PORTLAND — An Oregon senator who was cross-examined by a state Department of Justice attorney in a lawsuit against the state’s liquor commission has filed a complaint with the state bar, saying the attorney made untrue allegations about his campaign finances.
Sen. Chip Shields contends attorney Heather Van Meter lied about the amount of money he received from two lobbying groups. He has asked that she be disciplined.
It was not possible Tuesday to independently verify Shields’ description of the questions he was asked by Van Meter in testimony. Van Meter could not be reached at her office, and emails seeking comment were not returned.
The Justice Department said it couldn’t comment while Shields’ claims are investigated by the Oregon State Bar.
A spokeswoman for the bar said complaints against state attorneys by sitting legislators are unusual.
Shields’ questioning came during a civil trial in which a black employee sought $1 million after he said he found a noose hanging near his work area at the Oregon Liquor Control Commission’s warehouse this past year. Gene Summerfield also said he endured racial bias, a hostile work environment and retaliation for complaining.
A jury validated his whistleblower complaint Friday but awarded him no damages. A police investigation was unable to determine who left the noose and couldn’t rule out that Summerfield left it himself.
Shields was called to testify, because Summerfield first went to him with his allegations about what happened at the warehouse.
Shields contended in his complaint that “in attempting to impeach my testimony, (Van Meter) implied to the jury that she had information that my campaign received thousands of dollars from the Northwest Grocery Association PAC, a PAC that supports the privatization of liquor,” Shields said in the complaint. “That’s not true.”
He said Van Meter then said he accepted $10,000 from the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association.
Shields said in the complaint that the actual contribution numbers were $250 from the Northwest Grocery Association PAC and $4,500 from the trial lawyers’ group. He included a link to campaign finance documents online that show those numbers.
A review of Shields’ campaign finances shows he received $4,500 from the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association in the 2012 fiscal year, but $8,500 from the group from 2008 to 2012.
He received just $250 from the grocery PAC, but also accepted $1,500 from the Oregon Local Grocery Committee from 2008 to 2010. And from 2008 to 2012, he received $3,000 from Safeway, a grocery chain that is helping to launch a liquor-privatization ballot measure in Oregon. Shields also received $500 in 2008 from the anti-privatization group Associated Liquor Stores of Oregon.
Shields’ complaint is being investigated by Scott Morrill, investigating attorney for the Oregon State Bar. Morrill asked Van Meter in a letter sent Monday to offer her account of what happened by Jan. 13.
