For Immediate Release
Contact: Molly Woon
press [at] dpo [dot] org
October 24, 2019
Elections Complaints Filed Against Timber Unity, Darren Mead
Complaints relate to recall efforts in House District 32
SALEM — Community members on Oregon’s North Coast have filed three separate elections and campaign finance complaints against Timber Unity and chief petitioner of the Recall Tiffiny Mitchell campaign, Darren Mead, among others.
The complaints allege failure to report campaign expenditures on time, false statements on the recall petition, and, most seriously, knowingly attempting to illegally obtain signatures.
“As this group abuses the recall process in an effort to overturn the will of the voters, it is no surprise that they are uninterested in following the rules,” said KC Hanson, Chair of the Democratic Party of Oregon. “With a short time for them to collect signatures, we are urging Secretary of State Bev Clarno to act swiftly in investigating these complaints.”
The most serious of the complaints alleges that Mead sent a letter to thousands of individuals in House District 32 urging them to use a supplied signature gathering sheet and to collect signatures from individuals even if they are not sure the signers live in the district — read the full complaint here. This is in direct violation of state law.
“Because the Secretary of State does not count every signature but only takes a statistical analysis of submitted signatures, even a small number of invalid signatures could have a big impact on the outcome of this recall effort,” Hanson said.
Further complaints allege Mead included false statements in the recall petition, a violation of ORS 260.532 and ORS 260.715. Among the false statements included in the petition being circulated is that Rep. Mitchell voted against two separate bills that never came to the floor for a vote. Another complaint against Timber Unity PAC alleges that the group failed to report an in-kind contribution of hundreds of dollars in Facebook advertising.
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