My team and I came to the conclusion that selecting the audit and the audit framework, as well as the potential for predetermination in its conclusions, posed a threat from the start.
By Julia Shumway, Oregon Capital Chronicle
Tobias Read retracted on Wednesday the scandal-marred state liquor and cannabis audit which ended the career of a previous Oregon Secretary of State.
Read wrote: “My team concluded that selecting the audit and the audit framework, as well as the potential for predetermination in its conclusion, harmed the audit right from the start.”
Shemia Fagan, the former secretary of state (D), resigned with disgrace from the position on May 20, 2023. Willamette Week reported that the D had accepted a consulting contract worth $10,000 per month for La Mota’s cannabis business while the Audits Division at her office reviewed the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission.
La Mota was regulated by the commission, as were other cannabis retailers. It was not long before the marijuana-friendly audit titled, “Oregon Liquor Cannabis Commission: Oregon Must Modernize Cannabis Laws in Order to Grow State’s Economic Growth and Provide Equitable Benefits and Opportunities for All Communities” came under fire.
Records show that Fagan repeatedly asked auditors to talk with Rosa Cazares – a La Mota business owner who was a campaign donor for Fagan – and she allowed Cazares to edit the description of an audit. Fagan didn’t withdraw from the audit for two months, after most of its work had been completed.
The Oregon Department of Justice, after Fagan resigned, recommended that the Oregon Secretary of State Office remove the audit on its website as it reviewed whether the audit complied to auditing standards. LaVonne Griff-Valade was the then-secretary of state, and a former Multnomah county auditor who had been appointed by Governor. Tina Kotek, a Democrat who was appointed to complete Fagan’s tenure as secretary of state, refused to do so.
Griffin-Valade stated at that time the audit should be kept online as it was the same standard of quality and other audits released by the Agency.
In this instance, independent auditors should provide recommendations to the government of the state that are backed by evidence. She said that neither her review, nor those of others have found any reason to believe this report falls short.
Read, a former treasurer of New York State who became secretary of state this November, wrote in an explanation of his decision, that, based upon Steve Bergmann’s analysis, he felt it “proper and right” to remove the cannabis audit.
Griffin-Valade said that previous leaders of his agency had agreed to make improvements in the auditing process, as recommended by the Department of Justice. However, they didn’t.
Read wrote: “The flawed framework and selection of the audit as well as the failure to implement process improvements, and the public records revealed by investigative reports all demonstrate a system that failed to honor the agency’s commitment to Oregonians.”
The audit team, he said, will return to the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission at a future date.
Oregon Capital Chronicle published this article first.
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