SALEM — Morrow County Commissioner Jeff Wenholz is the subject of a state ethics investigation.

The Oregon Government Ethics Commission voted 9-0 on Jan. 5 to approve an investigation to determine if Wenholz used his commissioner position to financially benefit a business he’s associated with.

Wenholz is the vice president of the Umatilla Electric Cooperative board. Commission investigator Hillary Murrieta at the meeting said the cooperative’s 2021 revenue report shows Wenholz received $10,685 in compensation, and the 2020 report shows he received $10,678. As an officer of the Umatilla Electric Cooperative, Wenholz should have declared he had a conflict of interest when as county commissioner he signed on to a letter supporting the Sunstone Solar Project at the Wheatridge Renewable Energy Project, which would use cooperative transmission lines.

Murrieta said it is unclear whether the agreement would financially affect Umatilla Electric Cooperative, but an investigation would allow commission staff to look further into the agreement.

Wenholz did not appear before the commission, but his attorney, Richard Lee, spoke for him.

Lee said the county board at its meeting June 21, 2023, approved a letter of support for the Sunstone Solar Project, but the county had entered into a contract with Sunstone well before Wenholz was a commissioner. Lee said the letter outlines that contract and the potential benefits to Morrow County.

Lee also explained the county board at its Sept. 20 meeting approved a comment letter stating “Morrow County endorses the advancement of solar energy” to the Oregon Department of Energy for the preliminary application for a site certificate for Sunstone Solar.

But this deal with Sunstone and Morrow County, Lee said, has no direct effect on the electric cooperative.

Murrieta in response said this comes down to a simple question of whether Wenholz benefited from the county’s deal, and an investigation could answer that.

The commission backed the move to investigate. Commission Chair Shawn Lindsay said this was “simply a decision to move beyond the preliminary review portion to investigate,” and Murrieta would work with Lee “to iron out some of those facts.”