaign for what we believed were inflammatory/false statements contributing to threat of political violence: https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2022/10/30/gonzalez-campaign-sends-hardesty-cease-and-desist-letter-alleging-patently-false-libelous-statements/

Willamette Week would eventual label Hardesty's mailers as a "lie": https://www.wweek.com/news/2022/11/09/we-sorted-through-election-mailers-many-voters-just-recycled/ "The implication that Rene Gonzalez is a Republican. The bright red mailer from the Jo Ann for Portland Committee did not explicitly make that charge, but it used the word 'Republican' four times in a silhouette of Gonzalez, along with the names Marjorie Taylor Greene (four times), Christine Drazan, Ted Cruz, Kevin Mannix and 'Right to Life' (three times). Gonzalez is certainly more conservative than Jo Ann Hardesty, but he’s a pro-choice Democrat." Reneforportland (talk) 16:24, 23 November 2022 (UTC)

Also the vandalism is what led to the thank you to supporters on his Twitter that tagged Quincy Franklin - we did not know who he was, but he had video taped words of encouragement and shared on instagram after office was vandalized and threatened with further vandalism. It was odd Mercury focused on the shared instagram post, without referencing the well documented vandalism and threats it was in response to. Reneforportland (talk) 17:04, 23 November 2022 (UTC)

Didn't expect to post 3 times today, but this just hit: https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2022/11/portland-auditor-withdraws-5520-fine-against-rene-gonzalezs-city-council-campaign.html?utm_campaign=theoregonian_sf&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

"The city must pay back the tens of thousands of dollars it withheld from Gonzalez, who bested incumbent Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty in the Nov. 8 race for city council.

In a statement Wednesday, the auditor’s office said Allen’s decision impacted their original determination, saying “the evidence no longer supported allegations of prohibited contributions.” Reneforportland (talk) 22:47, 23 November 2022 (UTC)