Candidate For Portland City Council Did Not Register Business, Opponent Says

Portland City Council candidate Loretta Smith is raising questions about her opponent's business records.

Among other jobs, candidate Jo Ann Hardesty has been self-employed as a consultant since 2001, according to the employment section of her campaign filings.

Her business is called Consult Hardesty.

Smith's campaign alleges there’s no record of that business being registered with the Oregon secretary of state or the city of Portland.

A search of city and state business databases did not find Consult Hardesty registered.

All businesses, including people who are self-employed, are required to register in Portland and to pay annual city and county business taxes, or to submit paperwork showing they are exempt from those taxes.

Businesses that gross less than $50,000 a year are exempt from the local taxes.

Hardesty’s campaign called the questions Smith is raising about the consulting business “a cheap trick" and a tactic to distract voters.

Hardesty’s campaign promised “full transparency” but said it would take a day before it could answer reporters’ questions about the business.