Speculation rising about potential resignation of embattled Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber
February 11, 2015
By Nick Katers
Salem, Oregon: A maelstrom of speculation has emerged today over how long Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber (D) will remain in office. Kitzhaber canceled a February 14 appearance at Friends of Trees with three days to spare, and Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown (D), the next in the line of succession, returned from a trip to Washington, D.C., two days early. With two recall efforts in motion and a state investigation underway, local and national media started discussions about the governor's potential resignation.[1][2] Jim McDermott, an attorney representing Kitzhaber, told reporters today that the governor has no intention of resigning.[3] Kitzhaber confirmed McDermott's statement later in the day in an interview with The Statesman Journal.[4]
Kitzhaber, who won re-election in November 2014, is under investigation by state Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum (D) over concerns about conflicts of interest and personal gain in his administration. Cylvia Hayes, the governor's fiancee and advisor, failed to report $118,000 in consulting fees from the Clean Economy Development Center in disclosure forms and federal returns. Emails released by the Oregon Department of Administrative Services also show that Kitzhaber lobbied the department's director to hire an advisor from New York-based think tank Demos for an economic initiative called the Genuine Progress Indicator. Hayes was under contract with Demos at the time Kitzhaber was advocating on behalf of Demos consultant Sean McGuire.[5]
News about potential conflicts of interest first emerged in October 2014, when the Willamette Weekly published a story about Hayes' work as advisor to Kitzhaber and as a political consultant for Demos. The governor asked for an investigation by the Oregon Government Ethics Commission on October 13, 2014, but the commission will not make a final decision on a formal investigation until a meeting in March.[6] In the meantime, two former campaign staffers for 2014 Republican gubernatorial candidate Dennis Richardson have initiated a recall petition that needs 220,458 valid signatures to reach the ballot. The attorney general's office initiated an investigation into ethics violations by Kitzhaber and Hayes on February 9, 2015.[7]
Background on resignations
There have been four governors in the state's history who resigned prior to the conclusion of their current term, with no resignations since 1952. The following table details these governors and their reasons for leaving office:[8]
| Gubernatorial resignations in Oregon history | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | Party | End of last term | Resignation year | Reason | ||
| Lafayette Grover |  Democratic |
1879 | 1877 | Appointment to U.S. Senate | ||
| George Earle Chamberlain | Democratic |
1911 | 1909 | Appointment to U.S. Senate | ||
| Frank Benson |  Republican |
1911 | 1910 | Illness | ||
| James Douglas McKay | Republican |
1953 | 1952 | Federal appointment | ||
See also
- Resignation of Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber
- John Kitzhaber recall, Oregon (2015)
- Governor of Oregon
- John Kitzhaber
- Demos
- Cylvia Hayes
- Genuine Progress Indicator
- United States gubernatorial resignations
Footnotes
- ↑ The Oregonian, "Secretary of State Kate Brown cutting D.C. trip short to return to Oregon," February 11, 2015
- ↑ The New York Times, "Oregon Bedfellows Make for Strange Politics," February 11, 2015
- ↑ Oregon Public Broadcasting, "Lawyer: Gov. John Kitzhaber Isn't Resigning," February 11, 2015
- ↑ The Statesman Journal, "Gov. Kitzhaber says he is not resigning," February 11, 2015
- ↑ The Oregonian, "John Kitzhaber controversy: Cylvia Hayes directed state officials on policy she was being paid to promote, emails show," February 6, 2015
- ↑ Willamette Week, "First Lady Inc.," October 8, 2014
- ↑ Governing, "Oregon AG Launches Criminal Investigation of Gov. Kitzhaber and His Fiancee," February 10, 2015
- ↑ National Governors Association, "Oregon: Past Governors Bios," accessed February 11, 2015
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