Mayor apologizes to constituents, repays $2K paid to his mother

By David Walker KVAL News and KVAL.com staff Published: Aug 21, 2009 at 4:17 PM PST Last Updated: Aug 21, 2009 at 4:47 PM PST
Mayor apologizes to constituents, repays $2K paid to his mother »Play Video
Sid Leiken reads from a prepared statement Friday.

SPRINGFIELD, Ore. -- Springfield Mayor Sid Leiken spoke out Friday about an election complaint filed against his mayoral committee by the Democratic Party of Oregon.

The state elections division has been investigating the complaint over a $2,000 payment made by the committee to Leiken's mother for a survey about a proposed Springfield gas tax survey.

Leiken said that in hindsight, he erred in judgement by hiring his mother to conduct the poll and said he is embarassed by how poorly the payment was documented.

"I apologize to my constituents," Leiken said, pausing to fight back emotion, "and most importantly I apologize to my family that somehow i created a shadow of doubt created by this unfortunate transaction."

Leiken said he and his wife wrote a personal check for $2,000 to put back into the account and hopes to put the incident behind him.

The state asked Leiken for documents in June. His mother recently missed a deadline and was given until next week to respond.

The third-term Springfield mayor is gearing up for a congressional race against Democrat Peter DeFazio in 2010.