Oregon Housing Director Amends Ethics Filings

ProPublica reported October 2 that OHCS Director Andrea Bell amended three years of ethics disclosures on September 23. The amendments name JH Brawner, the consulting firm where her husband Joshua Crites works. The firm has advised housing authorities on projects receiving or awaiting support from Bell's agency. Bell says she takes compliance seriously and sought an ethics advisory opinion at the governor's urging. OHCS says funding approvals involve an internal committee and the Housing Stability Council, neither of which includes Bell. Official council guidance says the director advises its funding and policy decisions; the reporting does not establish that Bell improperly directed a particular award.