The circumstances surrounding Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber’s decision to leave office today remain cloudy at best, but the governor made the right move. Kitzhaber was simply a distraction at a time when state lawmakers need focus.
Kitzhaber and his fiancée Cylvia Hayes are part of a federal criminal investigation, as well as an Oregon Department of Justice criminal investigation. The baggage of those investigations prompted requests by Senate President Peter Courtney and House Speaker Tina Kotek for the governor to resign because he was a liability.
Kitzhaber admitted as much during his resignation statement. “I understand that I have become a liability to the very institutions and policies to which I have dedicated my career and, indeed, my entire adult life. As a former presiding officer, I fully understand the reasons for which I have been asked to resign.”
Among the charges: that Hayes benefited financially from her personal relationship with the governor (and thusly, that Kitzhaber also benefitted because they were living in the same household); and that Hayes didn’t properly disclose all the consulting fees she had been paid.
Part of Kitzhaber’s legacy will be determined when the criminal and ethics investigations are complete. Despite that outcome, Oregon’s only four-term governor should be remembered, in part, for his ability to cross the political aisles that often ground the state’s governing process to a halt.
Things were hardly amicable within the marbled walls of the Capitol during Kitzhaber’s first two terms as governor. But the past four years things have brought about marked improvement in this regard, and more of a collaborative atmosphere in Salem — for that, Kitzhaber deserves at least partial credit.
That said, nobody — not even, arguably, the most popular governor in Oregon history — is above the law. There should be no pardons — no backroom deals in the criminal and/or ethics investigations. If he is true to his word; if he has the deepest respect for that office; that’s how Kitzhaber himself would want this situation to play out.
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