Birmingham’s recently departed top economic developer, who left in July to take a similar job in Portland, is now under investigation there for “inappropriate communications” with a staff member.
Cornell Wesley, a Birmingham native who held the title of director of the Department of Innovation and Economic Opportunity for the City of Birmingham until July, assumed the top post at Prosper Portland in August.
He has “forcefully denied” the allegations, according to Oregon Live.
Portland’s Human Resources Bureau received a complaint on Oct. 3 from a city staff member about his behavior during a recent out-of-state trip, Prosper Portland Board Chair Tavo Cruz confirmed in a statement Tuesday to Oregon Live.
Wesley allegedly made flirtatious comments to the city staff member during the trip, saying, “I would like to get together with you later,” according to a person with direct knowledge of the complaint, according to Oregon Live.
Cruz said the agency has hired Snell & Wilmer, a law firm in Portland, to investigate the allegations and report its findings directly to him.
Wesley will continue to work as director of Prosper Portland during the investigation, Cruz said.
Wesley released a statement on the investigation on Tuesday.
Wesley said he takes the matter seriously and has maintained an “unblemished” professional reputation throughout his economic development career.
“I did NOT engage in the alleged conduct and will vigorously contest this in the HR process,” Wesley wrote by email. “As a Black professional from the South, I am alarmed that this situation has arisen just after I moved my family across the country to Portland. I hope that this matter will be resolved quickly and I look forward to participating fully in the process.”
The trip in question involved more than 100 private and public officials who traveled to Minneapolis from Sept. 28 to Oct. 1 to “explore synergies” between Portland and Minneapolis, according to the Portland Metro Chamber of Commerce.
The meeting included discussion of how Minneapolis and St. Paul used sports stadium development to promote urban growth, which Portland has considered with a potential waterfront Major League Baseball stadium.
Wesley joined Prosper Portland at an already controversial time for the agency.
Prosper’s last permanent leader, Kimberly Branam, departed in 2024 for a job at the Port of Portland. Since then, the agency’s two interim directors had clashed with the Portland City Council over its budget and mostly independent governance, Oregon Live said.
The Prosper board hired Wesley as executive director in July with a $280,000 annual salary and $45,000 in relocation assistance to move from Birmingham to Portland.