Bend, OR – Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read made a decisive move on Wednesday, withdrawing a highly controversial audit of the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC), a report tainted by scandal and ethical concerns. The audit, which had drawn intense scrutiny, was originally conducted under Read’s predecessor, Shemia Fagan, who resigned in disgrace last May after it was revealed that she had taken a $10,000-per-month consulting job with La Mota, a cannabis company regulated by the OLCC, while her office’s Audits Division reviewed the commission.
In a statement explaining his decision, Read emphasized that his team had concluded that the audit’s selection process, its framework, and the potential for pre-determined conclusions had compromised the integrity of the investigation from the start. “My team and I concluded that the selection of the audit, the framework for the audit, and potential predetermination of its conclusions imperiled the audit from the outset,” Read wrote.
The audit, which focused on the need to modernize Oregon’s cannabis laws, was criticized for its apparent bias toward the cannabis industry. Public records revealed that Fagan had pushed auditors to consult with Rosa Cazares, a La Mota owner and Fagan campaign donor, and allowed Cazares to edit sections of the report. Furthermore, Fagan did not recuse herself from the audit until two months before its release, by which time much of the work had already been completed.
Following Fagan’s resignation, the Oregon Department of Justice had recommended that the audit be removed from the Secretary of State’s website pending a review of its compliance with auditing standards. At the time, Fagan’s interim successor, LaVonne Griffin-Valade, declined to take down the report, asserting that it met the same quality standards as other audits conducted by the agency.
However, Read, who was elected Secretary of State in November, disagreed with Griffin-Valade’s assessment. After reviewing the situation and consulting with Steve Bergmann, the new director of the Audits Division, Read concluded that the audit’s flawed process and the lack of subsequent improvements were unacceptable. He stated that the audit did not meet the high standards required to serve the public interest.
“The flawed selection and framework of the audit, the failure to carry out process improvements, and public records exposed by investigative reporting all evidence a process that did not honor this agency’s responsibility to Oregonians,” Read explained.
Looking ahead, Read committed to revisiting the OLCC audit in the future, ensuring that the investigation would be more thorough and unbiased. The decision to withdraw the audit marks an important step in restoring trust in the state’s auditing process, which has been called into question following the controversy surrounding Fagan’s tenure.
This move also highlights Read’s focus on implementing reforms to prevent similar issues from arising in the future. His leadership aims to restore integrity to the office and reaffirm its commitment to serving the people of Oregon with transparency and fairness.
