Under fire over fiancee's role as 'first lady' and paid outside consultant, Oregon governor resigns
Former Gov. John Kitzhaber. (Image from the State of Oregon website.)
The longtime Democratic governor of Oregon resigned Friday, effective at 10 a.m. on Wednesday of next week, in the midst of a criminal investigation of any role he may have played in paid outside consulting work by his fiancée, overlapping her role as the state’s volunteer “first lady.”
John Kitzhaber, 67, and his fiancée, Cylvia Hayes, 47, have denied wrongdoing in the influence-peddling scandal that has been gathering steam since complaints were filed last year with the Oregon Government Ethics Commission, according to the Oregonian and the New York Times (reg. req.). The state attorney general, Ellen Rosenblum, began a criminal probe last week.
A Willamette Week article provides the full text of a written resignation statement by Kitzhaber, a former emergency room physician. In it, he continues to assert that he and Hayes are innocent and expresses disappointment at being “charged, tried, convicted and sentenced by the media with no due process and no independent verification of the allegations involved,” but says he concluded it would be in the best interest of the state he loves and has served for decades for him to resign.
“I am confident that I have not broken any laws nor taken any actions that were dishonest or dishonorable in their intent or outcome,” Kitzhaber wrote. “That is why I asked both the ethics commission and the attorney general to take a full and comprehensive look at my actions–and I will continue to fully cooperate with those ongoing efforts. I am equally confident that once they have been concluded Oregonians will see that I have never put anything before my love for and commitment to Oregon and faithfully fulfilling the responsibilities of the public offices I have held.”
He will be succeeded by Oregon’s secretary of state, Kate Brown, who is also a Democrat and an attorney.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Governor’s fiancee was ‘first lady’ but isn’t under jurisdiction of ethics commission, both say”
Washington Post (reg. req.): “This woman will soon become the first openly bisexual governor in American history”
