Oregon — What defines residency in the State of Oregon? According to the Oregon DMV, residency may be defined by staying in the state 6 months per year, enrollment of children in a public school, or paying income taxes in Oregon. Rumors have long swirled that Senator Ron Wyden lives in New York City while registered to vote in Oregon, and a recent lawsuit as well as family social media post are bringing additional complications to his residency question.
Senator Wyden has been accused several times of primarily residing in New York City when he is not in Washington, DC or visiting constituents in the Beaver State. In a 2022 post regarding Mrs. Nancy Bass Wyden laying off employees prior to having COVID-era Payroll Protection Program loans forgiven, Pacific Northwest radio host Lars Larson claims, “New York Resident Ron Wyden And His Wife Basically Stole Your Money.” PJ Media’s Victoria Taft fired back at The Oregonian in 2010 when the newspaper ran a story maligning her and Wyden’s then opponent, Jim Huffman, for discussing the Senator’s time in New York City.
Senator Wyden’s wife, Nancy Bass, is the owner of Strand Bookstore in New York City, a century-old market for literature with the slogan “18 Miles of Books.” On her personal Instagram account, Mrs. Wyden posts a mix of influencer content about her bookstore as well as personal updates on her family and pets. A negligible number of posts are located in Oregon, as a review of her content stretching back to 2019 shows. In January 2025, Mrs. Wyden announced an event at Strand where her husband would discuss his newest book, “It Takes Chutzpah,” with liberal columnist Ezra Klein.
In keeping with her husband’s shared progressive public image, Strand likes to celebrate pride and LGBTQ culture, prominently organizing an annual drag show.
Mrs. Wyden regularly posts pictures of their family pets, include their cats Penelope Pickles and Pierre Boots, along with their late parrot, Monkeybird, most of which give New York City as their location.
The Wyden family very clearly spends a lot of time in New York City, with their business and their pets located in the Big Apple rather than the City of Roses where Wyden is registered to vote. Senator Wyden’s Senate business also precludes spending 6 months at a time in the Beaver State, which is not abnormal for members of Congress. However, Senator Wyden’s children do not live in Oregon and attend school in New York City, as detailed by a lawsuit filed by a former personal assistant’s family. Not only does the lawsuit describe the commute to and from school in New York, recent court filings present a picture of a violently homophobic home life of a Senator who famously called for same-sex marriage to be legalized in 1995.
The New York Post broke the story about a lawsuit filed by the estate of Mrs. Wyden’s deceased personal assistant, filed on September 12 in Manhattan Supreme Court, alleging a hostile work environment that resulted in a suicide. Reporting on the matter in Oregon has been limited, primarily covered by Jeff Eager at the Oregon Roundup. The original court filing can be viewed online here. Mrs. Wyden’s late assistant, Brandon O’Brien, is alleged in the suit to have quit working for the Wyden family primarily due to a variety of harassment allegations. This case has already had one related ruling at the New York Department of Labor regarding unemployment benefits. As per the lawsuit:
34. Furthermore, after Mr. O’Brien was constructively discharged, he sought unemployment benefits. The Department of Labor issued an initial determination holding that Mr. O’Brien was eligible to receive benefits. However, Ms. Bass Wyden appealed this decision claiming that Mr. O’Brien resigned without good cause.
35. On appeal, the Administrative Law Judge found that Mr. O’Brien was subjected to a hostile work environment and had good cause to resign.
According to the lawsuit, O’Brien had been instructed to begin transporting one of the Wydens’ children to and from school, and the during the commutes the child would engage in “highly inappropriate” sexual behavior including making sexually explicit remarks, inquiring about the assistant’s private life, and exposing herself. After Mrs. Wyden apparently took no corrective action, O’Brien refused to continue transporting this child to school, but the lawsuit claims that his replacement experienced similar treatment.
In 2023, O’Brien was apparently given the responsibility to transport one of the Wyden’s other children to and from school, and the lawsuit details more lurid comments regarding his sexuality from this particular individual. Allegedly, the harassment escalated to physical violence that at one point caused Mrs. Wyden to mace her son and inadvertently mace O’Brien in the process. After O’Brien resigned, the lawsuit alleges that Mrs. Wyden filed a police report with the New York Police Department claiming that he had committed theft and credit card fraud, hired a private investigator to probe O’Brien’s affairs the following month, and spread defamatory statements to industry contacts and O’Brien’s professional colleagues to impede new employment opportunities. The lawsuit’s narrative ends with a disturbing turn of events:
37. Tragically, Mr. O’Brien died by suicide on May 26, 2025, as a result of the severe emotional distress he endured during and after his employment with Defendants, compounded by Defendants’ continued harassment through false rumors that interfered with his future job opportunities and false accusations of theft.
Oregon news outlets have been slow to cover the lawsuit, while Oregon political leaders have made few comments. The Oregon Republican Party shared news about the lawsuit from PDX Real and Jeff Eager on X.
It is clear that Senator Wyden does not spend enough time in Oregon to meet that residency requirement, and the fact that his children attend school in New York City further prevents him from residency claiming residence in the Beaver State under that provision. He does not attend a public university or college, he has no military record listing Oregon as his home of record, and he does not appear to have declared himself an Oregon resident in order to receive a license other than a driver’s license. The final option for residency established by the DMV is to pay income taxes in Oregon, though Wyden, who has introduced legislation to expand financial disclosures by Presidential candidates, does not release his tax returns for public review. Senator Wyden has already announced plans to run for US Senate in 2028, and sealing these court records will better enable his campaign to maintain an image that the Senator supports LGBTQ rights in both his public and personal life. However, the allegations already made public by this lawsuit will make it more difficult to make the argument that he can adequately represent Oregon when he and his family appear to reside in New York City.
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And the status quo will still be maintained. He will be reelected and permitted to keep representing Oregon as though he is a legal resident. This seems to be a common theme amongst the Dems and nothing is ever done about it.
Widen needs to retire he is not an oregon resident which makes him a liar and con man.
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His wife and family may enjoy leaving New York City and visiting Oregon some day.