Governor John Kitzhaber of Oregon will step down, capping four months of controversy about his fiancee’s roles as a state contractor and first lady.

Kitzhaber will be replaced by secretary of state Kate Brown, effective next Wednesday, according to a statement from the governor’s office, quoted by Oregon Live.

“I apologize to all those people who gave of their faith, time, energy and resources to elect me to a fourth term last year and who have supported me over the past three decades,” he said in the statement.

Among other allegations, Kitzhaber is accused of steering contracts to his fiancee’s environmental consulting firm. His fiancee, Cylvia Hayes, is accused of using public office to further private interests.

A controversial figure, Hayes has also come under scrutiny for having married an 18-year-old Ethiopian man in 1997, for $5,000 and to help him secure residency in the US, and for participating in the same year in a plan to buy land in a remote part of Washington state, for the purpose of growing marijuana.


Oregon governor's fiancee admits 'sham marriage' to immigrant for money
Read more
Now, a criminal investigation, an ethics investigation and an accompanying scandal have left Kitzhaber, a Democrat with almost four decades in state politics behind him, surrounded by colleagues calling for him to step down.


“The senate president and I were clear that we thought it was the best course of action to resign,” the Democratic speaker of the Oregon house, Tina Kotek, told the Oregonian, the state’s most influential newspaper. “Our actions today and our actions going forward are focused on rebuilding the public’s trust in state government.”

Over the last four days, Kitzhaber had sent conflicting messages about whether he will leave office. The affair started to heat up four months ago, when the governor began to respond to allegations about Hayes’s role in state government.

The two met in 2002, the Oregonian reported, when Hayes made an unsuccessful bid to be elected to the Oregon house of representatives. By 2003, Kitzhaber had divorced his wife and was dating Hayes, the paper said. Hayes set up an environmental consulting nonprofit, 3E Strategies, which in 2009 converted to a for-profit entity. It pulled in profitable contracts from the state.

Kitzhaber served as governor from 1995 to 2003. Before he was elected in 2011 for a third term, Hayes was receiving lucrative government consulting contracts from the governor’s office, the Oregonian reported. The paper said the Oregon department of justice investigated Hayes’s business in 2010, but did not find enough enough evidence to sue.

In the past two weeks, the Oregonian learned that close associates of Kitzhaber may have attempted to “make jobs” for Hayes. The paper called for the governor’s resignation. Adding to an ongoing Oregon government ethics commission investigation, the state attorney general, Ellen Rosenblum, launched a criminal investigation into Kitzhaber’s administration and Hayes’s role within it.

Rosenblum also ordered emails between Hayes and Kitzhaber be released. One day before the criminal investigation was launched, the Willamette Week reported, Kitzhaber apparently tried to destroy thousands of emails.

Many believed preparations were being made for the governor’s resignation earlier this week, but on Thursday it was clear the governor wanted to stay in office.

As much was said in a statement from the Oregon secretary of state, Kate Brown, who is next in line for the governor’s office. Brown said she had been called back from Washington to meet the governor.

“It was a brief meeting. He asked me why I came back early from Washington DC, which I found strange,” said a press release emailed to and tweeted by reporters at KATU TV. “The governor told me he was not resigning, after which, he began a discussion about transition … This is clearly a bizarre and unprecedented situation.

“I informed the governor that I am ready, and my staff will be ready, should he resign,” Brown said. “Right now I am focused on doing my job for the people of Oregon.”

Oregonian reporters dubbed Thursday “one of the most surreal days in Oregon political history”.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/13/oregon-governor-john-kitzhaber-corruption-fiancee

This is what i mean when i talk about matured governance.
But no source though.

we dey wait 4 dt in 9ja

Just because of the role of his fiancee as state contractor, he is labelled a corrupt man. Our president will still say it is not corruption. Until we start learning from the whites, then we can move greatly

When are we going to have a President resign over "stealing is not corruption" campaign.

Ok

Iweala should resign honorably following Soludo's epistles about her actions n person

And ameachi should stay in power right Nonsense!!

SmartChoices:
Iweala should resign honorably following Soludo's epistles about her actions n person

While we hold on to little things like they are life!

datola:
When are we going to have a President resign over "stealing is not corruption" campaign.

.

[size=20pt]2078[/size]

No be say him thief anything o. If na Nigeria now them no go gree resign even when caught in the act.

Nigerians are special breed

Common corruption that's equal to stealing in Nigeria. I guess this man needs training from my current president.
Pesin we dey even fear election not to talk of resignation.

Make I March 4 Buhari jare. (Mr. I'll jail anybody that steal government money.)

temitemi1:
And ameachi should stay in power right Nonsense!!

That's your problem in Rivers state! Iweala must go!

Akpabio and all the Governors in Nigeria will assume the man is mental for resigning over "Stealing that is not Corruption" according to Jonathan.

egift:
Akpabio and all the Governors in Nigeria will assume the man is mental for resigning over "Stealing that is not Corruption" according to Jonathan.

Tinubu and Fasola will be laffing at you for this foolish comment, Ibo monkey Yoruba wannabe.

Francis5:


Tinubu and Fasola will be laffing at you for this foolish comment, Ibo monkey Yoruba wannabe.

Read again when sober.....and edit to make small sense

THAT MY COUNTRY

temitemi1:
And ameachi should stay in power right Nonsense!!

Do you have any remote evidence against Amaechi?

This is what is called corruption; using your office to furtheryour private business and it is different from stealing or theft. PGEJ was right about his explanations. It's simple english , however, I look forward to the days when our leaders can resign on their own because of corrupt practices /theft or be prosecuted by anti graft agencies.

egift:
Akpabio and all the Governors in Nigeria will assume the man is mental for resigning over "Stealing that is not Corruption" according to Jonathan.

But Buhari will canonise him as saint by telling LIES in his defence. The same same way he said Abacha did NOT steal our money in 2008.

Will this happen here?

Corruption according to wikipedia is derivation from ideal. This includes bribery and embezzlement. We should chief justice mustapha and GEJ confuse us, we know they are completely confused.

blessedjosh:
This is what is called corruption; using your office to furtheryour private business and it is different from stealing or theft. PGEJ was right about his explanations. It's simple english , however, I look forward to the days when our leaders can resign on their own because of corrupt practices /theft or be prosecuted by anti graft agencies.

barcanista:
No be say him thief anything o. If na Nigeria now them no go gree resign even when caught in the act.

Nigerians are special breed

Read the guy's crime again, in Nigeria you don't need to catch them because it is done in the open.
All the contracts in Lagos are carried out by either Tinubu, Lai Mohammed or Fashola's relations. In Imo, it is a similar story.

Knights bridge dredging owned by Lai Mohammed, carries out all the dredging contracts in Lagos.
Alphabeta owned by Tinubu carries out the tax consulting jobs.

This is a perfect example of "common stealing is not corruption".
This man is perceived to be corrupt because of his fiance.
APC leaders and followers are all stealers!

Amaechi was caught red-handed by Al-Jazeera with public dollars in his pocket!
What did he do?
He grabbed his coat to cover the money and continued preaching against corruption like an slowpoke.
Amaechi and Ambode look like imbeciles.
Ambode is taking that drug they give mad people.
that is why he is big like blown-blown!

tit:
This is a perfect example of "common stealing is not corruption".
This man is perceived to be corrupt because of his fiance.
APC leaders and followers are all stealers!

Are you really this dumb?

There is always a code of conduct in serious organisations/corporations not to allow conflict of interest get in the way.

His fiance is a contractor working for his government meaning it's possible he could have been awarding contracts to her because of his influence


I'm convinced you know this already but your are just on a trolling bender

Until you steal, your office is not secure in Nigeria.


Sunnyshayne.

sCun:

Read the guy's crime again, in Nigeria you don't need to catch them because it is done in the open.
All the contracts in Lagos are carried out by either Tinubu, Lai Mohammed or Fashola's relations. In Imo, it is a similar story.

I agree with you here. Nepotism is corruption

tit:
Amaechi was caught red-handed by Al-Jazeera with public dollars in his pocket!
What did he do?
He grabbed his coat to cover the money and continued preaching against corruption like an slowpoke.
Amaechi and Ambode look like imbeciles.
Ambode is taking that drug they give mad people.
that is why he is big like blown-blown!

Clown

temitemi1:
And ameachi should stay in power right Nonsense!!

Why are you tribalists always picking on Amaechi as being corrupt?? Are you trying to assassinate his character?

Despite all your noise about Amaechi being corrupt, you have not brought forth good evidence to back up your claims.

So you think if Amaechi is corrupt and GEJ is having an issue with him, don't you know GEJ would have used that to mess him up using the media?? Or is Amaechi now more powerful than the president?