It was Chris Dudley’s Shoes, in the crawl space, in forest heights. Mystery solved! What’s also clear is why the Zero’s recent manufactured scandal over Chris Dudley’s purchase of a home in Camas in the 1990’s is falling apart (here). (But nice try anyway, Dr. Do Over)
The man who bought the house on whom the Zero is basing its story says he was misquoted and his conversation was mischaracterized.
Lee Cory bought the home from Dudley in 1997 when Dudley moved to Camas, Washington. As Dudley has repeatedly said in his speeches while campaigning, his tax accountant told him to do that to save money on taxes. In fact, Dudley brings up this issue to make the case that Oregon’s taxes are too high.
Cory said on The Victoria Taft Show on Wednesday that he told the reporter Dudley “had” lived in the house. He said he conveyed (or so he thought) that Dudley had owned the house.The reporter, Cory contends, mischaracterized his meaning to claim Dudley actively lived in the house. Cory says he was misquoted by Jeff Mapes in a follow up story, but I contend the original story was a put up job, too.
Cory says when he looked at the house on his home buying trip there were a few condiments in the practically empty refrigerator, a big pool table Dudley hadn’t moved yet, and a bed in one of the bedrooms. He says the house didn’t look actively lived in. Oh, and one more thing the Zero’s reporter took note of:

Patrick O’Hollaren bought the other house next door to Dudley in May 1997, just as Dudley was moving out. O’Hollaren said Dudley left behind a closet full of basketball shoes — as he remembers it, white Nikes with black stripes, size 17. (emphasis added)

Wow. A closet full of basketball shoes. You’re surrounded, Dudley! The jig is up! What would an NBA player be thinking by leaving behind a “closet full” of  basketball shoes he gets for free from a certain athletic shoe manufacturer around these parts? Let’s find out, shall we?

Well, who is Patrick O’Hollaren? He’s the neighbor. He didn’t buy Dudley’s house so how does he know about the “closet full of basketball shoes?” Cory. And what exactly did Cory say?
Well, this is what he told me yesterday.

He found the shoes in the crawl space that Dudley had left behind. He gave the shoes to the neighbor kids who obviously thought getting a basketball player’s shoes is pretty cool. 

How does this comport with the imagery of a man actively living in a house with a “closet full of basketball shoes” that the Zero’s reporter was claiming? It doesn’t. And how many pairs of shoes is the Zero’s reporter able to account for from this “closet full of basketball shoes?” Two.

The new owners, the Corys, gave two pairs to O’Hollaren’s sons, then ages 4 and 2. “They’d strap them on their feet and play with them,” O’Hollaren said.

Notice, too, the trajectory of the claims in the story. We start out with this flat assertion of what will be proven in the story:

“Republican candidate for governor Chris Dudley continued to use his Portland home during the years he claimed Camas, Wash., as his residence to avoid paying thousands of dollars in Oregon taxes.”

and within just a few words we arrive at the less certain assertion (uh, oh: weasel word alert):

“…may not have stopped using his Portland home to the extent needed to claim he was no longer an Oregon resident for tax purposes.”

and then we arrive at verbiage that puts it into the third person/just-some-guy-is-wondering mode:

Questions about how and why Dudley avoided paying some Oregon income taxes while playing center for the Blazers have become an issue in the race for Oregon governor.

Hmm…let me guess who the “question askers.” Mark Weiner? Lisa Grove? Dr. Do Over? His Girlfriend who is under investigation by the state of Oregon for possible rip offs? Here
Gosh, I can’t imagine why they’d want to change the subject…
And then we travel into the world of “could:”

By claiming Washington residency, Dudley — who was already earning a National Basketball Association salary before coming to Portland — could shield any other income from Oregon income taxes, such as capital gains, investments and endorsement deals.

Mind you, there’s no proof of anything. There’s no wrong doing. The story doesn’t make the case but that wasn’t really the point, was it? It was to smear the republican with the possibility of a scintilla of a shadow of a vestige of doubt about his character.
We understand that in the Democrats world, which probably includes this reporter, wealthy people paying more in taxes is an “act of patriotism.”Here. Maybe the $463,000 Dudley paid in OREGON INCOME TAXES during the period in question isn’t enough for these people. But avoiding taxes isn’t breaking the law. It’s just smart. It’s why John Kerry parked his yacht in another state (here). He’s a hypocrite, of course, but what he is doing isn’t illegal. Now what Treasury secretary Tim Geithner (here) and deposed-Senate-leader-turned-K-street-operator-turned-Obama-health-care-oracle Tom Daschle did (here) was illegal but, hey, they’re the original FOO (Friends of Obama) Fighters and therefore got a pass.