Community groups reject Portland’s Zenith Energy investigation as fatally flawed
Advocates delivered a letter directly to Mayor Wilson calling the franchise agreement probe a case of “mayoral neglect” and demanding the independent investigation the public was promised.
Today, along with several other Portland-based community and environmental justice organizations, Breach Collective delivered a letter in person to Portland Mayor Keith Wilson. In our letter, we formally reject the process and outcomes of the Zenith Energy franchise agreement investigation that were announced on February 19, 2026.
David Labby from Tank the Tanks said:
“Portlanders demanded and deserved a truly independent investigation. Instead, we got a narrow investigation with City staff investigating itself — and deciding what to include, or leave out. This does not clear the air, but only adds to the questions around Zenith and its relation to the City.”
The letter contains a non-exhaustive list of concerns about the investigation, including the presence of clear conflicts of interest, a refusal to scrutinize some of Zenith’s most egregious acts, a failure to utilize city investigative authority to its fullest extent, and faulty conclusions.
The franchise agreement investigation was a component of a lengthy city resolution passed on March 19, 2025, that cited concerns about staff conduct and lack of candor in addition to Zenith’s actions. The city council found that a process for granting Zenith a key land use authorization in 2022 “substantially undermined public confidence in the City’s administrative apparatus by creating the appearance of impropriety[.]” The resolution, which passed 11-1, was the new city council’s first legislative act and an expression of the deep importance of this issue to the public. The resolution was adopted in the wake of:
An historic $372,000 fine on Zenith by state regulators for illegally constructing piping and using it to transport fossil fuels and requiring Zenith to get new authorizations from the City of Portland;
Investigative reporting revealing that Zenith was planning to expand into a regional “renewable fuels” hub, further endangering Portlanders;
City staff providing incomplete and misleading information to the city council in a January work session, including feigning ignorance about Zenith’s plans for an expansion into a regional fuel hub;
City Administrator Donnie Oliveira providing inaccurate information to city council about a pending land use compatibility statement (LUCS) decision for Zenith;
A city attorney attempting to hide information from the public regarding internal city communications about Zenith by improperly shielding political strategy under attorney client privilege; and
Mayor Wilson and his staff rushing a decision for a new land use authorization in February 2025 amid this controversy and over the strong objections of city council members who were seeking to pause the process.
Streetroots later reported that Deputy City Administrator Donnie Oliveira – a central decision maker in the process for granting Zenith’s land use permissions – met with a Portland Metro Chamber lobbyist over drinks to discuss the project just days before the decision was made. The Metro Chamber was lobbying for Zenith when this meeting happened. Advocates filed a lawsuit challenging the this approval as illegal and after a string of procedural victories for the plaintiffs, the case will soon go to trial.
In the Summer of 2025, Councilors Mitch Green and Angelita Morillo brought concerns to Mayor Wilson about clear conflicts of interest in the initial proposed franchise investigation, which prompted the hiring of outside counsel Cable Huston. However, the city allowed city staff to scope and run the investigation despite the clear conflicts of interest.
Cassie Cohen, Executive Director at Portland Harbor Community Coalition, said:
“After the whole city watched a city administrator and high level staff mislead and withhold important information from city council – documented in detail in a city council resolution – the Mayor entrusted those same staff with an investigation that would directly implicate their own reputations. At a minimum, this is a textbook example of a conflict of interest. The fact that the Mayor allowed these staff to essentially investigate themselves and a company their reputations are attached to is scandalous and an incredible breach of the public’s trust. The fact that he continued on this path after city councilors pointed out these conflicts of interest is unconscionable.”
Dineen Crowe, Campaign Director of 350PDX, said:
“How could the city conduct an investigation into Zenith that simply ignores the company’s lobbying violations, false statements, and many illegal acts? The Mayor, city administrators, and high-level staff were clearly more concerned about protecting their own reputations than doing what city council asked for. These conflicts of interest were obvious and pointed out by two sitting city councilors!”
Marnie Glickman, Executive Director of the Braided River Campaign, said:
“I am angry that Mayor Wilson continues to run cover for a notorious fossil fuel company with a record of lies and illegal activities that goes back to 2018. To tell the public that a company that has violated the law constantly since it came to Portland has not infringed on any provisions of its franchise agreement is absurd. There’s no other way to say it: this is corruption happening at the same time as Mayor Wilson wants to raid PCEF money to help the billionaire owner of the Trailblazers.”
Laurie King, a resident of the St. John’s neighborhood, said:
“Why does Zenith have such a hold on the city? Zenith’s violations, false statements, and false promises need to be seen in the light of day. The public had been tracking the city’s back room dealing with Zenith since 2022, but Mayor Wilson rushed through Zenith’s land use approval in February 2025 as councilors wanted to slow the process down to have transparent discussion of the issue. We need our city to protect our health and safety, not corporate profits. What is going on at City Hall?”
