Oregon Consumer League Puts Its Name on Misleading Mailer Endorsing Measure 97

Group advocates accountability but falls short in two key ways.

The ad war over Measure 97, the $3 billion corporate tax increase on the November ballot, has filled the airwaves and mailboxes with competing messages.

One piece advocating a "Yes" vote on the measure, a mailer from the Oregon Consumer League, fails a basic transparency requirement.

The mailer is stamped with the Oregon Consumer League's logo and return address, which could give recipients the impression that an independent organization is willing to put its name behind the measure.

But Shamus Lynsky admits the "Yes on 97" campaign paid for the mailer. That fact is not disclosed anywhere.

Related: Foes of proposed tax increase recruited a ballot measure killer from California.

That's not the only place the Consumer League is falling short of its stated mission to "promote sound policy and governmental regulation in the interest of consumers and to help ensure effective enforcement."

Until Oct. 31, the group's website included the false claim that contributions to it were tax-deductible. That's a bad look for an organization that advocates for transparency and accountability.

Records show that the Oregon Consumer League lost its tax exempt-status in 2013 for failing to file required tax returns, an omission for which the Oregon Department of Justice again dinged it last month.

Lysnky is unapologetic for the misleading mailer but has fixed the solicitation on the OCL website and says he's filed paperwork to restore OCL's legal status with the Internal Revenue Service.

"When I came on board as the executive director last year, we realized there was error with our paperwork so we have refiled as a 501(c)4 and the corrections are in process," Lynsky says in an email. "It's been a frustratingly slow process."

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