PORTLAND, Ore. ( KOIN ) — After an audit cleared Rene Gonzalez of violating campaign finance laws in mid-September, the Auditor’s Office said they are withdrawing their decision because they received new information.
In August, news broke that Gonzalez’s office used over $6,000 of public funds to beef up his Wikipedia page.
Documents obtained by KOIN 6 showed that Gonzalez’s office had paid a company called Codename Enterprises. operating under WhiteHatWiki, to assist with edits and contentious matters on Gonzalez’s Wikipedia page.
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After the spending was revealed, local non-profit Portland for All filed a campaign finance complaint seeking to determine if the spending violated city campaign finance regulations, which led to an investigation.
According to the Auditor’s Office, the initial investigation found that there was “insufficient evidence” when trying to prove any violations. At the time, however, the Auditor’s Office did say in their determination letter that it was an exceedingly close call.