Danielle Bethell, a Marion County commissioner running for governor in 2026, faces a pair of state ethics investigations into whether she used her elected position to benefit her son and daughter.
Investigators at the Oregon Government Ethics Commission will pursue full-fledged inquiries into the cases, after the commission voted unanimously on Friday that initial findings justified digging deeper. The first case stems from Bethell’s intervention in a traffic stop involving her daughter last December. The other involves her level of disclosure during the county’s recent approval of a contract with a company that employed her son.
In a statement first provided to other news outlets, Bethell defended her actions, saying that when “navigating these events, I made the best decisions I could to be as transparent and ethical as possible.”
Bethell, a Republican who has served as a county commissioner since 2021, announced her gubernatorial campaign in April and has raised $168,000 this year. She faces Republican primary opponent state Sen. Christine Drazan of rural Clackamas County, who has reported raising more than $1 million for her campaign this year. Republican and former Trail Blazer Chris Dudley has said he is considering running but has not publicly announced a decision. The Republican primary winner will go on to challenge Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek in November.
The earlier case dates back to last New Year’s Eve, when Bethell’s daughter was pulled over by a Marion County deputy sheriff for allegedly using an electronic mobile device while driving. Bethell was not present but spoke to the deputy through her daughter’s phone, according to a preliminary review from commission staff, who reviewed an audio recording of the traffic stop.
During the phone call, Bethell explained that she could send an updated auto insurance card from her phone, according to the report. The deputy responded that her daughter could present the card to a court to avoid a charge for failing to provide proof of insurance. Bethell then replied that her daughter “can’t go to the court in Marion County because I’m a commissioner, so please be thoughtful before you send her,” according to the report.
Bethell told the Statesman Journal that she was suggesting that the case could not be handled by the Marion County Justice Court because county commissioners, including herself, set its budget. Court records indicate that the case was transferred to Marion County Circuit Court in March in a simple procedural action.
Based on Bethell’s recorded conversation with the deputy, commission staff determined that Bethell appeared to be attempting to use her position to avoid her daughter being cited for the traffic stop, which would violate state ethics laws.
Investigators also found indications that Bethell may have used her position to avoid paying for her own legal defense following the traffic stop. For instance, the report states that Marion County Counsel Steve Elzinga submitted a statement that appeared to defend Bethell’s personal actions.
In the statement, Elzinga argued that Bethell’s statements did not violate ethics laws and that the deputy sheriff “got the wrong impression of some statements while standing in the middle of the road during a noisy traffic stop,” according to the preliminary review.
Ron Cereghino, the deputy that pulled over Bethell’s daughter, filed the ethics complaint against Bethell this fall, according to the report.
In her statement provided to The Oregonian/OregonLive, Bethell said she did not ask the county to provide legal representation.
“I did not ask Marion County to be my representative,” Bethell said. “I notified Marion County, which I am required to do, any time there’s an interaction between me and an employee of the county that isn’t positive. I notified the county administrator and the county lawyer.”
The second case involved the Marion County Commission in September voting to increase the spending allowed on two contracts with a construction company that employed her son. One contract amendment was worth more than $960,000 and the other was worth nearly $1.2 million.
Bethell declared a potential conflict of interest, then joined the other county commissioners in voting unanimously to approve each amendment, according to a preliminary review from commission staff. According to the report, Bethell likely should have declared an actual conflict of interest and refrained from both votes.
According to a statement from Elzinga, the county lawyer, Bethell declared a possible conflict of interest based on his advice.
“Commissioner Bethell made a good faith effort to comply with ethics requirements,” he stated, according to the review. “After further review, I have realized that, while my advice to declare a conflict was clearly correct, my advice that it be treated as a ‘possible’ conflict instead of an ‘actual’ conflict was not the best approach.”
One defense that public officials can use in Oregon ethics cases is that they were acting on the advice of their government legal counsel, an option that could be available to Bethell based on Elzinga’s statements.
The full investigations could result in letters of education, mandatory training or financial penalties.
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