Oregon governor deflects questions over fiancee's consulting payments

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Fox News:

Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber on Friday deflected mounting ethics questions swirling around him and fiancee Cylvia Hayes over newly disclosed, six-figure consulting payments she received from a clean energy group -- while she was advising the governor on similar issues.

 

The Democratic governor, during a press conference called to address the issue, also pushed back on calls to resign and rejected comparisons between him and former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell. McConnell was found guilty of corruption and sentenced to two years in prison over a pay-to-play scandal.

 

"I was elected by the people of Oregon," Kitzhaber said.

 

Kitzhaber nervously answered questions about his public and private lives overlapping during Friday's 20-minute press conference. He also said his fiancée will dial back her duties dramatically and "will have absolutely no policy or political role" in his administration.

 

Allegations have swirled since October that Hayes used her public roles as Oregon's (to-be) first lady and policy adviser to help her own private consulting work. Hayes also drew headlines shortly before the November election after it emerged she once had a sham, green-card marriage.

 

Kitzhaber survived the election, but his handling of the consulting work matter has come under fire in recent weeks.

 

While acknowledging that an ongoing state ethics probe could result in "sanctions" depending on the findings, the governor defended Hayes' work.

 

"We have tried to draw a delineation between the professional part of her life and her role as first lady," he said.

________

 

She just needed something set aside for a rainy day...

[Draggingtree]

The Oregonian

John Kitzhaber must resign: Editorial

 

By The Oregonian Editorial Board
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on February 04, 2015 at 2:52 PM, updated February 04, 2015 at 8:08 PM

 

"I'm not going to consider resigning," said Gov. John Kitzhaber at a disastrous press conference held Fridayfollowing revelations about the apparently borderless world of public policy and private gain in which he and fiancée Cylvia Hayes exist. "I was elected by the people of this state to do a job, and I intend to do it."

 

No doubt, the governor does intend to do the job Oregonians gave him, which, simply put, is to pursue the interests of his constituents.

http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/02/john_kitzhaber_must_resign_edi.html#incart_river