At a September 2 meeting, Portland City Council will decide if Zenith Energy, the notorious law-breaking corporate polluter based in the waterfront CEI hub, can skip town by selling assets and transferring its franchise agreement to I Squared Capital, a $60 billion Miami-based private equity firm.
I Squared has a record of safety, employment, consumer protection, and environmental violations at least in the United Kingdom if not elsewhere. I Squared is also heavily invested in data centers, with a commitment to invest $2 billion in “digital infrastructure” in Saudi Arabia and $1 billion in US data centers. I Squared says it will expand the Portland terminal — already the largest fuel storage and transfer facility in Portland — into a regional fuel terminal. That means more oil trains, more risk of spills and explosions, more profits for giant corporations, and more risk for Portlanders and our environment.
Like Zenith, I Squared seems to have no compunction about subverting our own democratic norms, and they are enjoying support and collaboration from the preeminent PAC of Portland’s right-wing, the Portland Metro Chamber/Portland Business Alliance.
I Squared and Mayor Wilson are shoulder-to-shoulder with city administrators and conservative city councilors to ram through the transfer, over the objections of Portlanders.
Historic Corruption
Zenith’s city council puppetry is well-documented. Freedom of information requests revealed a back-room deal with Zenith to reverse course on the city’s denial of Zenith’s bid to operate the waterfront oil-by-rail facility:
“Elected city officials who position themselves as climate champions defended the decision as a routine administrative matter, repeatedly claiming their hands were tied.
But internal email communications and documents obtained by DeSmog suggest that the process was heavily influenced by two city commissioners and their staff, who met with the oil company on multiple occasions — including at a private in-person meeting at the rail site — and seem to have helped usher the company’s land use permit through the regulatory process.”
Cunningham, N. (2023, August 23). DeSmog. Portland City Government Compromised with Oil Industry in Private, Documents Suggest.
The City Auditor found that Zenith violated local laws during that period and advocates allege that city officials broke city rules.
Two of the main architects of the dirty deal are still at the city: Dan Ryan (Councilor, District 2) and Deputy City Administrator Donnie Oliveira, whose demonstration of corporate fealty launched meteoric rise from a Bureau of Planning and Sustainability communications staffer to the Deputy City Administrator for Community & Economic Development.
The public pays Olivera more than $250,000 per year for the pleasure of his “service” as ombudsman for the city’s largest corporations and the Portland Metro Chamber.
Street Roots reporting last year demonstrates that Olivera isn’t bashful about his role as liaison to the city’s capitalist class:
“Get in there and get me a sazerac!”
That’s the opening salvo from Donnie Oliveira, deputy city administrator, in a text message to Jon Isaacs, Portland Metro Chamber executive vice president of public affairs, just before the two met and talked about Zenith Energy on Jan. 22.
The meeting took place at Paddy’s Bar the day after a City Council work session on Zenith’s need for a city land use compatibility statement, or LUCS, thanks to a penalty DEQ imposed on the Houston-based fossil fuel company for illegally modifying and operating pipes at its facilities for over three years.”
Hayden, J. (2025, February 26). Street Roots. Metro Chamber privately discussed Zenith with Wilson admin staff before sending letter supporting LUCS.
Despite efforts by the DSA-affiliated City Council minority to curtail corrupt practices around the Zenith transfer, it’s clear the Mayor and his staff are emboldened. They are now going all out to facilitate a seamless transfer for I Squared Capital, by blocking public access to key information about the franchise transfer, running interference on behalf of Zenith and I Squared Capital, and changing the rules of procedure during the process.
Rigging the Game
The Portland Mercury recently reported that I Squared’s lawyers have been working with City Attorneys to “manage potential public opposition” to the franchise transfer since early 2026. This has meant hiding key documents from the public, conducting a pathetically inadequate review of I Squared Capital’s qualifications, inaccurately telling city councilors behind the scenes that they have no choice but to approve the franchise transfer without modification, and otherwise trying to frustrate public involvement in the process.
On July 23, the city held its first hearing on the franchise transfer at the Committee of the Whole. After over 50 Portlanders signed up to testify and dozens of organizations sent letters to complain about the process, Zenith Energy sued the City in an effort to pressure them to move faster. On August 6th, dozens of Portlanders testified that they still hadn’t received documents about the city’s review of I Squared’s qualifications. Incredibly, even with the community up in arms about these dirty tactics, 7 City Councilors voted the franchise transfer through committee.
Then, after the committee, the City Attorney announced that although they had previously said the franchise transfer would need 9 votes to pass at City Council, now it would only need 7, meaning that the moderates and the Mayor could just force the transfer through. In other words, the City Attorney (at the behest of the Mayor and Oliveira) changed the rules mid game to make it easier for I Squared Capital to get their transfer.
What explains these dirty tactics and a majority of city councilors ignoring community outrage? Corporate machine politics and straightforward corruption.
The Fossil Fuel Money Machine
Like with most corporate corruption in Portland, the Portland Metro Chamber is right at the center of this effort to grease the wheels for a fossil fuel company. Not only are they directly lobbying for I Squared (and have heavily lobbied for Zenith in the past), their Board Member William Rasmussen (notorious for representing the fossil fuel industry in lawsuits against the city) is also I Squared’s attorney. TJ McHugh, the PMC’s Director of Government Relations, is a former Dan Ryan staffer. The PMC’s Executive Vice President Jon Isaacs (a notable public critic of DSA and purveyor of red scare push polls) has a close personal relationship with Donnie Oliveira that he has leveraged in the past for $20 million of Portland Clean Energy Fund money to go to a “Clean Industry Hub” that includes the Chamber, and, as mentioned above, to secure land use permissions for Zenith in 2025.
On July 1, the Working Waterfront Coalition entered into formal partnership with the Portland Metro Chamber. Although many of the companies represented in the Working Waterfront Coalition are members of the Portland Metro Chamber, this merger signals that advocating for polluting industry is an even greater priority for the PMC.
The Port of Portland is also important in this advocacy. The Port — a public agency with its commissioners appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Oregon Senate — manages three airports, three marine terminals, and six business parks. The Port Commission is haunted by local power players who use their power to make profits for business and industry. Michael Jordan, who until last year was the City Administrator at the City of Portland, was just appointed to the Port Commission. Rukaiyah Adams of Albina Vision Trust is another member. The Port, a member of the Working Waterfront Coalition, is supportive of Zenith and now I Squared because they are engaged in a large-scale greenwashing effort to promote “Sustainable Aviation Fuel” which they use to justify continued expansion of jet flights during a climate crisis.
Another important player is Jules Bailey, former legislator, mayoral candidate, and board president of the Oregon League of Conservation Voters (OLCV). Bailey now works as a consultant for Skyline Renewables, and is lobbying heavily for I Squared’s acquisition of the Zenith facility. Like Doug Moore — who formerly was the Executive Director at OLCV and now runs United for Portland, the Metro Chamber’s PAC — Bailey is apparently cashing in on his former environmental credentials and access to power in order to greenwash for polluting industry. Jules Bailey also gave the maximum campaign donation to Councilor Eric Zimmerman on May 7, 2026 while lobbying for I Squared’s franchise transfer.
Aside from lobbying, United for Portland, the PMC’s Political Action Committee, endorses candidates including six of the seven councilors who voted to advance the franchise transfer out of committee. Three of these candidates (Eric Zimmerman, Olivia Clark, and Steve Novick) are up for re-election and angling for another endorsement from United for Portland.
This ongoing debacle at the City has been a source of extreme frustration for Portlanders for many years now. Despite Mayor Wilson’s assurances on the campaign trail, he and his city administrators have only given us more of that same frustration.
But we have allies on City Council in our DSA Councilors. Help them hold Zenith, the Mayor, and I Squared accountable by sending a letter before Wednesday.
Take action now! Send letters to city council here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/voice-your-concern-on-zenith-energys-franchise-agreement-transfer-to-i-squared-capital