Skip to main content
Portland City Auditor Mary Hull Caballero has fined ride-hailing giant Uber $2,000 for lobbying violations—the first such fine in city history.
The fine stems from Uber's failure to report hiring campaign consultant Mark Wiener as a lobbyist.
A December 2014 meeting at Wiener's house ended a fierce standoff between the San Francisco-based transportation company and Portland City Hall. After the meeting, Mayor Charlie Hales and Commissioner Steve Novick, both Wiener clients, softened their opposition to the company running cars in Portland.
Caballero's fine follows an investigation by WW into Wiener going to work for Uber while serving as a campaign adviser to Hales and Novick. Hull Caballero had previously issued warnings to Hales and Novick for not listing the meeting on their calendars. (Wiener has, in the past, defended his competing roles, saying he wasn't paid by Uber at the same time he was paid by Hales or Novick.)
Hull Caballero found Uber broke lobbying rules four times: failing to disclose Wiener as a lobbyist in late 2014, failing again in early 2015, then failing to disclose the lobbying work he did during those time periods.
She has fined Uber the maximum penalty—$500—for each violation.
"The public's trust is undermined when decision-makers and those trying to influence them don't report their activities," Hull Caballero said in a statement this morning. "In this case, neither the elected officials nor Uber met their obligations. They circumvented the purpose of the lobbying registration program, which is to promote transparency."
Willamette Week