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Multnomah County chief operating officer Chris Neal announced an external investigation of the county’s conflict of interest policy on Thursday.
The external investigation comes on the heels of a WW report on former Preschool for All director Leslee Barnes. The preschool Barnes owns, Village Childcare Enterprises LLC, was flagged in a Secretary of State’s Office investigation of Preschool Promise as an example of “wasteful” spending. (Preschool Promise is a state program meant to provide child care to low-income children.) The WW report led to Barnes’ resignation July 31, and spurred the county to examine its policies on conflicts of interest and its code of ethics.
Notably, however, Neal said the external investigation will not examine Barnes’ individual case. County spokeswoman Julie Sullivan-Springhetti says there is also no internal investigation open on Barnes. “Ms. Barnes is no longer a County employee,” she says. “But County policies governing ethics and potential conflicts are in place and affect every single employee today and going forward.”
County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson had placed an internal investigation, opened July 28 following WW’s questions, in Neal’s hands. She had previously said it was up to Neal to determine if an external investigation would be a prudent use of county dollars.
But two county commissioners, Julia Brim-Edwards and Shannon Singleton, pushed for the external probe, arguing that the county must restore public trust by employing an outside entity. Vega Pederson now says she fully supports such a probe.
“Making sure our employees are fully supported around potential conflicts of interest is a priority for all senior leadership,” Vega Pederson told WW. “I fully support this review and look forward to its results and any new recommendations that come from it to add to our existing robust process. I appreciate my colleagues’ focus on making sure the County has a thorough, transparent review around this issue and I believe this is the right next step forward to do that.”
Neal retained outside counsel from the law firm Beery, Elsner & Hammond LLP. The firm will be responsible for investigating how existing ethics-related policies and practices at the county align with “legal requirements under state law, best practices and organizational values,” the announcement reads. It will focus on policies established before March 2025, which marks the beginning of Neal’s tenure as COO.
“[The investigation] will also identify strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for improvement in the ethics framework,” the announcement reads. “And it will provide actionable recommendations to strengthen policies, procedures, and the overall culture of integrity, accountability, and ethical conduct expectations.”
Commissioner Brim-Edwards says the county took this action shortly after she and Singleton filed their resolution on Wednesday. “Commissioners continue to lead and drive Multnomah County to be more accountable and transparent,” she said.
But she expressed some concern that the investigation wouls not examine Barnes’ specific case. She said she “definitely” has plans to push for that to be part of the investigation.
“Without reviewing the facts relating to the Barnes case as a basis for some of the findings and recommendation, which is the primary reason the external investigation is needed, it will lessen the credibility and trust in the investigation and the recommendations on ways to strengthen the county’s ethics policies,” Brim-Edwards says.
Commissioner Singleton adds that it is “good” that the chair and COO have agreed to undertake an investigation, but that commissioners should still be allowed some oversight.
“I look forward to reviewing the scope of work to ensure alignment with what [Commissioner Brim-Edwards] and I have outlined,” she says. “It is critical that this be done in a thorough and transparent way to ensure the public can trust that the county is operating ethically.”
