The committee released the report independently without City Club's name on it.

"That was the turning point for me," says Heuser, a City Club member for 38 years. "The leadership is doing a wonderful job in moving toward diversity. That's a laudable goal, but you also have to preserve objectivity—objectivity and diversity are not inconsistent."

Julia Meier, who took over as the club's executive director last July, denies that the club's research or its forums are any less intellectually rigorous than in the past.

"One of our core values is independence," Meier says. "When we come to an issue either research or forum, it's important that we come without a preconceived agenda."

Meier says the controversial Measure 11 panel preceded her tenure and that the decision to spike the substance abuse report was made by her board, not by her.

Whether it's because the club is a "liberal echo chamber" or millennials don't like joining organizations, City Club's finances have taken a hit.

The club's tax returns show a steep decline in revenue from $787,000 in 2015 to $583,000 in 2017. The club has also incurred operating losses in the past two years, losing $115,000 last year.

And last summer, City Club's partnership with OPB to replay the Friday Forum statewide ended.

Meier acknowledges the club's finances and the end of the OPB partnership present challenges, but she says the club's new approach—a combination of radio broadcasts on XRAY.FM, Facebook Live on KGW.com, and community television with Open Signal—provides access to a broad audience.

"We want to be a big-tent inclusive organization," Meier says. "I want our members to be diverse in all ways. I want people from all parts of the city to be able to look at City Club and say, 'That's a place I belong.'"