Bank of America sues Portland City Commissioner over credit card debt

On Tuesday, news broke that Bank of America had filed a lawsuit against Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty. According to KATU2, Hardesty is on the hook for $16,000 for allegedly failing to pay off her credit cards, despite making over $100,000 per year.

"When I ran for City Council in 2018, like many working people I was reliant on a credit card and built up debt," Hardesty told KATU2. "I live alone, without help, and put all of myself into my work at the City. Sometimes that means I neglect to take care of personal matters."

"I tried to work out a payment plan before with this debt that didn’t work out," she added, "and intend to pay this off."

Hardesty is currently embroiled in another lawsuit; this time, however, she is the one seeking damages. On Monday, it was reported that Hardesty is suing the Portland police union and the city of Portland for $5 million after a Bureau of Emergency Communications employee "circulated unconfirmed reports that implicated Hardesty in a hit-and-run crash."

The Portland City Commissioner has long had issues with the city's police, and support for law enforcement in general. In May, she led an attempt to get a contracted city worker fired for displaying a Thin Blue Line flag decal on his truck.