Whit Industries — an Oregon business with substantial links to the Neo-Nazi group White Lives Matter — has received over $320,000 in public contracts from the Port and other public bodies in Coos County, Oregon. This is approximately one hundred thousand more than previously reported.
Our records reveal that the Port of Coos Bay has continued to contract with Whit Industries, despite owner Whit Gantenbein being identified as a white supremacist leader in September 2024. Sources also indicate that Gantenbein is attempting to acquire Giddings Boatworks, a private company responsible for operating significant portions of the Port’s publicly-owned Charleston Marina. A review of recent public meetings further indicate that these issues are attracting significant controversy and governmental action across Oregon’s coastal communities in Coos county.
At the bottom of this post, we have uploaded our most complete overview of public payments to Whit Industries; for additional context on these records and Whit Industries, including public body meeting minutes awarding key contracts, please see our previous blog post.
Updated Payment Totals to Whit Industries
Between July 2015 and August 2024, the Port of Coos Bay paid $289,212.67 to Whit Industries for jobs ranging from bridge hydraulics repairs to painting the state dredge. Since Gantenbein was publicly identified as a leader of White Lives Matter on September 16, 2024, the Port has paid Whit Industries for at least one job, totaling $606.34.
In an email with Krystal Karcher, administrative services manager at the Port of Coos Bay, the Port confirmed the most recent payment occurred on November 14, 2024 for “repair cylinders and valves.” The job is listed as “Invoice 13771” in the attached public records. On October 14, 2024, Whit Industries submitted “Invoice 13803” to the Port for $1,666. The attached invoice describes the job as “2 guys to rescue machine”; Karcher stated that payment is “still being processed by Accounting.”
Karcher stated via email that Invoices 13771 and 13803 were expenses related to the Coos Bay Rail Line. According to the Port’s website, Coos Bay Rail Line repairs are paid for with state and federal funding.
A full ledger of Port of Coos Bay payments to Whit Industries can be found on page one of the attached records. An October 11, 2023 payment for $57,495 is described as “50% Down Pmt – North Bend Bridge 763.55 Hydraulics Repairs.” In response to our inquiries, Krystal Karcher stated the remaining $57,495 has not yet been paid to Whit Industries. Karcher confirmed the company is still contracted for the job, which is expected to be “completed by the first quarter of 2025.”
Additional payments in our PDF reveal a total of $22,073.14 paid to Whit Industries by the City of North Bend, Oregon, and $6,132.45 from the Port of Umpqua. Our previous blog post revealed a total of $2612.19 in payments from Coos County, Oregon and $1,229.89 from the South Coast Education Services District. These entities stated they did not pay additional funds to Whit Industries, and Coos County clarified that its payments were related to Sheriffs Department and Public Works invoices. The relevant records are attached as a PDF at the bottom of this article.
Giddings Boatworks and the Charleston Shipyard
During the Port of Coos Bay meeting on November 21, 2024, a small number of public commenters spoke in favor of Whit Gantenbein, and asked the Port to support a prospective sale of Giddings Boatworks to Whit Industries.
Giddings Boatworks is a steel repair and fabrication company located at the Port of Coos Bay’s Charleston Marina; the company builds and repairs commercial vessels, including ships featured on the television show “Deadliest Catch.”
The Charleston Marina Complex is the hub for commercial and recreational fishing; according to the Port website, “approximately 16.8 million tons of commercially caught seafood was landed in Charleston valued at nearly $20 million” in 2020. A key part of the publicly owned infrastructure at the marina is the Charleston Shipyard. The shipyard is leased to two privates companies, one of which is Giddings Boatworks. The Port describes the shipyard as “an important support facility for the fishing and recreational boating fleets.”
If Giddings Boatworks were purchased by Whit Industries, this would create a substantial public platform for the Neo-Nazi owned company. Citing leaked audio from the Whites Lives Matter group formerly led by Gantenbein, Left Coast Right Watch reported: “Gantenbein is offering people within the white power movement jobs in Coos Bay with the ultimate goal of having fellow white supremacists take over positions in local government.”
At the Port of Coos Bay’s November meeting, Port Commissioners — who are appointed by Oregon’s Governor — did not directly address the Port’s relationship to Whit Industries or the Giddings Boatworks sale. The Commission did, however, pass a new “Title VI Non-Discrimination Policy,” which can be found in the meeting packet.
Additional Government and Public Responses
At the Port of Coos Bay’s Board of Commissioners meeting on November 21st, multiple public commenters addressed the relationship between the Port and Whit Industries. One commenter stated he opposed the Port “doing business with a contractor who is a known white supremacist.”
At the December 4, 2024 city council meeting for the town of Coos Bay, another public commenter cited concerns about Gantenbein’s attempt to purchase Giddings Boatworks given that Gantenbein “has been reported calling for the ‘Day of the Rope,’ the mass lynching of non-white and queer people. Whit has been using money from public contracts to hire other Neo-Nazis from around the state, including a known pedophile from Salem.”
In the nearby City of North Bend, City Manager David Milliron stated via email that the city is “deeply committed to promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion in our community… Individuals or organizations with evidence of unlawful activity by Whit Industries are encouraged to report such matters to the appropriate authorities for investigation.”
After Whit Industries was identified as a white supremacist leader, the City of North Bend took “proactive steps to ensure compliance with Resolution No. 3287 and applicable state and federal non-discrimination laws,” stated Milliron in an email to Information for Public Use.
Adopted in July 2020, the city’s “Resolution No. 3287” is a statement against racism and discrimination. As of October 2024, Milliron stated, “any company conducting business with the City is required to submit an affidavit affirming adherence to [Resolution No. 3287] standards.” During the October 21 and November 12, 2024 city council meetings, North Bend city councilors called for revisions to this affidavit, which are subject discussion at future council meetings.
According to Scott Kent, District Manager at the Port of Umpqua, the Port of Umpqua has not paid Whit Industries for any work since 2021. “Currently, we are using another hydraulic expert in Reedsport for our needs,” stated Kent in an email to Information for Public Use on November 6, 2024.
During the Coos County Board of Commission on December 3, 2024, an exchange between public commenter Mary Geddry and the board addressed the County’s relationship with Whit Industries. The online audio does not capture Geddry’s comments, but Geddry encouraged the County to adopt measures similar to the City of North Bend’s new affidavit.
These public meetings have also been attended by far-right radio personality Rob Taylor, who is alleged to have orchestrated the Oregon State Capitol breach with Representative Mike Nearman in 2021. At last month’s North Bend council meeting, Taylor described the city’s emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) as “Marxist cultural revolution.” At the recent Coos County meeting, Taylor alluded to Gantenbein’s “radical beliefs” and declared: “I’m tired of being told that I’m a racist, that I’m oppressive because I have certain beliefs… we have a birthright to those beliefs.”
At the Port of Coos Bay’s November 21st meeting, another public commenter implored the Port to be “open and transparent” about its contracting process: “the public has an interest and a right to expect transparency in your contracts… I would strongly urge the board to be very careful about choosing who you do business with.”
Our PDF containing the public records described in this post can be found at the bottom of this page, and our previous batch of records related to Whit Industries’ funding can be found here.
If you have a tip about Gantenbein or Whit Industries, please contact us at info4publicuse@protonmail.com.
View and Download Records