Multnomah County Cuts Ties With Consultant Over Conflict Of Interest Allegations

Tracy Allensworth had been investigating reports of racism and sexism within the Department of Community Justice.

Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury opens a winter shelter. (Motoya Nakamura / Multnomah County)
By Katie Shepherd

A good-government hotline complaint led Multnomah County to end an agreement with an outside consultant who had been investigating protected class complaints within the Department of Community Justice.

The complaint alleged that the consultant, Tracy Allensworth, was a close personal friend of DCJ human resources director Patty Blanchard. The two women had worked together at Portland Public Schools in the past.

Allensworth was hired as a consultant to investigate several protected class complaints that allege a pattern of racism and sexism within the department. DCJ received 45 protected class complaints in just over a year.

The hotline complaint included Facebook photos of the women on vacation abroad. After county officials reviewed the complaint, they decided to stop using Allensworth's services to investigate protected class complaints within DCJ.

Multnomah County Chief Operating Officer Marissa Madrigal noted that the failure to disclose the close personal relationship between Allensworth and Blanchard "does not foster trust or feel like it meets our standards for accountability."

Allensworth earned $100 an hour to investigate the discrimination claims, which the county says is "less than average."

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