Choosin' Texas
A month ago, I noted that Portland's city manager, Raymond Lee, had recently taken a trip on the Portland taxpayers' dime to the Dallas, Texas area, and that he'd been named chair of the board of a national organization of government bureaucrats based there. I wrote:
This suggests that Lee will be making the round trip to Texas a regular thing. Which is convenient when you recall that he spent about a decade working in the Dallas city government and likely still has many social contacts there.
As an alert reader points out, it's more than just social contacts. Lee is married, and his wife and kids appear to be living in the Dallas area, not Portland.
According to Lee's father's obituary from 2022, Lee is married to a woman named Star Lee. She, it turns out, is the founder of a nonprofit organization called Free to Live, dedicated to the support of domestic violence victims, of which she apparently is one. Star Lee is a big social media poster, and you can find literally hundreds of photos she's posted of herself on the internet over the last few years. Raymond and some kids, presumably theirs, are in a lot of them.
When Free to Live got its exemption letter from the IRS in 2023. and on its 2025 postcard tax filing, its address was given as a single-family home in Greeley, Colorado, where Raymond was the city manager. Nowadays, Free to Live identifies itself in various places as operating in Colorado and Texas, and this summer it was active in Dallas. There is no mention whatsoever of Oregon.
Some photos show Star Lee in Greeley during her husband's tenure there. But so far, there is nothing showing her or the kids anywhere near Portland. And Lord knows, there are plenty of photos to choose from. My guess would be that if they aren't here after seven months of Lee's tenure at Portland City Hall, they aren't coming. And if I'm right about that, then when Lee shuffles off to Dallas for important board business, the trip may include, or even feature, a conjugal visit.
If he wants to fly back and forth like Ron Wyden, far be it from Portland to say he can't. But given his ungodly salary, maybe he ought to be paying for that himself.
On a side note, his dad's obit reveals that Raymond's nickname is Trey. Keep that on file for when it's appropriate.
When facts get published, you can’t call it a cheap shot. Thank you Jack.
ReplyDeleteYou always pack so much into these posts - well-done, once again!
ReplyDeleteI'd wondered if he bought a house here, as that's an indicator somebody's sticking around, did little looking, didn't find anything. Public officials are able to be exempted from some public records that show their home address, but - thanks to you - we now know that's not why I wasn't finding anything.
He's probably just been using Airbnbs, until he leaves...
"He's probably just been using Airbnbs, until he leaves..."
DeleteNo doubt paid for by Portland taxpayers under some generous "housing/mortgage provision" of his contract.
Sophie Peel writes (in https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2025/12/10/city-council-hires-raymond-lee-as-next-city-administrator/):
Delete"Lee will make a base annual salary of $370,000, and he told council he plans to move to Portland and live here with his family."
I guess the wifey had other plans...
Just FYI - a non-profit doesn't have to file an annual IRS form 990 if they'd received less than $50,000, they do a "postcard" instead. Those are on record for 24/25. https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/details/
ReplyDelete(That being said...questions remain...)
Some scams are obvious. Some require investigation.
DeleteJack -- IDK what time you posted this article but I presume you verified the Facebook link you cited (https://www.facebook.com/Starlitebrite/photos) and got this:
ReplyDelete"This content isn't available right now
When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted"
Now, I'm not an FB user so this could be an artifact of that. You might want to check the link again and see if you get the same thing. If you do, then, presumably, the content has been locked. Hit a nerve maybe...
I wonder what the "personal stylist" budget for the Free to Live BoD is... https://free2livelife.org/board-and-staff
ReplyDeleteTurn over enough stones and the damndest things creep out. How long with Sophie and Noelle be able to ignore the stuff that Bojack has found. And when will they steal it?
ReplyDeleteSadly I don’t think they care. It doesn’t have anything to do with their paycheck.
DeleteNice look for a highly-paid civil servant...an Armani suit,(no tie) and no socks with his slip-on sneakers (expensive no doubt). So Don Johnson/"Miami Vice"!
DeleteAll I see is a chubby guy in a bad, rumpled suit that doesn't know how to tuck a pocket square. Looks like he stopped at Goodwill and put on the first thing he found.
ReplyDelete