John Kitzhaber planned to resign, changed mind Wednesday, sources say

[swag]

Source: The Oregonian

by Laura Gunderson

Gov. John Kitzhaber decided to resign Tuesday but then changed his mind, insisting Wednesday afternoon that he's staying, The Oregonian/OregonLive has learned.

Events developed as the Democratic governor, now in a historic fourth term and fighting multiple investigations, faced eroding support from other elected officials and even his own advisers.

The governor decided to pull back from resigning - set for Thursday or Friday -- after meeting with his attorney, Portland lawyer Jim McDermott, and his fiancée, Cylvia Hayes. Hayes' role in his administration has been the source of much of his troubles.

The account of the tumultuous 24 hours was developed from a half-dozen sources with knowledge of the events.


Read more: http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/02/john_kitzhaber_planned_to_resi.html#incart_maj-story-1

[snooper2]

1. See what a night of cocktails will do for you

LOL

[swag]

2. Ha! Wonderful. Yes, orderly delusions restored!

[fredamae]

3. This is the final straw

for this Oregonian...who voted For him FOUR times....
Over and Out.
The Optics here are absolutely Horrible.

[Fred Sanders]

4. As horrible as this media propaganda theater that has yet to name a single named source?

[fredamae]

7. I have had

for a few years now-other "red flags" about bills he has requested from the legislature.

So, I do not make my statement lightly and without cause-and it is not based upon this one single matter.

I am not on the Recall Bandwagon....at this time...I am no longer going to defend him, however.

[jalan48]

8. I understand the issue is to do with his fiance. She hasn't declared all her taxable income.

[Shrike47]

10. That's the simple version. She was lobbying for enviro concerns while 'advising' the gov on enviro.

Then she failed to disclose was the environmental companies paid her, or to pay taxes. He has been insisting the media and his staff refer to her as 'the first lady', and she self-identifies as the first lady, he has given her a state-paid assistant, but now he claims she has no such official position so the ethics commission has no jurisdiction over her.

I have voted for him consistently and think he does a pretty good job as governor but he needs to dump either the girlfriend or the governorship.

[jalan48]

12. Thanks. I didn't realize she had a paid advisory position with the governor.

[Drunken Irishman]

20. Isn't that the plot for American President?!?

haha, wow.

[Caijoe]

5. This is what happens...

...if you don't have the backing of the Kochsuckers

[Shrike47]

11. Nothing to do with the Kochs.

[SoapBox]

6. What a disappointment he turned out to be...

[hopemountain]

19. he is not "the" disappointment

he was fairly elected by the people of oregon. this "scandal" was in the headlines well before the election - and we still chose him. if he resigns long before one can even call for a recall election, the loser gop candidate will step in and that would be TRAGEDY for the people of oregon.

[davidpdx]

21. Not true

If he resigns, the job falls to the Secretary of State, which is Kate Brown. She is a Democrat.

[hopemountain]

23. thank you for the correction,

davidpdx. this was actually on a local news broadcast out of medford and i was repeating it. happy to hear it is not true.
agree with your assessment of the real issue: cylvia, her past, and their union out of wedlock. a bit much to handle for oregon's extreme right.

[bemildred]

9. Always good to see a firm decisive leader in action. nt

[McKim]

13. Look Deeper

The Oregonian "newspaper" has become a tabloid in recent years. They have destroyed several decent but flawed politicians over the years with their supermarket tabloid style of relentlessly publishing negative stories. They have become rather hysterical in the last few weeks as our elected Democratic governor has made some missteps that would barely be worth a column in New Jersey.

Their blowing things out of proportion and their attacks have been so inappropriately strident of late that we have to look for the back story to see why they might be doing this and who benefits. Let's see, the governor's girlfriend was involved in advocating for some environmental legislation and she did not have a grasp of what is public and what was private in her advocacy work. They should have known better, but it is not worthy of a resignation.

Some think that since Oregon now has a newly elected Democratic majority legislature and a Democratic governor, that some very important legislation was going to be passed this session, like a better minimum wage and environmental bills, which the Oregonian newspaper is against. Their attacks on our governor would be another way to fight this agenda. Like any good Democrat, I have cancelled my subscription to the Oregonian, which has become a destructive force in this state. So you good folks at DU should not get sucked into enjoying what looks like on the surface, a titillating scandal. There is a back story. There may be more, but this is how I see it. The same people commenting here are the ones supporting our local "newspaper" in its witch hunt.

[jalan48]

15. The Oregon legislature needs to move ahead.

Pass the legislation the people of Oregon want and give the bills to Kitzhaber to sign. I agree about the Oregonian. It's turned into a right wing tabloid on par with something Rupert Murdoch would put out. Because Democrats control both houses in the legislature it's their opportunity to pass progressive laws. I don't think they will waste their current majority trying to compromise with the Republicans. We all remember too well what Republicans acted like when they had the majority.

[wpelb]

16. It may go back to the Goldschmidt scandal

A lot of people in Oregon felt that The Oregonian went out of its way to cover up Neil Goldschmidt's sexual relationship with a young teenager when he was mayor of Portland. Even when it did come to light, thanks to Willamette Week and not The Oregonian, the daily soft-pedaled it, calling it an "affair," rather than what it was, statutory rape. Since that time, The Oregonian may have become quick to overreact to even slightest hint of scandal—a practice that can lead to its own problems.

[Bluenorthwest]

14. Here's Willamette Week's take on it:

As WW goes to press, John Kitzhaber remains the 37th governor of Oregon—barely. Kitzhaber’s increasingly tenuous grasp on power marks a stunning reversal for a physician who turned from medicine to public service and built a 36-year career defined by intelligence, independence and innovation. Today, the only four-term governor in state history is embroiled in a scandal of his own making that threatens to end his career.
http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-23957-murmurs_what_john_kitzhaber_can_still_do.html

[McKim]

17. Willamette Week Also Lives on Scandal

Watch out for Willamette Week. Some of their exposees have had good results as they protect the public's right to know. However,
their roasting of a beloved federal judge a while back by interviewing his ex wife was trashy tabloid.

We do need a dispassionate appraisal to see what ethics were sidestepped and what laws might have been broken. Public servants to not need to resign because some newspapers have sensationalized the situation. Cooler heads and rational thinking should prevail.

[hopemountain]

18. stay strong, governor!

you were elected fairly by the people of oregon when this bruhaha was already in the headlines. there would be no worse fate for the state than to hand your governorship to that republican blow hard candidate who has been crying in his cereal every day since he LOST the election. don't let the teahaddists extremists get you down. (p.s.: although, you may benefit from a separation from cylvia.)

[davidpdx]

22. I have been a fan John Kitzhaber going back to the first time he ran

and in 1996 I was at an event for my chapter of the College Democrats and shook hands with him. All these problems seem to revolve around his girlfriend. Take her out of the equation and there's nothing. He has been a great governor, but the choices he's made with regard to her involvement in his administration have been a distraction. Personally I think he should have dumped her and agreed to cooperate with any investigation. It maybe too late for that though.