What He Left Behind Emails ex-Gov. John Kitzhaber

http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-23996-what_he_left_behind.html

What He Left Behind

Emails ex-Gov. John Kitzhaber’s office sought to destroy reveal tensions over power, money and former First Lady Cylvia Hayes.

   

      

Tags: Gov. John Kitzhaber, Cylvia Hayes, e-mails

Ex-Gov. John Kitzhaber resigned last week amid allegations his fiancee, former first lady of Oregon Cylvia Hayes, improperly used her access to him to influence state policy while benefiting financially.

From 2011 to 2013, Hayes collected more than $220,000 from private consulting contracts she landed while working as an adviser to Kitzhaber. Her dealings have sparked state and federal criminal investigations (“First Lady Inc.”, WW, Oct. 8, 2014).

But before Kitzhaber’s resignation and the investigations, Hayes had even grander plans for herself—in terms of influence and money—for the governor’s final term in office.

Newly obtained emails reveal Hayes told Kitzhaber in late 2013 that she wanted to further leverage her access to his office into “lucrative work,” including an official state position, paid speaking appearances and book contracts.

The first lady proposed her expansive plans to Kitzhaber, even as the governor’s staff searched for ways to narrow Hayes’ official role and make sure she wasn’t violating state ethics laws.

Hayes’ big plans and the staff’s concerns are contained in emails that are among thousands of communications Kitzhaber’s office sought on Feb. 5 to have destroyed. (See here for an analysis of this action.) Neither Kitzhaber nor Hayes agreed to be interviewed for this story.

The emails obtained by WW provide an extraordinary window into Kitzhaber’s administration and the complexities Hayes’ ambitions presented. 

The emails show that Kitzhaber’s staff was especially alarmed by Hayes’ role in the governor’s office after she signed at least $85,000 worth of private consulting contracts with three nonprofit advocacy groups in 2013.