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Harassment allegations against former Portland Mayor Sam Adams ‘unsubstantiated’

Portland City Council candidate Sam Adams from his campaign website, May 13, 2020

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The sexual harassment allegations against former Portland Mayor Sam Adams, who resigned from his position in Mayor Wheeler’s office in January, were found to be unsubstantiated, according to records obtained by The Oregonian.

Those records show the allegations came from Adam’s former executive assistant Cevero Gonzalez, who said that Adams had made sexually charged comments and behaved erratically in the workplace.

In a statement to KOIN 6 News on Friday, Adams said he wanted to emphasize the importance of investigations and pointed to Mayor Wheeler who he said made allegations against him in January that were never investigated.

“This case highlights the critical importance of investigating such allegations and how we all should avoid a full judgment of them until they are appropriately examined. It stands in strong contrast to what Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler did to me in January,” Adams said. “Mayor Wheeler often asks people to judge him by the facts not just perceptions, but he did not walk his talk last January he cited allegations against me that were never investigated, witnesses who were never interviewed, a failure to search for relevant documents, and provided me with a scant opportunity to present my side of the story. Coincidence that days later he signaled his interest in running for re-election?”

When reached for a response, Mayor Wheeler’s office stated they had no comment.