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The union that represents employees of Prosper Portland, the city’s economic development agency, has sent a searing letter to Prosper’s board and Mayor Keith Wilson that asks for an external investigation into actions taken by the agency’s new executive director, Cornell Wesley.
WW has learned that AFSCME Local 3769, which represents approximately 60 agency employees, has asked the Prosper Board and Mayor Wilson to place Wesley on administrative leave—as well as the agency’s human resources director—while a third party investigates the union’s allegations.
“The totality of these concerns cause us to question whether Director Wesley can continue to effectively lead this agency,” the union said at the conclusion of its Nov. 10 letter.
The three-page letter mostly concerns three no-bid contracts for $456,000 that Wesley awarded to college friends during his first year leading the agency, as WW previously reported in an Oct. 13 story.
But the union also raises other matters that, if true, call into question Wesley’s leadership more broadly.
Among other things, the union requested that a third-party investigator examine whether Wesley’s personal relationship with the contractors “impacted the awarding of the contracts and the results of the deliverables,” but also to “determine whether Director Wesley and Human Resources Director Stephon Kibs attempted to use coercive and intimidating tactics to protect Director Wesley’s relationships with outside contractors and to dissuade union leadership from raising concerns about these contracts.” The letter goes on to suggest that an investigator determine whether Wesley and Kibs “created an ineffective and toxic work environment and a workplace culture of fear, intimidation, bullying, and retribution.”
Also, the union requested that any investigation look into a “direct appointment of a former City of Greeley employee to a newly created position at the agency” and “any subsequent retaliation by Director Wesley against individuals who expressed concerns about the possible reputational harm of such an appointment.” (Portland City Administrator Raymond Lee previously worked as city manager of Greeley, Colo.)
The union wrote that it has been “cautious” in sharing its concerns because of the damage it could inflict on the agency’s reputation, and fears from members of retaliation.
“We are only taking this step now in response to the Mayor’s statement and out of concern for both our members’ well-being and the public interest,” the union wrote. “We also believe that there are additional concerns not outlined in this letter that Prosper Portland staff would like to share with the Board; however, many of our members and management fear that sharing these concerns would result in them either not being addressed or would result in retribution.”
The union said its members are concerned about retaliation in part because of a remark the union claims Wesley made after a “prior external investigation.” (The union is likely referring to an October 2025 complaint by a Prosper employee that Wesley had made “inappropriate communications” to her during an out-of-state conference; after an investigation by a local law firm, Prosper board chair Gustavo Cruz said that “nothing in the findings indicate any actions or additional steps need to be taken by the Board on the matter,” according to reporting at the time by The Oregonian.)
“Director Wesley addressed staff at an All Staff meeting and gave an admonition that ‘if you shoot at the king, you better not miss’ (or words to that effect),” the union writes in its letter. ”This was taken by some staff to be a threat of retaliation should they file a complaint in future."
The union, as it first told WW last week, requested that Wilson and the board hire a third-party investigator to look into the three contracts. The union in its letter this week called a prior staff review of the contracts—which found Wesley acted in accordance with agency policy and procedure when he signed the three contracts—“insufficient to restore either public or internal trust in this institution.”
Wilson said last week he planned to honor the union’s request. Board chair Tavo Cruz said last week the board would not make a decision on an external investigator until he heard directly from the union.
Now, the board has heard directly from the union—and must reckon with what appears to be a crisis of confidence among union members with the agency’s boss.
A Prosper Portland spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Neither did board chair Cruz or Mayor Wilson’s office.
This story will be updated if the agency, Cruz or Wilson respond to the letter.
