Murmurs: Lawsuit Says Shelter Nonprofit Spent Wildly

LAWSUIT SAYS SHELTER NONPROFIT SPENT WILDLY: Sunstone Way, a nonprofit that collects $13 million a year running homeless shelters in Multnomah and Clackamas counties, spent public money on upscale office space, staff retreats to Bend, and bloated contracts with related organizations, according to a former employee who filed a whistleblower suit on Feb. 12. Previously known as All Good Northwest, Sunstone Way operates homeless shelters for the city and the county, including Weidler Village, a 38-unit cluster in Northeast Portland, and the 70-bed Delta Park Motel Shelter, a former Motel 6 converted just last June. Kate Fulton joined Sunstone Way as finance manager on Oct. 2, 2023. She was promoted to director of finance in early 2024, giving her a bird’s eye view of the nonprofit’s books. “By July 2024, it became apparent to plaintiff that Sunstone Way was being mismanaged financially,” the complaint says. Among the first signs of trouble for Fulton, according to the complaint, was chief executive Andy Goebel’s decision in mid-2024 to move Sunstone Way’s offices from the repurposed Washington High School to more expensive space across the river on Southwest Naito Parkway “despite the lease not having expired on the previous offices.” As Sunstone Way faced “mounting financial pressure,” the complaint says, Goebel directed Fulton to contact the Joint Office of Homeless Services (now Multnomah County’s Homeless Services Department) to request more money. “Goebel was unconcerned about the availability of additional funding, apparently having been bailed out by JOHS in the past when he failed to maintain a proper budget,” the complaint says. A spokeswoman said Multnomah County doesn’t comment on pending litigation. Fulton sued under Oregon’s whistleblower statute, claiming she was fired after protesting Sunstone Way’s spending practices. “Sunstone Way is working closely with legal counsel and will address this matter through the appropriate legal channels,” spokeswoman Devon Hoyt said in an email. “As this is pending litigation, we are unable to provide further comment.”

PATHBREAKING LAWMAKER AVEL GORDLY DIES: Former state Sen. Avel Gordly (D-Portland) died this week at the age of 79. A graduate of what is now Benson Polytechnic and Portland State University, Gordly established a reputation for leadership and integrity in the 1980s in roles with the Black United Front and the Urban League. In 1991, she won appointment to the Oregon House, representing North and Northeast Portland. In 1996, Gordly became the first Black woman elected to the Oregon Senate. As a lawmaker, Gordly pushed for greater focus on mental illness, civil rights, and transparency in both policing and legislating. She demanded grand jury transcripts be made public after police shootings, a change lawmakers finally made after her retirement. Gordly also called for greater openness in Salem, quitting the Senate Democratic caucus in 2005 after her colleagues refused to allow reporters into caucus meetings. Oregon Health & Science University renamed its behavioral health unit for Gordly in 2008, and the city of Portland commemorated her achievements with Avel Gordly Day on March 30, 2022. Senate Minority Leader Bruce Starr (R-Dundee) said he and his father, former Sen. Charles Starr (R-Hillsboro), were both honored to have served with Gordly. “She had a moral clarity that was rare, and a warmth that made it hard to stay at a distance,” Starr said. “Even when the debate was sharp, she never lost her grace.” Urban League CEO Nkenge Harmon remembered Gordly as a giant. “The Honorable Avel Gordly’s lifetime of principled leadership is a light that will always guide the Urban League,” Harmon said. Gordly is survived by her son, Tyrone Waters, and her sister, Faye Burch.

SHOE INCUBATOR LEADER RESIGNS: The executive director of Made in Old Town, the shoe manufacturing project that’s struggled to deliver on promises it made to revitalize a wide swath of the Old Town neighborhood, has resigned. Liz Rodgers, a longtime Nike executive who joined Made in Old Town late last year, wrote in an automated email response that she has “resigned from my role as executive director of Made in Old Town, effective immediately.” Rodgers joined the ailing shoe startup late last year as it struggled to fulfill big promises to city and state officials about its nine-building vision for the beleaguered Old Town neighborhood. The project’s leaders promised it would revitalize the area by raising some public and mostly private money. Made in Old Town received a $7 million loan from Prosper Portland and has since failed to meet the loan requirement for private fundraising. The project also received a grant from the Oregon Legislature, but some state lawmakers—most notably Gov. Tina Kotek—have since appeared to sour on the project. Despite receiving significant taxpayer dollars, the project’s leaders have declined to provide WW with information about how many tenants they’ve brought in to their new buildings and how much they’ve received in private funding to date. Made in Old Town did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Rodgers’ resignation.

PROJECT TURNKEY RECORDS STAY HIDDEN: The Oregon Community Foundation may keep applications to the $125 million Project Turnkey housing program out of public view, the Oregon Department of Justice ruled earlier this month. WW has been seeking the paperwork to see what applicants promised about their track records and what they pledged to do with money granted by the state. One of the largest Turnkey grantees, an LLC affiliated with the Rockwood Community Development Corporation, bought a Best Western on Northeast 181st Avenue for $6.7 million in 2021 and soon after began housing families there at Multnomah County’s expense. The county stopped contracting with Rockwood CDC last year, alleging it was billed for empty rooms and overcharged for maintenance, leaving the shelter almost empty. There were signs of trouble in the years leading up to the grant award. Rockwood CDC’s board chair resigned in 2017 after founder Brad Ketch stonewalled her efforts to look at the nonprofit’s books. WW sought Rockwood CDC’s application for Project Turnkey funds to see what Ketch disclosed about the matter. But the state had called upon the Oregon Community Foundation to distribute the money, and the foundation argued public records laws don’t apply to private nonprofits. WW petitioned the Oregon DOJ, arguing that OCF was acting in the place of a state agency and should therefore disclose the records. The DOJ denied WW’s request. “Transparency is a cornerstone of good governance,” Oregon deputy attorney general Benjamin Gutman wrote. “But the question here is not whether disclosure of the requested records would promote accountability or confidence in state-funded programs. The question is whether the Oregon Public Records Law requires OCF to disclose those records.” The decision “does not mean that nondisclosure is good governance,” Gutman wrote. “Nothing in this order precludes OCF from disclosing any of the requested records voluntarily or the Legislature from requiring public release of subgrant applications in the future.”

THE DUCK MUST BE DRAMA-FREE: It turns out that in order to become Puddles, the University of Oregon’s beloved mascot, one must have many ducks in a row. UO’s Cheer & Dance & Mascots code of conduct for the 2025–26 academic year is a hefty eight-page agreement with rules that must be followed to don the costume. The document was first obtained by David Covucci, the editor in chief at FOIAball, a website that seeks public records from collegiate athletic programs. The cheer team, referred to in the contract as “The Squad,” follows a strict three-strike policy, meaning multiple violations of the rulebook may result in missing a game. Strikes may be earned for any number of offenses: Attending practice in Adidas gear at a Nike school is a no-no; so is being late or failing to uphold a decent grade point average. But the code also includes one long provision that suggests feathers have been ruffled. That section asks that The Duck and other team members maintain a harmonious relationship. Behaviors such as “gossiping about squad members” and “contributing to or causing dissension among members of the squad” are strictly prohibited. Looks like the job might not be all it’s quacked up to be.