Councilor Mitch Green accused of misusing city funds for campaign purposes

Was this Instagram post an instance of voter education or voter recruitment?

Councilor Mitch Green in his City Hall office.

Deian Salazar and T.J. Anderson today announced the joint filing of two formal complaints against Portland City Councilor Mitch Green, alleging that Green used City of Portland financial and staff resources to produce a campaign-style video for his re-election bid on his official government Instagram account, then unlawfully collaborated with two outside political organizations to amplify it, and later attempted to delete the evidence once the arrangement drew public criticism.

The complaints, filed with the Portland City Auditor and the Oregon Secretary of State's Elections Division, allege that the video, posted to Councilor Green’s official City Council Instagram account, functions as a campaign advertisement rather than a factual summary of his council work.

The video closes with an explicit “join me” call to action and displays a campaign-style logo rather than official city branding.

August 17, 2026

Office of the City Auditor

Attn: Elections Division / Office of the Ombudsman

City of Portland

RE: Formal Complaint — Misuse of City Resources and Prohibited Political Activity by Councilor Mitch Green and City Staff in Violation of HRAR 4.06, HRAR 4.09, and ORS 260.432

Dear City Auditor:

We write to file a formal administrative complaint against Councilor Mitch Green and any City of Portland staff who participated in the production and dissemination of a promotional video (”the Reel”) published to Councilor Green’s official City Council Instagram account. As set forth below, the Reel and its distribution raise substantial concerns that City financial and staff resources were used to produce and disseminate campaign material for Councilor Green’s re-election, and that City employees engaged in prohibited political activity at the direction of an elected official, in violation of City Human Resources Administrative Rule (”HRAR”) 4.06 — Political Activity, HRAR 4.09 — Use of City Resources, and ORS 260.432, as incorporated by City policy. We request that your office investigate this matter pursuant to its oversight authority over City elections compliance, employee conduct, and use of public resources.

I. Statement of Facts

1. Councilor Mitch Green represents District 4 on the Portland City Council. His City-affiliated Instagram account is identified on his official City of Portland council web page (https://www.portland.gov/council/districts/4/mitch-green) as his government account.

2. On or about August 11, 2026, a high-production video (”the Reel”) was posted to Councilor Green’s official City Instagram account. The Reel is available at:

1. Based on its professional production quality, content, and apparent scope, the Reel appears to have been produced using City of Portland financial and/or staff resources, rather than personal or campaign resources.

2. The Reel does not present itself as a neutral, factual summary of Councilor Green’s council work, votes, or constituent services. Instead, it concludes with an explicit call to action inviting viewers to “join me” — language that is reasonably understood as an invitation to join Councilor Green’s re-election campaign rather than an invitation to engage with City government.

3. The Reel displays a stylized logo that is not the official seal or logo of the City of Portland and instead resembles campaign-style branding.

4. The Reel was posted using Instagram’s “collab” (collaborative post) feature. A collaborative post is co-authored across multiple Instagram profiles: it appears simultaneously on each collaborator’s profile and in each collaborator’s followers’ feeds, and it shares a single set of likes, comments, and view counts across all listed accounts, thereby extending the reach and engagement of the underlying content to each collaborator’s audience.

5. The collaborator credit line on the Reel (”councilormitchgreen and 2 others”) identified the two additional co-authoring accounts as Portland DSA, a political organization, and Portland for All, a 501(c)(4) organization engaged in political activity that is affiliated with a state-registered political action committee, Portland for All PAC.

6. After members of the public posted multiple comments questioning the nature of the Reel as campaign advertising and criticizing its inappropriate collaboration with outside political organizations on an official City communications channel, the collaboration credit linking the Reel to Portland DSA and Portland for All was removed, and the Reel itself subsequently disappeared from the Instagram profiles of both Portland DSA and Portland for All. This removal occurred only after the Reel had already been viewed by, and had reached, the substantial combined subscriber base of both organizations — Portland DSA has more than 20,000 followers and Portland for All has more than 6,500 followers — such that the collaboration had already served its purpose of disseminating City-produced and disseminated content to those audiences. and such that the in-kind value of the cross-promotion had already been fully realized, by the time the collaboration was taken down. This sequence of events is consistent with an attempt by Councilor Green and/or City staff to conceal the collaboration after it drew public scrutiny, rather than a routine or unrelated content change.

7. Portland DSA is a political organization engaged in electoral advocacy. Councilor Green is a member of, and endorsed by, Portland DSA.

8. Portland for All is a 501(c)(4) organization engaged in political activity and is affiliated with a registered political action committee, Portland for All PAC, filed with the State of Oregon.

9. The complainant is not aware of any public disclosure by Councilor Green’s office identifying the cost of production of the Reel, the City staff who worked on it, the hours expended, or the basis on which the Reel was approved for posting to a City-branded government account.

II. Applicable Rules and Standards

A. HRAR 4.06 — Political Activity. City of Portland Human Resources Administrative Rule 4.06 prohibits elected officials from trying to or actually coercing, commanding, or requiring City employees to engage in political activities, even where those activities would be legal and would occur off the job. The rule further provides that an elected official may not use City employees to prepare or deliver information advocating the election or defeat of a candidate. HRAR 4.06 expressly incorporates the standards of ORS 260.432, discussed below.

B. HRAR 4.09 — Use of City Resources. City policy governing the use of City resources restricts the use of public funds, equipment, staff time, and City-branded communications channels (including official social media accounts) to City business purposes, and prohibits their use for political campaign activity.

C. ORS 260.432 — Solicitation of Public Employees; Political Activity During Working Hours. ORS 260.432 provides that a public employee may not solicit money, influence, service, or other things of value, or otherwise promote or oppose any political committee or the nomination or election of a candidate, while on the job during working hours or while otherwise acting in an official capacity. Subsection (1) separately prohibits any person — including an elected official, who is not personally a “public employee” under the statute — from attempting to, or actually, coercing, commanding, or requiring a public employee to engage in political activity, even if that activity would occur on the employee’s own time. Where an elected official acts as a supervisor, a request directed to a subordinate public employee to perform political activity is treated as a command for purposes of the statute.

D. City Guidance on Permitted Communications. City guidance recognizes that elected officials and their staff may prepare and disseminate factual, neutral reports on the work of their office, provided such reports serve the public interest and do not cross the line from factual reporting into advocacy for a candidate’s election. Even factually accurate material can violate City rules and state law if it is unbalanced or functions as advocacy.

III. Detailed Violations

Violation 1: Use of City Financial and Staff Resources to Produce Campaign Advertising Material.

1. The Reel does not function as a factual, neutral summary of Councilor Green’s council work or voting record permissible under City guidance. It functions as a campaign advertisement, evidenced by (a) its closing “join us” call to action directed at building support for Councilor Green rather than informing constituents of City business, and (b) its use of a non-City, campaign-style logo in place of official City branding. This is bolstered by the fact that the only other City councilors included in the reel are Angelita Morillo and Tiffany Koyama Lane, two fellow DSA-affiliated councilors running for re-election in District 3.

2. If City financial resources, equipment, or staff time were used in the production, editing, or dissemination of the Reel, such use would constitute a direct violation of HRAR 4.09 and the prohibition on using City resources for political campaign purposes.

3. If City staff prepared, filmed, edited, or disseminated the Reel at Councilor Green’s direction, such staff involvement would constitute City employees being used to “prepare or deliver information advocating . . . the election . . . of a candidate” in direct violation of HRAR 4.06, and, to the extent staff acted at Councilor Green’s request in his capacity as their supervisor, that request is treated as a command under ORS 260.432(1) regardless of whether the work occurred during or outside of working hours.

Violation 2: Political Collaboration Through Official City Channels.

1. By using Instagram’s “collab” feature to co-author the Reel with Portland DSA and Portland for All on his official City Instagram account, Councilor Green caused a City government communications channel to be merged, for engagement and distribution purposes, with the accounts of Portland DSA and Portland for Sall, respectively a political organization and a 501(c)(4) organization engaged in political activity. This merger extended the reach of the political content associated with those organizations to Councilor Green’s official City audience, and vice versa, using the credibility and platform of his government office.

2. This conduct is inconsistent with the requirement that City-branded communications channels be reserved for factual City business and not be used as a vehicle for cross-promotion with political organizations or affiliated political committees.

IV. Requested Action / Investigation

The complainant respectfully requests that the City Auditor:

1. Investigate the full scope of the production, approval, financing, and dissemination of the Reel, including which City employees were involved, what City financial and equipment resources were used, how many hours of staff time were expended, and whether the Reel was produced using City equipment.

2. Determine whether Councilor Green directed, requested, or otherwise caused City staff to prepare, edit, or disseminate the Reel, and if so, whether that direction constitutes a violation of HRAR 4.06 and ORS 260.432(1).

3. Determine whether the use of City resources to produce the Reel, and its posting to a City-branded Instagram account in collaboration with Portland DSA and Portland for All, constitutes an impermissible use of City resources for political advocacy in violation of HRAR 4.09.

4. Investigate whether similar videos or social media content involving City resources and collaboration with political organizations have been produced by or on behalf of Councilor Green.

5. Take immediate steps to preserve all records relating to the Reel and its subsequent alteration, including Instagram edit history and metadata (to the extent obtainable from Meta or Councilor Green’s office), internal City communications concerning the Reel’s production and removal of the collaboration credit, and any records reflecting when and by whom the collaboration was deleted, given the apparent post-hoc removal of the collaboration after it drew public scrutiny.

6. Refer any findings involving potential violations of state election law, including ORS 260.432, to the Oregon Secretary of State’s Elections Division for coordinated investigation.

7. Impose appropriate civil penalties for any violations found, take appropriate corrective and/or disciplinary action, and issue any guidance necessary to prevent further use of City financial and staff resources, and City-branded communications channels, for political activity supporting Councilor Green’s re-election or that of any other elected official.

We are available to provide the underlying source material referenced in this complaint, including screenshots of the Reel and its collaborator credits, upon request. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Respectfully submitted,

TJ Anderson and Deian Salazar

[Residents of Goose Hollow neighborhood]

A similar complaint was filed with the Oregon Elections Division.

8/19/2026

Attachments / Referenced Sources / Footnote

• Instagram Reel:

• Councilor Green’s City Council web page: https://www.portland.gov/council/districts/4/mitch-green

• City of Portland HRAR 4.06 — Political Activity: https://www.portland.gov/policies/human-resources-administrative-rules/employee-behavior-expectations/hrar-406-political

• ORS 260.432 Quick Reference (Portland City Attorney): https://www.portland.gov/attorney/documents/oregon-revised-statutes-260432-quick-reference/download

• Screenshots of collaborator credit line identifying Portland DSA and Portland for All as co-authors of the Reel [attached separately]

Footnote:

Deian Salazar is not affiliated with TJ Anderson’s Campaign for Portland City Council. Official affiliation is as a colleague and fellow collaborative advocate in disability rights.