(full coverage from The Oregonian can be found here)
Idea: let’s solve this mess by making this guy Oregon's governor http://t.co/XXPjc7KNMy pic.twitter.com/20H3YcS7WW
— Joseph Stromberg (@josephstromberg) February 13, 2015
I rarely comment on state government here in Oregon because it’s the anti-Texas. Politics here in the Beaver State is about as exciting as eating a Happy Meal. There are few larger-than-life personalities in government anywhere in Oregon, much less in the State Capitol in Salem. No Texas-like stories of excess, corruption, drugs, alcohol, hookers, or combinations of the aforementioned. Pretty vanilla stuff, really.
Until this week, Oregon was a sleepy little backwater that, at least to the Eastern media conglomerates, may as well have been Latvia. Sure, Portlandia has attracted a lot of attention to the upper northwest quadrant of the state, but no outside of the Pacific Northwest really cares about anything other than the University of Oregon’s football (and which Nike uniform combination they wear on game day). Until Cylvia Hayes, whose lack of ethics and willingness to cash in on her position is about to bring down her fiancee. What we don’t yet know is if John Kitzhaber was a victim, blindsided by the revelations of her ethical lapses…or if he was a willing participant in covering up her (possibly criminal) behavior.
I’ve admired John Kitzhaber for a long time. Just inaugurated to his fourth term as governor, Kitzhaber has been a steady, if not always the most exciting, presence in Salem. For the most part, state government in Oregon works…not that anyone here really has unrealistic expectations for it. Low standards aside, Kitzhaber has ably managed to keep the ship of state headed forward, and running for re-election as a Democrat isn’t exactly a handicap here. Every statewide elected office in Oregon is held by a Democrat (which is why I refer to is as “anti-Texas”). The empty suits that Republicans have run against Kitzhaber (they have to put someone up in order to keep up appearances) haven’t exactly created drama-filled re-election campaigns. Dennis Richardson, the most recent Republican sacrificial lamb, is borderline certifiable, crazy as a March hare and arrogant enough not to recognize it. He still thinks he got robbed on Election Day, which probably accounts for why he’s been so quick to revel in the ethical morass Kitzhaber finds himself stuck in.
Schadenfreude, like revenge, is a dish best served cold.
Cylvia Hayes and Governor Kitzhaber have been together for 10 years and are engaged to be married. During Kitzhaber’s third term, he instructed those around him to refer to Hayes as Oregon’s First Lady. Until recently, she had a bio page on Oregon.gov, the state government’s web portal. Unfortunately for Kitzhaber, and Oregon in general, Hayes has displayed a willingness to play fast and loose with ethical rules and regulations. It’s still not known if she kept the truth from her fiancee or whether he was complicit in the parade of ethical lapses that have been revealed. Whatever the truth, it’s gravely imperiled Kitzhaber’s tenure as governor. This ship is taking on water, so much so that there can be no doubt it’s destined to sink before the leaks can be plugged.
I don’t know the full catalog of sordid details- no one outside of Hayes and Kitzhaber really does- but what’s come out has been nothing if not damning. Hayes has clearly and frequently parlayed her position as the Governor’s fiancee to her personal and financial benefit…and it’s beginning to look as if Kitzhaber may well have played a hand in attempting to hide the truth.
At first, it looked as if Hayes may have been guilty of being a political amateur, not fully understanding how the game works. Rookie mistakes, right? Except that Hayes has translated her connection to John Kitzhaber into some fairly lucrative paydays, which have come to light because of some particularly ham-handed attempts to keep them from coming to light. Yesterday it was revealed that the Governor’s office attempted to get clearance to delete emails, some of which may have placed Hayes and Kitzhaber in an unflattering light. That the question would even be asked seems indicative of the arrogance of Kitzhaber; you’d think a Governor in his fourth term would understand clearly the inappropriateness of such a request.
When the first reports of improprieties came to light, I was prepared to give the Governor the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps my long time admiration for him dulled my senses and I didn’t fully recognize the scope of the problem. It may have taken me awhile to fully grasp the gravity of the situation, but over the past few weeks it’s become clear that something’s very, very rotten in Denmark.
Over the past few days, the pressure on Kitzhaber to resign has increased exponentially. One poll shows that 58% of Oregonians want the governor to step down. It’s become clear that the constant dripping of damning information has made his remaining in office untenable. As things stand now, the question is no longer if he’ll resign, but when. After evidently deciding to resign earlier this week, and then changing his mind, both the Senate President, Peter Courtney, and the Speaker of the House, Tina Kotek, have asked the Governor to resign. That both have gone public with their request is an indication of just how bad things are in Salem. The State Treasurer, Ted Wheeler, has gone a step further, publicly demanding that Kitzhaber resign.
The FBI is conducting a criminal investigation, as is the Oregon Attorney General’s office…and there’s more than enough smoke in the air to understand there’s a fire close by. I find it difficult to picture a circumstance under which Kitzhaber can continue to govern effectively. There are simply too many questions, too few answers, and some pretty compelling evidence that the shenanigans in the Governor’s office have spun out of control. This is no longer something the Governor’s staff can spin. There’s no longer any hope of hunkering down and waiting for the storm to blow over. This storm has settled over Salem and it’s not moving offshore any time soon.
There’s no conceivable way that John Kitzhaber survives the Sturm und Drang swirling about him. It’s hard to know if Hayes led him astray, took advantage of him, or whether Kitzhaber was an eager participant in some very serious ethical (possibly criminal) lapses. The surprise is that Kitzhaber’s hallmark as Governor has always been running a clean, tight ship, devoid of corruption or the appearance of impropriety. Until Cylvia Hayes.
The only two people who truly know what happens in a relationship are the two people embroiled in it. It would be easily to speculate about who knew what and when they knew it, but the bottom line is the same either way. John Kitzhaber is done, and the sooner he admits to the ugly reality and resigns, the sooner Oregon can move on and get things back on track. No matter what happens going forward, the Governor can’t credibly blame his predicament on outside force. No, this was an inside job, and all he need do to recognize the responsible party is look in a mirror.
I have something of a personal interest in this sad scenario. I interviewed for a position with the communications team on Kitzhaber’s re-election campaign this past fall. I wholeheartedly and unreservedly supported him, and I would have worked my tail off to help his campaign. I didn’t get the job, and now I just feel as if I dodged a bullet. It’s hard not to feel as if I’ve been let down. How do you process the knowledge that someone you’ve held in high esteem is clearly not who or what you thought them to be?
Part of me hopes Kitzhaber will resign and that he and his fiancee will be able to find happiness together in whatever manner works for them. I hope that the FBI and Attorney General’s office’s investigation will not turn up anything that rises to the level of criminality and that this scandal will quickly fade into the background. It’s time a new Governor (Secretary of State Kate Brown) to take over and begin the work of repairing the damage. Unfortunately, the realistic part of me knows that this is an exceedingly unlikely outcome, and that what we know thus far may only scratch the surface of the corruption and cover-up.
Whatever the final outcome may be, John Kitzhaber needs to resign. Yesterday.
