Second Ethics Complaint Filed Against Patricia McCaig, Governor's CRC Adviser

A second ethics complaint has been filed against Patricia McCaig, Gov. John Kitzhaber's top adviser on the Columbia River Crossing.

WW reported last month that McCaig worked to help push the $3.4 billion megaproject through the Oregon Legislature, and although she spent 219 hours on legislative issues in the last quarter of 2012, she has not registered as a lobbyist with the state. Oregon law says that anyone who spends more than 24 hours in a quarter attempting to influence legislation must register.

Oregon Government Ethics Commission Executive Director Ron Bersin confirmed to WW that his agency received a second complaint regarding McCaig on Tuesday.

It joins a previous complaint filed last week with the commission.

In both cases, the nature of the complaint and who filed it will remain confidential until the state completes a preliminary review, Bersin says.

The complaint adds to the growing controversy surrounding McCaig, who is featured in a billboard with State Treasurer Ted Wheeler on Interstate 5 near Salem, with the words, "Got Corruption?" (Though pictures from WW were used on the billboard, the images were used without the paper's knowledge or permission).

McCaig was not immediately available for comment.


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