Lawsuit filed against former Sen. Carter on state job deal

Common Sense For Oregon Sues State To Protect Taxpayers From Self-dealing
By Common Sense of Oregon

Salem, Ore””Common Sense For Oregon filed a lawsuit in Marion County Circuit Court in Salem today. The suit is being filed against the State of Oregon, the Department of Human Services, Director of the Oregon Department of Human Services Dr. Bruce Goldberg, and Deputy Director of the Oregon Department of Human Services Margaret Carter for violating the Oregon Constitution’s ban on legislative self-dealing.

Article IV, Section 30 of the Oregon Constitution prohibits legislators from taking a “civil office of profit” created by the legislature during their term of office. This section was identified to protect Oregon citizens from a scenario where a state legislator creates a lucrative position which they then fill themselves in a self-dealing conflict of interest. Common Sense For Oregon says that is exactly what happened with House Bill 2009 and Margaret Carter. As a member of the 2009 Legislative Assembly then State Senator Margaret Carter played an intricate role as co-chair of the Joint Ways and Means Committee which helped pass House Bill 2009, creating the new position that Margaret Carter then reportedly lobbied to acquire.

“We cannot have state legislators creating lucrative jobs with large pay increases for themselves, it violates the public’s trust and the Oregon Constitution,” said Ross Day, Executive Director of Common Sense For Oregon and the attorney handling this case. “This case is about protecting the integrity of Oregon’s government and the Oregon Constitution.”

Common Sense For Oregon is an Oregon non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to promoting common sense solutions to the issues important to Oregonians, and protecting Oregon’s cherished initiative and referendum system.