Salem’s top transit official faces a state ethics investigation over his use of hotel and airline rewards while traveling on official business.
The Oregon Government Ethics Commission unanimously voted at a Sept. 23 meeting to proceed with a full investigation of Allan Pollock, general manager of the Salem Area Mass Transit District, also known as Cherriots.
The commission began investigating Pollock after a Cherriots employee submitted a complaint in July saying that Pollock was accumulating rewards points on personal hotel and airline accounts when Cherriots-issued credit card to book taxpayer-funded travel. Pollock has been Cherriots’ general manager since 2007.
An initial commission staff report, dated Sept. 14, found Cherriots did not have a policy addressing staff usage of personal rewards accounts when traveling for business, and determined he may have violated a state law saying public officials cannot use their positions to obtain financial gain.
In response to the complaint, Pollock’s attorney, Bob Steringer, provided the commission with a list of points earned on personal accounts with Marriott, Hyatt, Best Western and several airlines from September 2018 through June 2022, estimating the value of rewards earned at $760.20.
Steringer noted that Pollock had not redeemed any rewards accumulated for actual benefit, other than some Marriott points.
“Because the points he accrued in connection with his travel as a public official were combined with his personal rewards points, Mr. Pollock is unable to determine if the points he accrued in connection with his travel as a public official were among those redeemed,” Steringer wrote.
Steringer argued the commission should dismiss the complaint and instead reach an agreement with Pollock to resolve the issue.
“Mr. Pollock will cease the complained-of practice and will take whatever steps he can to ensure that the points and miles are not redeemed. For example, Mr. Pollock would donate points/miles as permitted by most, if not all, the programs. It is not clear whether the Hyatt program allows donations, but Mr. Pollock could donate an equivalent value of points in one of the other programs,” Steringer wrote in his response.
He argued at the Sept. 23 meeting that the commission’s educational role had been fulfilled and that Cherriots staff were working on a policy to make clear employees should not accumulate personal travel rewards while on agency business.
“He understands now the concerns that that raises,” Steringer said of Pollock. Pollock did not speak at the meeting except to offer to answer any questions from ethics commissioners.
David Fiskum, the commission chair, told Steringer the commission “appreciate(s) the candor of your remarks today. The tone, character and content of those was very helpful to us.”
“We have not found there to be a violation. We have agreed today to continue investigating,” Fiskum said.
Pollock referred questions from Salem Reporter on the investigation to Steringer.
Steringer told Salem Reporter Cherriots staff are working on a policy to address the use of personal reward points while traveling on transit business, but it has not yet been finalized.
He said Pollock has not yet donated any rewards or miles accumulated while traveling for Cherriots “because we want to make sure we do it in a way that satisfies the Commission.”
Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
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Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers city news, education, nonprofits and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for a decade. Outside of work, she’s a skater and board member with Salem’s Cherry City Roller Derby and can often be found with her nose buried in a book.
