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Last week, Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson approved an ethics investigation conducted by an outside law firm, spurred by the revelation in WW that former Preschool for All director Leslee Barnes owns a Northeast Portland preschool (“Conflict Avoidance,” Aug. 20). Vega Pederson says she was unaware that Barnes kept ownership of the preschool after taking the county job. The county’s chief operating officer, Chris Neal, has told the board of commissioners that the firm Beery, Elsner & Hammond LLP was permitted to include Barnes’ specific case within the scope of its investigation. Investigators better get cracking: The scope keeps growing. As WW’s Joanna Hou reported Aug. 23, Barnes’ preschool turned away children despite chronic underenrollment (see page 5). Here’s what our readers had to say:
Usually Confused, via wweek.com: “Joanna and the rest of the WW staff have been in top form lately—reminds me of the WW of the ’80s and ’90s. I’m so glad I got a monthly donation set up. Keep up the fantastic work, everyone!
“That said, JVP has needed to go for a long time. I suspect it’s going to end up winding down the clock until the next election where she’s term-limited, I believe. I offer a premature ‘good riddance.’”
Redactedbits, via Reddit: “I think that every time we discover fraud, inappropriate relationships, unreported conflicts, or obvious nepotism that it should result in a lifetime ban for holding state or below office and an immediate investigation by a state agency to determine to what extent the relationship had monetary gain.
“In this case both her and her supervisor are in question.”
emily-vwg, via Bluesky: “She resigned, so I’m not sure what the relevance is at this point.”
Rithy, in reply: “At this rate, they have an ax to grind.
“I miss the WW of my childhood. Hard-hitting progressive journalism to counter The Oregonian.”
Shannon Campbell, via Facebook: “Trying to figure out the math of $834K for nine kids over three years. Preschool Promise is only available for the two years preceding kindergarten, so if each of those kids was enrolled full time for the absolute maximum time possible, that’s paying almost $4K per month per child.
“That’s…quite a bit.
“This is absolutely the kind of thing I actually want my tax money to go to—kids’ education—but that doesn’t mean skip past ethics, efficient use of resources, and accountability.”
Henry Rearden, via wweek.com: “There really is no need for a so-called ‘Ethics Investigation.’ A simple review of HR practices for hiring and selection by the county in this specific case would give all the answers to the following questions:
“1. What is the county posting and recruitment process?
“2. Was the process followed?
“3. What is county establishment and determination of minimum qualifications for the position?
“4. Did Barnes meet minimum quals?
“5. Does the county do a background check for employment verification and reference check for criminal convictions?
“6. Was the above followed, and who performed the task?
“7. If discovered Barnes personal conflicts of interest for the position, who decided to make the job offer anyway?
“There, y’all can do a direct deposit of the saved tens of thousands into my bank account. We do accept Venmo as well.”
ABERNETHY BRIDGE FUNDING DIDN’T COME FROM LAWMAKERS
The Oregon Journalism Project misquoted me on one part of the interview [“Hotseat: Joe Cortright,” Aug. 20]: The Oregon Legislature did not allocate any money to the Abernethy Bridge project; the Oregon Department of Transportation cobbled together $50 million, including diverting $6.7 million in “operations” money. ODOT used this shoestring of funding—and a promise of future toll revenue—to launch the project, which is now slated to cost more than $815 million.
Joe Cortright
Impresa
LITTLE ELEPHANTS HAVE BIG EARS
WW urges readers to attend a concert at the Oregon Zoo [“Get Busy,” Aug. 20], reminding us that baby elephant Tula-Tu’s enclosure is right next to the band stand and suggesting that this will be enjoyable for her. Not so: Elephants have very sensitive hearing and are disturbed by loud noise. Neither they nor any other zoo animal can escape the area or close their ears—they are a truly captive audience. The trunk swaying some interpret as “enjoying the music” is actually stereotypical behavior, a reaction to stress and an effort to stay sane. Shame on the zoo for subjecting the animals to these concerts all summer long, for the sake of profit!
Sandy Miller
Southeast Portland
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