Handy says ethics allegation a smear | An attorney complains that the commissioner improperly solicited funds to pay legal fees

Handy says ethics allegation a smear | An attorney complains that the commissioner improperly solicited funds to pay legal fees

"New allegations of official misconduct have roiled a Lane County commissioner race even as people cast votes, and the charges have been met with counter-accusations of a political smear.

The ruckus was set off Thursday morning when county officials released to the media a letter from a Eugene attorney that accuses Commissioner Rob Handy of using his office for personal gain, violating gift limits and breaking campaign finance laws. The charges center on Handy’s efforts to generate private donations to help pay off the legal debt he incurred in a controversial and politically tinged lawsuit that charged him and other commissioners with violating state public meetings law.

Handy fired back Thursday afternoon, flatly saying he has done nothing illegal and charging that the accusations were cooked up by political opponents and timed to hurt his re-election effort without giving him time to defend himself. He acknowledged that some people have helped pay down his debt from the lawsuit, but he says that’s entirely legal."