Sex Offender Loses Port of TD Candidate Willer's Endorsement

John Willer, a candidate for Port of The Dalles, recently endorsed and then retracted his endorsement of Frank Polehn, a convicted sex felon, who is running for a seat on the Columbia Gorge Community College Board. Willer made the above post on Facebook earlier this month. Willer said he did not know Polehn and endorsed him as an alternative to Nate Stice who is running for the same position on CGCC.

John Willer said he did not know Frank Polehn or of his conviction when he endorsed his candidacy for the Columbia Gorge Community College Board Position #1.

Frank Polehn, a convicted sex offender, is running for Columbia Gorge Community College Board Position #1. He denies doing anything wrong in regard to his conviction of attempted sex abuse in the first degree.

By Tom Peterson

Port of The Dalles Candidate John Willer has retracted his statement to “Vote Frank Polehn”, a convicted felon for attempted sex abuse in the first degree, who is vying for a seat on the Columbia Gorge Community College Board. 

“I had no idea who that guy was,” Willer said this morning in a brief conversation.

Here is Willer’s official statement:

A few days ago on Facebook, someone asked who to vote for. One of the races he was asking about was between Nate Stice and Frank Polehn. Nate Stice works for Kate Brown. At this point, I can’t take any more of Kate Brown. I recognized the name Polehn as Polehn Orchards, a well established family in the area. Unaware of his prior criminal record, I dropped Frank Polehn’s name.

Had I been aware of Mr. Polehn’s past, I would not have mentioned his name. I am amazed that he could even run for this or any other office. Turns out this type of thing has been legal for a long time in Oregon and the Supermajority in Salem has done nothing about it. I strongly believe that changes should be made immediately to prevent this from happening.

My post on the FB page was uninformed and for that I apologize. It was not an endorsement. If I was officially endorsing somebody, it would come from my campaign page like when I endorsed Rachel Carter for Parks. The drama that has arisen from this post has been amplified and propagated to the benefit of my opponent in a desperate attempt to cause division and acrimony. Don’t fall for it.

Willer’s statement comes after Teri Thalhofer a retired public health administrator, called Willer out for the endorsement in a letter to the editor to CCCNews on Tuesday.

Willer made the endorsement in a conversation on a Facebook page, and CCCNews confirmed its existence before running the letter. 

In the letter, Thalhofer wrote, “I was appalled and sickened to learn that Dr. John Willer, a candidate for Port of The Dalles Commission, has publicly endorsed Frank Polehn for the position of Columbia Community College Board.

“Mr. Polehn was the recent subject of a news article, which detailed his conviction for attempt to commit a Class A felony, the sexual abuse of a minor. Mr. Polehn voluntarily pled guilty to the crime and was sentenced to 22 months in state prison,” Thalhofer wrote. She then questioned his judgment. Read the entire letter here.

In a candidate profile on CCCNews Polehn stated the following in regard to his conviction. 

Marcus Swift, who is running for the same seat as Willer on The Port of The Dalles Board of Commissioners, called for Willer to rescind his endorsement of convicted attempted sex abuse felon Frank Polehn.

“I have been in prison for sexual attack, basically. And I did not do it. I plead guilty. It looked like the only choice I had at the time. I was financially in the straits at the time.”

Polehn was convicted in 2011 of Attempt to Commit a Class A Felony (Sexual Abuse) in the first degree and was sentenced to 22 months in prison and was ordered to pay $5,000 in compensation and have no future contact with the victim.

Case Number: 1000278CR

Willer said he endorsed Polehn as an alternative to his opponent Nate Stice with whom he does not politically align.

Willer’s opponent in the race for Port of The Dalles Board of Directors Position #3, Marcus Swift came out with the following statement on Wednesday, May 5.

“Good judgment is a cornerstone of serving in elected office. I am shocked that my opponent John Willer for Port of The Dalles has publicly endorsed a convicted felony child sex offender for a community college board. I am calling on John Willer to publicly rescind his endorsement immediately.”