Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber (D), seeing his conflict of interest scandal involving his longtime fiancé cost him key political support, announced that he will resign his office this Wednesday. Because Oregon has no lieutenant governor, Secretary of State Kate Brown (D) will replace the four-term chief executive. Dr. Kitzhaber, a physician, is the only person in Oregon state history to be elected to the top office four separate times.
Though not legally married to the governor, Cylvia Hayes serves as Oregon’s First Lady. Her failure to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars in consulting fees from environmental organizations with business before the state, after Kitzhaber promised complete compliance with the Oregon disclosure laws for he and Ms. Hayes, began his downfall. Gov. Kitzhaber won re-election last November even after his conflict of interest with Hayes became common knowledge. But, the situation re-intensified during the past three weeks.
Once leading newspapers in the state, such as the Portland Oregonian, called upon the governor to resign last week, and Republicans began initiating a recall effort, prominent Democratic legislative leaders followed suit in calling for the governor to step down. Kitzhaber was reportedly going to resign in the middle of last week, but changed his mind. He will now do so for sure on Wednesday Continue reading >
Jim Ellis Insights 