Oregon newspaper calls on Gov. Kitzhaber to resign
Oregon's largest newspaper is calling on Gov. John Kitzhaber to resign, following a series of revelations about potential conflicts of interest by his fiancee and her work as a consultant.
Cylvia Hayes, known as Oregon's first lady, has served as an energy policy adviser to Kitzhaber, a Democrat who was re-elected in November to an unprecedented fourth term. The Oregonian newspaper recently reported that two people involved in the governor's 2010 campaign helped Hayes find consulting work with organizations interested in state policy -- and both people have since joined the Kitzhaber administration.
From The Oregonian editorial first published Wednesday afternoon:
More ugliness may surface, but it should be clear by now to Kitzhaber that his credibility has evaporated to such a degree that he can no longer serve effectively as governor. If he wants to serve his constituents he should resign.
At a news conference last Friday, Kitzhaber said Hayes would have no policy or political role for the rest of his administration. He refused to resign and his evasive answers at that news conference were described by The Oregonian's editorial board as "Clintonian."
"I was elected to serve the citizens of the state of Oregon and I intend to continue to do so," Kitzhaber said in a statement Wednesday to KGW-TV in Portland that reiterated his stance.
The relationship between Kitzhaber and Hayes made national headlines in October when she acknowledged that she illegally married an Ethiopian immigrant in the late 1990s. Hayes had kept the marriage a secret from Kitzhaber. That revelation came amid reports of Hayes doing consulting work for organizations seeking to influence state policy.
The editorial did not recount each instance in which Hayes reportedly used public resources to advance her consulting business. But the editorial board was sharp in rebuking Kitzhaber:
Suffice it to say there's a pattern, and the person who bears the responsibility for allowing it to form and persist is Kitzhaber, who should know better. After all, as he pointed out during Friday's press conference, he's been serving in public office on and off since the 1970s.
This is the second stint in the governor's office for Kitzhaber, who previously served two terms from 1995 to 2003 before running again in 2010. An emergency room physician, he is best known for his efforts to shape health policy and was the author of the state's government-funded health care plan.