Despite Facing Felony Sex Abuse Charges, Terry Bean Surfaces in Connection With Obama's Portland Visit

Aide to Democratic Party money man emails potential supporters.

By NIGEL JAQUISS

When WW first reported that President Barack Obama will visit Portland on May 7, one of the first questions in political circles was what role, if any, would Portland real estate investor Terry Bean play in the visit.

In the past, Bean, a gay-rights pioneer and co-founder of the Human Rights Campaign, has been a strong Democratic booster and raised more money for Obama's presidential campaigns than any other Oregonian.
That fundraising prowess earned Bean visits to the White House, a trip on Air Force One and a prominent place at the president's side when Obama visits the Pacific Northwest.

But any participation by Bean in a presidential visit now could be embarrassing for Obama. Bean is currently under indictment, facing felony sex abuse charges in Lane County.

The answer as to whether Bean would be involved followed soon afterward: On April 29, a longtime Bean employee named Jimmy Greene sent an email to a couple dozen well-connected and, in some cases, well-heeled Portlanders about the event.

"If you're interested or want some more information, please call me," Greene wrote in the email, identifying himself as "assistant to Terry Bean."

Greene tells WW that he sent the email at the request of the Democratic National Committee, which is organizing the president's visit.

"The DNC asked me to send it to a few of my friends, so I did," Greene said in an email today to WW.

A DNC spokesman, speaking on background, tells WW that's not the case.

Some people who got the email were surprised at Bean's involvement, although they declined to comment for the record.

Last June, WW reported on Bean's tempestuous relationship with a former lover named Kiah Lawson. A lengthy criminal investigation followed the story, and in September Bean was arrested in Multnomah County and charged with two counts of third-degree sodomy, a felony, and sexual abuse in the third degree, a misdemeanor. He faces an August trial date on those charges in Lane County, where his alleged abuse of a 15-year-old boy took place in September 2013. Lawson was also charged for his role in the alleged incident.

Bean has pleaded not guilty and has denied any wrongdoing.

 

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