When we saw that Gordon Sondland, the Portland businessman at the center of the Trump-Ukraine Scandal, had donated a lot of money to @tedwheeler's campaign for mayor, we had no idea how deep this Portland scandal would go. H/t to @coreypein for uncovering this. (Thread)
For those who do not know, Gordon Sondland donated 1 million dollars to Trump's inauguration and was subsequently appointed as the ambassador to the U.N. @washingtonpost says texts from Sondlad read like a "government-sanctioned shakedown". washingtonpost.com/national-secur…
@nytimes writes that Sondland, "was boasting on Ukrainian television that Mr. Trump had honored him with a “special assignment” — “overseeing” relations between the two countries “at the highest levels.” In short, Sondlad helped Trump subvert our democracy and shakedown Ukraine.
That times article can be found here: nytimes.com/2019/10/04/wor…
Sondland was a major donor to Gov. Kulongoski despite being a registered Republican. As written in 2016, "Kulongoski raised eyebrows 11 years ago when he named Portland real estate investor Katy Durant to the citizen panel that oversees the state's pension fund investments."
Continued, "Some saw a conflict of interest with her day job. Others saw more of the political cronyism that had plagued the Oregon Investment Council in years past, because Durant's husband, hotel developer Gordon Sondland, was a campaign contributor" oregonlive.com/politics/2016/…
Now to Mayor Wheeler. Scandals are usually hard to follow so I am going to run through this somewhat chronologically to make it easy to digest. In 2010 @tedwheeler was appointed as Oregon State Treasurer. Shortly later, Governor Kulongoski credited Gordon Sondlad for the pick. 
That letter to Sondland is a little blurry but it reads in part, "When I was weighing whom to appoint as State Treasurer, you added Ted Wheeler's name to the mix. It was a great suggestion, I took it."
For those who might not know, Wheeler is the descendant of timber barons and is a very wealthy millionaire. He and his family have largely funded many of his political endeavors which would not be possible without his access to wealth. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Wheel…
Shortly after Sondland got Wheeler his gig as Oregon State Treasurer, Wheeler backed Sondland's wife's (Durant) proposal to shift management of a $90B fund away from his own agency. Credit @coreypein for the screenshots. pamplinmedia.com/pt/9-news/2622…
Side note: this wasn't the last time. In 2017, a major donor to Wheeler's campaign wrote an op-ed complaining about the homeless in front of his storefront. Shortly after, Ted installed "no-sit" signs designed to keep the homeless out of sight. medium.com/@gregoryrobert…
This speaks to how influential Wheeler's major donors are in his policies and what he is willing to do as mayor. This is why it is so concerning that Ted Wheeler accepted $15,000 from Gordon Sondland in his 2016 race. This is not the type of person we want to influence Portland.
What is even more alarming is that the $10,000 dollars that came from Sondland's corporation (which should be illegal), came just days before Wheeler won the election. Everyone knew Ted was going to win, as highlighted in this @Oregonian article. oregonlive.com/politics/2016/…
Thus, a donation of $10,000 was not to help Wheeler win the election. If the money was to win an election, it would have come during the campaign, not during the coronation period.
That was money to secure favor with the mayor, which could be used like the appointment in 2010 to secure further help for Sondland's personal gain. Sondland then gave Trump 1 million which should have prompted Wheeler to return the funds, he did not.
Yesterday @sarah2020 requested that Wheeler return the money. His team stated that they legally can't talk about past donations, which I am unaware of any such rules. Yet, they have not returned the money or responded at all. They want this to blow over. portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2019/…
Anyone in Portland knows how favorable Wheeler has been to people like Gordon Sondland.
✅ He has continued the sweeps of the houseless so that his wealthy donors do not have to encounter poor people.
✅ He has brutally beat protesters to keep downtown businesses happy.
✅ He has continued the sweeps of the houseless so that his wealthy donors do not have to encounter poor people.
✅ He has brutally beat protesters to keep downtown businesses happy.
✅ He has failed to act on climate change in fears of upsetting wealthy donors.
✅ He failed to protect small business food carts from a hotel chain such as Sondland's and even went to the burial, I mean groundbreaking ceremony, with a golden shovel.
✅ He failed to protect small business food carts from a hotel chain such as Sondland's and even went to the burial, I mean groundbreaking ceremony, with a golden shovel.
I say all this and then remind you all that this is what happens when we elect a millionaire mayor who's class status made them who they are. Wheeler is not evil, he is out of touch. He is incapable of being the best mayor for Portland. Funded by Nike, McDonald's, Kroger, etc
Please donate and support our only chance at a people's mayor @sarah2020. Someone who can address climate change, housing affordability, and rising inequality; with the urgency everyday Portlander's need. We are up against Sondland and the golden shovels. sarah2020.com/donate
Again h/t @coreypein for his threads on much of this. You can find his thread here:
