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Don Powers, chairman of the Oregon Republican Party in the 6th Congressional District, did not respond to questions for a recent story by the Oregon Journalism Project about allegations that he pocketed the proceeds from a Jan. 20 inauguration party in Washington, D.C. (“Afterparty,” OJP, July 23).
But on July 29, Powers broke his silence, claiming that although invitations labeled the event the “Oregon Republican Party CD6 Presidential Inaugural Ball,” it was in fact “a private event which in the end proved to be the single highest profile event for Oregon conservatives in the state’s history.”
Powers adds that “other than a couple sponsorships, I paid for everything. I rented the venue, I provided the liability insurance, I paid the vendors…all of it.”
He says he contributed $5,000 of the event’s proceeds to the Oregon Freedom Coalition and $5,000 to the Oregon Republican Party and is holding about $13,000 until the “dust” settles.
That explanation is unlikely to satisfy a contingent of Powers’ fellow Republicans who remain suspicious of his actions and want a full accounting of the inaugural event. One of them, a former Oregon Republican Party official, filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission against Powers on July 22.
Powers calls such concerns “lawfare.”
