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This story was produced by the Oregon Journalism Project, a nonprofit newsroom covering the state.
Shortly after Travel Oregon’s CEO announced his retirement, the commission that oversees the agency voted to keep him on for a year to help pick his successor and approved a new employment package.
But the state agency is now unwilling to share with the public the details of his offer letter.
It’s a significant omission because CEO Todd Davidson earns one of the largest salaries among Oregon officials—in 2024, his base salary was $365,574, or $477,264 in total compensation.
But it also matters because Travel Oregon’s unwillingness to share the details of the package appears to violate state law.
A Travel Oregon communications director denied the Oregon Journalism Project’s request for the offer letter, saying that the letter commissioners voted on June 10 was not an “official” public record until signed by Davidson and the board. Later she provided another reason for denial: It was “not a complete record yet.”
Three commissioners didn’t reply to calls or emails seeking the offer letter.
The denial flies in the face of the consensus of several legal experts.
“It’s a public record—there is no question,” Alan Kessler, a Portland public records lawyer, says.
Oregon Public Records Advocate Todd Albert agrees and says because the commissioners used the letter to “conduct the business of governing” by voting on it, that specific document should be disclosed.
Also known as the Oregon Tourism Commission, Travel Oregon is funded by a statewide 1.5% tax on hotel stays. The governor appoints members to its board of commissioners, who are then approved by the state Senate.
A recent Oregon Journalism Project investigation of Travel Oregon detailed operational dysfunction at the agency and the outsized pay of its decadeslong CEO.
Travel Oregon’s lack of transparency about Davidson’s retirement “doesn’t feel right to me,” state Rep. Ken Helm (D-Beaverton) says. “It has the look of the board and the agency circling the wagons.”
The issue also draws attention to a broader concern in the statehouse about the semi-independent agency’s oversight. Travel Oregon’s budget—$95 million this biennium—is not subject to approval or modification by the Legislature. The 73-employee agency is also exempt from state budget laws; personnel, salary and expense laws; and purchasing and procurement laws.
The Legislature may be interested in devoting more attention to a program that should be key to the state’s economic rebound, especially in rural Oregon, where timber and other natural resource jobs are gone.
Leaders on both sides of the aisle—among them House Minority Leader Christine Drazan (R-Canby) and Rep. David Gomberg (D-Otis)—say Oregonians deserve greater oversight of the agency, efforts that would require changes in state law in the next session.
Meanwhile, OJP has petitioned the Oregon Department of Justice to order the immediate release of the letter, and will update readers as it learns more.
Do you have tips about Travel Oregon, government functions, or other topics of public concern? Contact James Neff at jneff@oregonjournalismproject.org. Learn more about the nonprofit Oregon Journalism Project.