Portland Commissioner Steve Novick received $1,900 for his re-election campaign from developers and lobbyists with whom he'd just had a pitch meeting tied to the renovation of Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

That Sept. 16 meeting isn't listed on Novick's public calendar.

Novick on Tuesday defended the timing of the political contributions and blamed his lack of disclosure on the city auditor's office and local lobbying firm Gallatin Public Affairs. Novick has come under fire from Portland's auditor in the past for failing to disclose a key lobbying meeting with Uber while his political opponent, Chloe Eudaly, has blasted him for accepting campaign money from a developer who pushed a controversial homeless shelter plan.

Under city rules aimed at improving transparency, elected officials must disclose scheduled meetings related to city business.

In the latest episode, Novick said he agreed to meet with Gallatin officials for what he thought would be a fundraising event. Because it was campaign-related, Novick said, he didn't list it on his public calendar.

"Gallatin said come over and meet with us: 'We'll give you some checks from us and some clients,'" Novick said Tuesday.

But Novick concedes that his fundraising consultant, Blaine Palmer, also "might have said it has something to do with Memorial Coliseum."

Developers shop plan for coliseum

Lobbyists for Capstone Partners and Marshall Glickman have

Novick said he met with Gallatin's president, Dan Lavey, and partner Greg Peden, at the company's downtown offices. Also at the meeting: Chris Nelson and Jeff Sackett, principals at Capstone Partners, and Marshall Glickman, the former president of the Portland Trail Blazers.

Novick said he was surprised when the meeting turned into a 40- to 45-minute presentation, complete with glitzy pictures, about Capstone's proposal to remake the coliseum and the surrounding property. Novick said the project could require $100 million in public money.

That same day, Sept. 16, Peden contributed $500 and Lavey gave $250, campaign finance records show. Glickman contributed $150 on Sept. 19. Capstone Partners gave $1,000 on Sept. 21.

Novick said he doesn't think Peden or Lavey gave him checks at the meeting but instead contributed online that night.

Novick downplayed the timing of the contributions.

"I don't think it's any surprise that people who give to campaigns also have interest in policy," Novick said. "I don't know if it matters whether they give a month before, or a month after, or the same day as a policy meeting."

On Tuesday, Gallatin said in a statement the company hosted a "long-scheduled campaign fundraiser for Novick" and "invited our friends at Capstone to join us - which they did."

"Along with eating sandwiches and discussing his re-election, we used this meeting to introduce the concept of saving and revitalizing the Veterans Memorial Coliseum to Commissioner Novick, the same as we've done with other commissioners the past few weeks," Gallatin lobbyist Ryan Frank wrote in an email to The Oregonian/OregonLive.

City records show Capstone and Gallatin spent an estimated $5,000 lobbying city officials in the past quarter, expenses that can include food, refreshments and compensation and expenses paid to lobbyists.

Novick is the only member of the City Council facing a re-election challenge. Only Novick has received campaign contributions since September from Capstone, Glickman and Gallatin officials.

"To me the important thing is transparency," Novick said. "And people should know who's giving you money, and they should also know who's pitching you on policy issues - and if it's the same person, they should certainly know that, too."

But based on Novick's public calendar, no one would have known.

Records show Novick emailed his City Hall scheduler at 12:30 p.m. Sept. 16 to say his meeting at Gallatin "should be on the calendar."

"We wound up talking substance," he wrote.

But the meeting wasn't added. Novick said he didn't realize the omission until this week, when The Oregonian/OregonLive asked.

Novick said his scheduler, Laura Hanson, contacted the city auditor's office to ask if the meeting should be listed on his calendar.

"Laura said that she talked with the auditor, and the auditor said, 'No, if it wasn't organized as a policy meeting, it doesn't go on the calendar,'" Novick said.

But Deborah Scroggin, who oversees the city's lobbying program, pushed back on that account Tuesday.

"We did not give advice specific to nor were we aware of this particular situation," she wrote in an email.

Instead, Scroggin said, the office was generally asked whether a campaign meeting with a "mix of campaign discussion and city policy" needed to be disclosed.

"When there's a mix of city policy and campaign activity at a campaign event, we advise that this is not typically considered city business," she wrote. "It is, of course, up to each elected official to decide where that line crosses."

Had Scroggin known details about the length of the coliseum proposal, she said, she likely would have recommended disclosure.

Capstone disclosed the meeting with Novick on its quarterly lobbying report filed by Gallatin. But the company's description is vague, saying it discussed a "NE Portland redevelopment opportunity" with Novick.

Asked who was ultimately responsible for omitting the meeting from his calendar, Novick said:

"If they had told me in advance, 'We want to give you a 45-mintue Power Point presentation on Memorial Coliseum,' then I would have put it on the calendar. After I did get that, I said I thought it should go on the calendar. And then Laura checked with the auditor and the auditor said 'No, it doesn't count.' So I think it's sort of a combination of Gallatin and the auditor, actually."

Either way, Novick now said he wants more transparency throughout government.

Novick said he'll push to change the city's lobbying rules to ensure that any "significant, substantive discussion of a city policy issue" is listed on public officials' calendars "no matter how the meeting was originally arranged."

If Novick follows through, it'll mark a major shift for the incumbent.

Last year, Novick was reprimanded by the city auditor for failing to disclose a key 2014 meeting with Uber, the ride-sharing company, at the home of political consultant Mark Wiener.

His opponent in the Nov. 8 election, Eudaly, has also questioned Novick's decision this year to accept money from developer Homer Williams. Novick said he announced his decision to support Williams' homeless shelter proposal before receiving financial contributions.

Novick also has failed to follow City Hall protocol by posting his calendar on a weekly basis, as the mayor and other city commissioners do. Under existing city rules, disclosure of calendars is required quarterly.

The Oregonian/OregonLive has contacted Novick's office on multiple occasions since 2013 requesting his calendar.

At one point in 2015, Novick hadn't posted a calendar for seven consecutive weeks. Earlier this year, Novick went six straight weeks without posting it.

Novick's most recent calendar runs through Oct. 8, although he's also listed a series of "upcoming meetings" between Oct. 31 and Nov. 11.

If re-elected, Novick promised to post calendars every week.

As for the Veterans Memorial Coliseum pitch, Novick said he never complained to Gallatin about how the meeting went down.

"It was a proposal that we would have met with them about, anyway," he said. "I wasn't going to say, 'Gosh darn it, I only came here for money.'"

-- Brad Schmidt

bschmidt@oregonian.com

503-294-7628

@cityhallwatch