As a lifelong Democrat I have only voted once for a Republican for Governor, Dave Frohnmayer in 1990 and then the winner, Barbara Roberts appointed me as DA in her last year in office. I supported Betsy Johnson for Governor and the continuing arrogance of Tina Kotek only confirms my earlier impressions.
With the exception of John Kitzhaber's partner/girlfriend (Cylvia Hayes) there hasn't been any issue in present memory with abuse of governmental office by relatives of executive officials. There not only is not "Office of First Spouse" but its is arguably unethical and illegal for people who, only through personal relationships have special access to positions of great authority. Official Misconduct in the First Degree - committed when "A public servant, with intent to obtain a benefit, the public servant knowingly performs an act constituting an unauthorized exercise in official duties."
Anyone comparing the situation with executive branch offices with the legislature is either uninformed or disingenuous. Legislators are deliberately part-time positions who have traditionally hired spouses or other family members to run their small capitol or district offices.
For decades I represented Oregon on the board of the national organization of prosecutors I visited many states and got so see a lot of different styles of state and local government. Most of those years I was blindly "houseproud" of Oregon, always insisting that what we lacked in sophistication, we made up for in honesty. Over the last decade that has proved untrue, and while Oregon is not quite New Jersey West (where for the second time in a few decades it looks like a United States Senator may be going to prison for corruption) we make up for with Orwellian newspeak.
Oregon state government has fumbled its health care program, to the tune of HUNDREDS of millions of dollars, our DMV system, and managed to both top in the nation in fatal drug overdoses increases (1500% over previous years) and also blew through hundreds more millions of dollars awarding shady grants to untraceable "non-profits," many of which have either filed IRS 990 forms years late or sometimes not at all. The Democratic legislature engaged in an orgy of self-congratulation when, in the face of a tidal wave of overdoses and a total reversal of public opinion on Measure 110, they passed a pallid "sort of" recriminalization (HB 4100) that ensures that no criminal records will be kept, nobody will face jail, and more millions will be pored into the pockets of friends of the Governor.
Then fold in the truly outrageous scandal surrounding LA MOTA, and the Democratic Party's slavish devotion to the two scamsters running the company, stiffing creditors, their tax burden, but handing out literal bags of cash to Democratic office holders. I was elected to state office 7 times and I did NOT know it was even legal to hand over $10,000 in cash in a brown paper bag. Of course, this begs the question, how does anyone know that these bags of cash were only 5 digits and not six?
Kudos to Jeff for laying out the nonsense that passes for policy discussion and the hundreds and hundreds of millions of Oregon taxpayer dollars wasted in schools that don't teach, "behavioral health" programs that tolerate national records of drug use and a "housing program" that has put the ability of working and middle class Oregonians to forget about what was pretty easily attainable when I was growing up - home ownership.
Josh, you've done a great job of outlining the incompetence of Oregon's governance over the last several years. And, don't forget Neil Goldschmidt's own version of Official Misconduct. We've been New Jersey West for quite a while. Shemia Fagan and Ellen Rosenblum have pushed our state to the top of the dung heap.
Oregon hasn't had a Republican Governor since Vic Atiyeh.
Might it be that as a lifelong Democrat you've been voting for the wrong people? Asking for a friend.
Goldschmidt was, in all fairness, a good Governor.
The problem was we (most of us) did not know he was a child molester, which I think is disqualifying.
I thought Kate Brown was almost as bad as Kotek, but at least her husband didn't try to monetize her position. Similarly, I thought Ted Kulongoski was mostly a good governor - his wife was an official at the State Bar.
Vic Atiyeh was a very decent man, an under-rated qualification.
What I find particularly troubling is the relatively new advent (under Democratic administrations) of outright corruption and fraud, not mere incompetence.
I attended every legislative session between 1981 and 2018 and had mostly horrible experiences, first as a Deputy DA in various counties and after 1994 as an elected DA. It is hard to pin down, apart from political differences, when Oregon state politics became not just one-sided but transactional. It was clearly somewhere in Kate Brown’s administration, which would also mean the tenure of AG Ellen Rosenblum.
Before Rosenblum most of the State Attorneys General were Democrats, but they ran the AG’s office in a largely apolitical manner. It’s been a decade since that standard was abandoned.
Jeff this might be your best work yet. What Kotek is doing is wrong on so many levels it’s baffling. If Oregonians cannot see that this is the basis of her character it is a truly sad day. Power is a very powerful drug and Kotek has been addicted for a long time. She needs to go, it’s time for a dramatic change in Oregon and it needs to start at the top.
Thanks, Shayne! I feel like I know Kotek a lot better than I used to before parsing her press conference and 6,199 pages of her and her staff's emails. I'd compare her to Bill Clinton: very smart but also reckless. She knows how to dance around topics and answer in half-truths. It is impossible to imagine Kate Brown doing that press conference.
Thanks, Richard! The story is definitely Kotek's dishonesty. No one would really care if her wife had staff, etc. if Kotek had made that clear from the beginning and not been forthcoming once the story broke.
I'm going to share this on my Facebook. I have close to 5,000 followers there. Not here where I need them, but I'm not complaining. LOL... anyhow, I'm sharing this on my Facebook. More people need to read this...
This is EXCELLENT. You have done your research. Bravo. She is a rube, a criminal, a total opportunist. I could go on... ugh. Thank you for writing this. Well done!!
Her qualification for having top officials of government and industry meet with her is the person with whom she has a personal relationship, yet the state taxpayers are funding a staff member whose job it is to cater to Kotek's wife's interests and wishes.
Try getting a meeting with any of the officials listed in the reporting...
I once worked for a privately held national firm with revenues in the hundreds of millions. The owner's wife was given specific responsibilities and authority, and even though her name never appeared on any organizational chart, everyone knew the power and influence she held. If she had an office, I never saw it and she may not have even collected a paycheck - but it didn't matter. Blood is thicker than water, and everyone working with Aimee Kotek Wilson knows that.
As a lifelong Democrat I have only voted once for a Republican for Governor, Dave Frohnmayer in 1990 and then the winner, Barbara Roberts appointed me as DA in her last year in office. I supported Betsy Johnson for Governor and the continuing arrogance of Tina Kotek only confirms my earlier impressions.
With the exception of John Kitzhaber's partner/girlfriend (Cylvia Hayes) there hasn't been any issue in present memory with abuse of governmental office by relatives of executive officials. There not only is not "Office of First Spouse" but its is arguably unethical and illegal for people who, only through personal relationships have special access to positions of great authority. Official Misconduct in the First Degree - committed when "A public servant, with intent to obtain a benefit, the public servant knowingly performs an act constituting an unauthorized exercise in official duties."
Anyone comparing the situation with executive branch offices with the legislature is either uninformed or disingenuous. Legislators are deliberately part-time positions who have traditionally hired spouses or other family members to run their small capitol or district offices.
For decades I represented Oregon on the board of the national organization of prosecutors I visited many states and got so see a lot of different styles of state and local government. Most of those years I was blindly "houseproud" of Oregon, always insisting that what we lacked in sophistication, we made up for in honesty. Over the last decade that has proved untrue, and while Oregon is not quite New Jersey West (where for the second time in a few decades it looks like a United States Senator may be going to prison for corruption) we make up for with Orwellian newspeak.
Oregon state government has fumbled its health care program, to the tune of HUNDREDS of millions of dollars, our DMV system, and managed to both top in the nation in fatal drug overdoses increases (1500% over previous years) and also blew through hundreds more millions of dollars awarding shady grants to untraceable "non-profits," many of which have either filed IRS 990 forms years late or sometimes not at all. The Democratic legislature engaged in an orgy of self-congratulation when, in the face of a tidal wave of overdoses and a total reversal of public opinion on Measure 110, they passed a pallid "sort of" recriminalization (HB 4100) that ensures that no criminal records will be kept, nobody will face jail, and more millions will be pored into the pockets of friends of the Governor.
Then fold in the truly outrageous scandal surrounding LA MOTA, and the Democratic Party's slavish devotion to the two scamsters running the company, stiffing creditors, their tax burden, but handing out literal bags of cash to Democratic office holders. I was elected to state office 7 times and I did NOT know it was even legal to hand over $10,000 in cash in a brown paper bag. Of course, this begs the question, how does anyone know that these bags of cash were only 5 digits and not six?
Kudos to Jeff for laying out the nonsense that passes for policy discussion and the hundreds and hundreds of millions of Oregon taxpayer dollars wasted in schools that don't teach, "behavioral health" programs that tolerate national records of drug use and a "housing program" that has put the ability of working and middle class Oregonians to forget about what was pretty easily attainable when I was growing up - home ownership.
Josh, you've done a great job of outlining the incompetence of Oregon's governance over the last several years. And, don't forget Neil Goldschmidt's own version of Official Misconduct. We've been New Jersey West for quite a while. Shemia Fagan and Ellen Rosenblum have pushed our state to the top of the dung heap.
Oregon hasn't had a Republican Governor since Vic Atiyeh.
Might it be that as a lifelong Democrat you've been voting for the wrong people? Asking for a friend.
Goldschmidt was, in all fairness, a good Governor.
The problem was we (most of us) did not know he was a child molester, which I think is disqualifying.
I thought Kate Brown was almost as bad as Kotek, but at least her husband didn't try to monetize her position. Similarly, I thought Ted Kulongoski was mostly a good governor - his wife was an official at the State Bar.
Vic Atiyeh was a very decent man, an under-rated qualification.
What I find particularly troubling is the relatively new advent (under Democratic administrations) of outright corruption and fraud, not mere incompetence.
"Relatively new"? A decade?
Ahem ....
"Your honor, I ask that you instruct the witness to answer the question, not some other question he'd prefer to answer."
"The objection is sustained."
I attended every legislative session between 1981 and 2018 and had mostly horrible experiences, first as a Deputy DA in various counties and after 1994 as an elected DA. It is hard to pin down, apart from political differences, when Oregon state politics became not just one-sided but transactional. It was clearly somewhere in Kate Brown’s administration, which would also mean the tenure of AG Ellen Rosenblum.
Before Rosenblum most of the State Attorneys General were Democrats, but they ran the AG’s office in a largely apolitical manner. It’s been a decade since that standard was abandoned.
I wonder if Ellen's smugness comes from her marriage to Meeker.
Josh, well said. Now vote with your mind and not your heart. Oregon needs and overhaul and fast....
Jeff this might be your best work yet. What Kotek is doing is wrong on so many levels it’s baffling. If Oregonians cannot see that this is the basis of her character it is a truly sad day. Power is a very powerful drug and Kotek has been addicted for a long time. She needs to go, it’s time for a dramatic change in Oregon and it needs to start at the top.
Thanks, Shayne! I feel like I know Kotek a lot better than I used to before parsing her press conference and 6,199 pages of her and her staff's emails. I'd compare her to Bill Clinton: very smart but also reckless. She knows how to dance around topics and answer in half-truths. It is impossible to imagine Kate Brown doing that press conference.
Is that with or without glasses :)
Great work as always Jeff.
Maybe not call that chubby sidekick the “First Lady” anymore? Doing so results in a mockery of women, decency, and the institution of marriage.
Does anyone else suspect she's Benny Hill in drag
A sadly intriguing article Mr. Eager.
Will Lathrop for AG, Dennis Linthicum for SoS. Brian Boquest for treasurer. It's a start, if the ballots are tabulated honestly.
Jeff...impeccable journalism. The dinosaur press had the story and bungled it; you've put the pieces together. Reads like a script for "Chinatown."
Thanks, Richard! The story is definitely Kotek's dishonesty. No one would really care if her wife had staff, etc. if Kotek had made that clear from the beginning and not been forthcoming once the story broke.
I'm going to share this on my Facebook. I have close to 5,000 followers there. Not here where I need them, but I'm not complaining. LOL... anyhow, I'm sharing this on my Facebook. More people need to read this...
Thanks, Theresa!
This is EXCELLENT. You have done your research. Bravo. She is a rube, a criminal, a total opportunist. I could go on... ugh. Thank you for writing this. Well done!!
are we going to get another Kate Brown when Kotek has to resign? the Cynthia saga continues...sorry, Cynthias, I meant Cylvia.
So she's a unpaid volunteer with some influence. That sounds better than a lobbyist.
Her qualification for having top officials of government and industry meet with her is the person with whom she has a personal relationship, yet the state taxpayers are funding a staff member whose job it is to cater to Kotek's wife's interests and wishes.
Try getting a meeting with any of the officials listed in the reporting...
I once worked for a privately held national firm with revenues in the hundreds of millions. The owner's wife was given specific responsibilities and authority, and even though her name never appeared on any organizational chart, everyone knew the power and influence she held. If she had an office, I never saw it and she may not have even collected a paycheck - but it didn't matter. Blood is thicker than water, and everyone working with Aimee Kotek Wilson knows that.