(Photo above: Ted Wheeler and Kate Brown)
State Treasurer Ted Wheeler released a statement earlier today calling on the troubled Oregon governor to resign. In another memo Secretary of State Kate Brown, who would become governor if Kitzhaber resigns, noted after meeting with the governor, “this is clearly a bizarre and unprecedented situation.”
“It is with deep sadness that I ask Governor John Kitzhaber to resign his position as Governor of Oregon,” said Wheeler. “He has accomplished many great things during his long career, and history will be kinder to him than current events suggest.
“Unfortunately, the current situation has become untenable, and I cannot imagine any scenario by which things improve. Oregon deserves a Governor who is fully focused on the duties of state.
“I hope the Governor will do the right thing for Oregon and its citizens.”
Late Tuesday afternoon, Brown said she received a call from the Governor while she was in Washington, D.C. at a Secretaries of State conference. “He asked me to come back to Oregon as soon as possible to speak with him in person and alone,” she noted.
“I got on a plane yesterday morning and arrived at 3:40 in the afternoon. I was escorted directly into a meeting with the Governor. It was a brief meeting. He asked me why I came back early from Washington, D.C., which I found strange. I asked him what he wanted to talk about. 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. Right now I am focused on doing my job for the people of Oregon.”
All of this despite a statement by Kitzhaber that he has “no intention” of stepping down as Oregon’s governor, a statement that came after hours of speculation that the Democrat might resign due to an ethics scandal that has prompted a criminal investigation.
“Let me be as clear as I was last week, that I have no intention of resigning as governor of the State of Oregon,” he said in a statement distributed by his press secretary. “I was elected to do a job for the people of this great state, and I intend to continue to do so.”
The governor, who won reelection for his fourth term in November, is facing a scandal that centers around the personal business work of his finance, Cylvia Hayes and the policies of his administration, where she had served as an unpaid adviser.
If Kitzhaber resigns he would be succeeded by the Secretary of State Kate Brown.
The Oregon Constitution details a succession plan if a governor dies or resigns. The secretary of state is first in line. If that person can’t serve, the state treasurer (currently Ted Wheeler) is next, followed by Senate President (Peter Courtney, D-Salem) and the House speaker (Tina Kotek, D-Portland).
Kitzhaber’s successor would remain in office until the next biennial general election in November 2016. Then the newly elected governor would finish Kitzhaber’s term, which goes through the end of 2018.
Regarding who would take over Brown’s duties as Secretary of State if she assumed Kitzhaber’s role, Oregon law would require Brown to appoint a fellow Democrat.
