Oregonian refuses to retract false accusations over David Darnell

By Hon. Jeff Kropf,

Oregonian Refuses to Completely Retract False Accusations Regarding David Darnell

“GOP House Candidate Cites Business Ownership but Records Indicate Otherwise”—actual Oregonian headline.

That’s Not True. It’s a factual error. The unassailable fact is David Darnell is and has been a business owner.

David Darnell, candidate for State Representative for House District 18, today reports that the Oregonian has so far refused to completely retract all of the false statements made in an article published on April 22, 2014. They acknowledge they made false statements in the article and have retracted some of them. Yet they haven’t admitted to all their factual errors. In that article, the headline says Oregonian accuses David of not having a current business registration or license, therefore implying that Mr. Darnell produced false statements in his voter pamphlet statement by claiming he is a small business owner.

The Oregonian received a Demand For Immediate Retraction And Correction Of False Statements In Web Article from Tyler Smith & Associates, P.C. on April 23, 2014, which stated:

“…You have acted with reckless disregard for the truth in that article, we demand an immediate correction. In addition you have placed Mr. Darnell in a false light, comparing ownership of a small business to a lie is absurd and reckless. Your own documents show he has been a business owner multiple times over. There are tens, if not hundreds of thousands of small businesses in Oregon that are not registered with the Secretary of State. Registration is not required for most sole proprietors or for most partnerships.
…It is negligent for you or anyone else to re-publish, repeat or refuse to correct the obviously false statements.”

After failing to fully correct the story, the Oregonian received a second letter from Mr. Smith today, April 24, 2014, stating in part:

“…The opening sentence of the article places this entire story in a false context and places Mr. Darnell in a false light. You compare and juxtapose him to criminals, when he is a hard working entrepreneur, and it was your lack of knowledge about the business registry that was the mistake. IT DOES NOT MATTER what the secretary of state website says with respect to sole proprietors, or as a partial owner in a business of any type because ownership in those types of businesses is not normally listed on the registry. Your premise is like saying that someone who isn’t in the NBA doesn’t play basketball.”

Former State Representative Jeff Kropf, a spokesperson for Darnell’s campaign, says:

“Our campaign views this attack on small business owners as extremely offensive, and for a writer to be so wrong in their understanding of the facts smacks of some kind of political favoritism toward the other guy.”

David Darnell is running in House District 18 against Representative Vic Gilliam.