Kitzhaber resignation imminent, brought down after hiding public records. 02/11/2015
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Kitzhaber resignation imminent, brought down after hiding public records.
That’s the implication from this RG story on Kate Brown’s emergency return to Oregon from a DC conference. She’s #1 in the succession line.
What brought Kitzhaber down? He hid public records, the reporters got suspicious, and suspicious reporters work very hard to get answers.
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Kitzhaber resignation rumors fueled by Kate Brown’s abrupt return to Oregon
SALEM — Oregon’s Secretary of State Kate Brown this morning left a conference in Washington, D.C., to make an unscheduled return to Oregon, prompting growing speculation throughout the Capitol that Gov. John Kitzhaber is about to resign.
Brown, a fellow Democrat, would replace Kitzhaber if he steps down.
Kitzhaber has repeatedly said that he has no plans to do so. But an influence-peddling scandal centered on his fiancée Cylvia Hayes has exploded in recent weeks, and the state Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum decided to launch a criminal investigation late last week.
A spokeswoman for Kitzhaber has not responded to a request for comment this morning about Brown’s abrupt return.
Kitzhaber’s private attorney, Jim McDermott, on Wednesday sought to dampen speculation the governor would resign.
“I have every reason to believe the governor will stay in office,” McDermott said in a telephone interview with The Oregonian newspaper. “As a citizen and his lawyer, I certainly hope and expect he will be staying in office.
A spokesman for Brown, Tony Green, said this morning he doesn’t know why Brown left the conference for the National Association of Secretaries of State two days early.
Brown is the president of the organization and she was scheduled to be one of four panelists Thursday morning in a discussion entitled ‘State of States 2015,’ according to the conference’s agenda.
Oregon Public Radio also tweeted out that Brown had been scheduled to appear on its Think Out Loud show from D.C. today, but canceled that appearance Tuesday afternoon, citing a busy conference schedule.
Green says Brown is expected back in Portland this afternoon.
Like Kitzhaber, Brown is a Democrat. She’s a former longtime state lawmaker who was elected as Secretary of State in 2008.
The scandal Kitzhaber faces centers on the dual role played by Hayes as an unpaid adviser in his administration and as a paid consultant for organizations with an interest in Oregon public policy.
The controversy dogged during Kitzhaber during the final weeks of his reelection campaign last fall, but quieted down after he was comfortably elected to a fourth term.
The Oregon Government Ethics Commission, which can only levy civil penalties, began looking into the matter and was expected to decide whether to launch a full investigation in March.
But fresh stories surfaced last month that Hayes had received $118,000 from a previously unreported contract with an energy advocacy group, income that wasn’t reported on either her personal tax returns or on the governor’s annual economic interest statements.
The story reached fever pitch last week. After new revelations that two longtime Kitzhaber campaign consultants had helped Hayes find paid work, The Oregonian newspaper’s editorial board has called on Kitzhaber to resign.
Then, a batch of public records released on Friday showed Hayes and Kitzhaber directing top state employees to implement an alternative economic indicator she was being paid to promote. They also revealed that a former Kitzhaber’s spokeswoman also lost her job in part because of negative comments she made about Hayes.
The controversy has completely overshadowed the start of the 2015 state legislative session, lawmakers from both parties acknowledge. Willamette Week reported today that legislative leaders asked Kitzhaber not to testify on bills on his agenda.
In his last public appearance, a Jan. 30 press conference that did little to slow the story’s momentum, Kitzhaber shot down the idea that he might resign, however.
“I’m not going to consider resigning — of course not, I’ve been elected by the people of this state to do this job,” he said.
Four governors in Oregon’s history have resigned, three to accept other political positions, one because of illness. The last to do so was Douglas McKay in 1952.
If Kitzhaber resigns and Brown steps in, a special election will be held in 2016 for a governor to serve out the remainder of Kitzhaber’s term.
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