Top Portland official offered to bend city rules to give fire chief candidate premium pay bump

In order to lure his preferred candidate for fire chief, Portland stop authorities attempted to circumvent city regulations by offering to qualify the potential recruit for a housing subsidy that is currently reserved for senior police officers.

Records reveal that Reginald Freeman was offered a carve-in by City Administrator Michael Jordan that would have given him a little-known residence bonus in addition to the $247,520 yearly pay and one-time $10,000 relocation allowance that were part of the city’s job offer.

According to city payroll data, Freeman, a former fire chief in Oakland, California, and now a contractor for the Saudi Arabian government, would have been among Portland’s top paid workers if the 5% premium had been added to his yearly salary, which would have increased to $259,896.

In response to Freeman’s request for housing aid, Jordan suggested the extra benefit, which the City Council approved in 2017 only for top police officers. That request was made just days after Freeman accepted the city’s first offer and hinted at the position in a dramatic Instagram post last month.

Jordan made an effort to comply, but Freeman eventually declined the offer. The city declared last week that a runner-up had been hired for the position.

Through a public records request, The Oregonian/OregonLive was able to receive emails that describe the astonishing exchange. Under Portland’s new system of governance, the emails provide insight into the city administrator’s enormous influence over important staffing choices and administrative policies.

The city administrator, who answers to the mayor, has the authority to unilaterally alter administrative rules without the consent of the City Council under the new municipal charter.

Citing a state disclosure law exemption, city officials initially prevented the email exchange’s dissemination.

Three days after The Oregonian/OregonLive appealed the records’ release to the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office, officials changed their minds. Officials eventually acknowledged they were wrong when they claimed they had suppressed the documents in good faith to comply with the law.

Sarah Ames, a deputy city attorney, stated in an email that went along with the documents release, “The city felt a sense of urgency and in our haste failed to follow our usual process.” We’re capable of more.

Portland spokeswoman Cody Bowman provided a succinct explanation in a statement for Jordan’s apparent readiness to change city regulations in order to assist one potential employee financially.

According to Bowman, the city has hardly ever hired senior officials from overseas positions. In this case, there were particular considerations related to the role and the applicant.

A few city officials are worried.

Councilor Steve Novick, who co-chairs the public safety committee of the Portland City Council, stated that it does not appear to be positive. We must focus much more on the selection process for administrators.

After Chief Ryan Gillespie retired in March, city officials began a nationwide search for a replacement to lead the 750-member Fire Bureau. Last month, two finalists with very different backgrounds emerged from a pool of nine applicants.

Lauren Johnson, an assistant fire chief in Dallas, Texas, who has been with the department since 1999, was one of them.

Freeman was the other, having worked in emergency services and fire for 25 years, across several states, the public and commercial sectors, and even continents.

Before accepting Oakland’s top fire position in 2021, he was a fire chief for five years in Hartford, Connecticut, and previously led a fire department for the defense behemoth Lockheed Martin.

After only two years, Freeman reportedly departed that position in 2023 to take a position as chief risk officer for an insurance company in Connecticut. He has been employed since November as the executive director of public safety at Neom, a futuristic city being built in northwest Saudi Arabia. Numerous claims of labor and human rights violations have been made against the megaproject.

Early in June, both finalists made the trip to Portland for in-person interviews with Mayor Keith Wilson and Jordan. According to city officials, they also met with Novick at a restaurant in downtown Portland and talked with rank-and-file firemen at other events organized by the Portland firemen Union.

According to officials, Jordan made the final choice after consulting with the mayor after the city made Freeman an employment offer on June 17. Records indicate that within hours of receiving the offer letter, Freeman signed and accepted it.

On June 20, three days later, Freeman shared a picture of himself on Instagram with a cigar in his hand, a Portland firefighters union T-shirt on, and a thoughtful expression.

You can’t help but thank God when you read the post, which is no longer public, and reflect on where you’ve been, where you are now, and where you’re heading.

However, Freeman abruptly seemed to object in an email sent to Ron Zito, the deputy director of human resources for the city, on June 23.

He wrote, “I have a problem.” I neglected to request housing help, my wife reminded me.

Freeman continued by saying that during his first year in Portland, his wife and their two girls intended to stay in a house they owned in Connecticut, which has a $4,300 monthly mortgage. “Until they moved out west to join me,” he said, Freeman would have to live in a rental.

Our family will suffer financially if I have to pay for both, Freeman stated.

In an attempt to be as innovative as possible in order to satisfy your interest in this matter, Zito replied later that day that Jordan, the municipal administrator, would be willing to offer a 5% residence premium.

Only the chief, assistant chiefs, commanders, and captains of the Portland Police Bureau are eligible for the payment, per city regulations. The City Council came up with the incentive, which five police officers presently get, to entice additional senior police bureau officials to reside in the city.

Zito wrote that Jordan would be open to changing the rule to accommodate your viewpoint.

In response, Freeman said: This (is) really beneficial and really valued. Sincerely, thank you.

Freeman informed Zito two days later that he would not be accepting the position.

According to him, Portland is not responsible for my predicament, which prevents me from moving my family right away. I also took into account a few other criteria that are pertinent to the decision but don’t need to be discussed. I have decided to stay with my current employer and have retracted my resignation.

Freeman stated in an interview on Tuesday that, considering his unique situation, he made the right decision despite it being a difficult one.

“I wanted to be the Portland fire chief, so it was a really tough decision,” he added. But it was very difficult for me to take a chance when I had to support two households for at least a year.

Freeman also said, when questioned, that he ought to have spoken with the city about his desire for housing help before accepting the job offer.

He acknowledged that he was entirely to blame for not bringing that up right away. I attribute that to the sheer thrill of being able to visit Portland.

Rather, the city this week announced that Johnson, the Dallas assistant chief, will take over at Portland Fire & Rescue on August 18.

Johnson will receive $239,512 per year, which is around 3% less than what the city had awarded Freeman.

She will not be eligible for the 5% residency premium.

Bowman, the city spokesperson, stated that Johnson did not ask for it.

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Shane Dixon Kavanaugh

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• Portland fire chief finalist accepted city job offer, then turned it down

— Shane Dixon Kavanaugh focuses on accountability and watchdog reporting while covering politics and local administration in Portland. You can contact him at skavanaugh@oregonian.com or 503-294-7632.

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