Ethics Commission Votes to Investigate Former Home Forward CEO Over Travel Spending

The Oregon Government Ethics Commission voted unanimously Aug. 14 to proceed with an investigation into the travel spending of former Home Forward CEO Ivory Mathews, who resigned in June.

Mathews resigned from her position this spring after WW reported she’d spent more than $100,000 on travel in the three preceding years, including dozens of trips to housing conferences and networking events across the country. Receipts revealed Mathews would sometimes extend her trips past the conference dates, blurring personal vacation with work-related travel. One such trip was to Hawaii in 2024.

Meanwhile, her agency sat on more than 900 vacant housing units and was flailing financially. Tenants across Home Forward buildings complained of persistent security, safety and cleanliness problems.

Home Forward is the city of Portland’s housing authority, providing apartments to around 7,000 low-income people across the metro area and distributing housing vouchers to around 12,000.

The ethics commission voted 8–0 to investigate Mathews’ travel spending after staff investigator Silas Patterson determined in a preliminary review that “there appears to be a substantial objective basis to believe that Mathews may have violated the use of office and conflict of interest provisions.”

The Oregonian first reported the commission’s decision to investigate.

Mathews’ conduct, Patterson stated, may be a violation of ORS 244.040, which prohibits a public official from using their position for private financial gain or “avoidance of financial detriment.” She may have also failed to adhere to rules about a conflict of interest if she authorized her own travel expenses, the investigator said.

“Home Forward’s travel policy requires authorization for any expenses incurred by the agency. If Mathews were authorizing her own travel, she would have been met with a conflict of interest on each occasion,” Patterson said. “It does not appear that Mathews complied with conflict of interest disclosure requirements set forth in [Oregon Revised Statutes.]”