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Wednesday, February 11, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Slaid
Cleaves
returns
to Sisters
Feb. 20
The Belfry will host an
evening with Slaid Cleaves
Friday, February 20, at 7 p.m.
Slaid Cleaves spins sto-
ries with a novelist’s eye
and a poet’s heart. Twenty
years into his career, the
celebrated songwriter’s CD
“Still Fighting the War”
spotlights an artist in peak
form.
Cleaves has performed
multiple times at the Sisters
Folk Festival and has become
one of the region’s most
beloved touring singer-song-
writers. His songs are cine-
matic, often wryly funny, and
always cut to the bone.
“Slaid’s a craftsman,” says
Terri Hendrix, who sings har-
mony on “Texas Love Song.”
“He goes about his songs like
a woodworker.”
Cleaves is a native of
Maine who moved to Austin,
Texas, to become a key fig-
ure in that town’s thriving
music scene.
Doors open at 6 p.m.,
show begins at 7 p.m. Food
and drink are available for
purchase.
Tickets are $18 online at
bendticket.com or $23 at the
door.
Governor faces ethics allegations, calls to resign
By Jonathan J. cooper
Associated Press
SALEM (AP) — Oregon’s
governor is struggling to deal
with allegations that his fian-
cee used his position to land
clients for her environmental
consulting business, claims
that have drawn an ethics
investigation and the scrutiny
of the state’s attorney general.
Although his role in
arranging the deals isn’t clear,
the scandal has posed a threat
to the decades-long political
career of four-term Democrat
John Kitzhaber, Oregon’s
longest-serving governor.
The editorial board at the
state’s largest newspaper, The
Oregonian, called for him to
resign this week, saying the
controversy has become such
a distraction that he can’t
effectively lead. Two advisers
to the Republican he defeated
last year took early steps
Friday to begin a recall effort.
A series of newspaper
reports since October have
chronicled Cylvia Hayes’
work for organizations with
an interest in Oregon pub-
lic policy. During the same
period, she worked as an
unpaid adviser in the gov-
ernor’s office. The spot-
light on Hayes led to her
revelation that she accepted
about $5,000 to illegally
marry an immigrant seeking
immigration benefits in the
1990s. Later, she admitted
she bought a remote prop-
erty with the intent to grow
marijuana.
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“Recent allegations relat-
ing to Gov. Kitzhaber and
Ms. Hayes are very serious
— and troubling,” Attorney
General Ellen Rosenblum
said in a statement. “My
office is considering all of
our legal options to ensure
that we are best serving the
state.”
Rosenblum’s spokes-
woman, Kristina Edmunson,
would not elaborate on
which allegations troubled
the attorney general, who is
a Democrat. Under Oregon
law, the attorney general’s
authority to investigate and
bring criminal charges is lim-
ited, but her office sometimes
assists district attorneys with
complex cases.
Kitzhaber has repeatedly
declined to appoint a special
prosecutor, saying it’s unnec-
essary. He has refused to step
aside, no doubt emboldened
by his re-election victory
three months ago. Even after
the first strands of scandal
became the centerpiece of his
rival’s campaign, Kitzhaber
won by a larger margin
than he managed four years
earlier.
“I was elected by the
people of this state to do a
job, and I’m going to do it,”
Kitzhaber said in a Jan. 30
news conference that failed
to quell the growing storm.
A fiercely private per-
son, Kitzhaber has been
forced to answer embarrass-
ing and personal questions
about his relationship. In
response to questions at the
news conference last week,
Kitzhaber told reporters that
he’s in love with Hayes, but
he’s not blinded by it.
Some state leaders from
his party have openly criti-
cized him. Others have nota-
bly avoided defending him.
“The governor is facing
serious challenges and he’s
hurting,” said Democratic
Senate President Peter
Courtney of Salem, a long-
time legislator who has
worked with Kitzhaber for
decades. “I want to be fair.
I want to be compassionate.
I want to do my job the best
I can. I will not speculate on
his future.”
Kitzhaber met Hayes
before the 2002 election,
when he was governor and
she was a candidate for the
state Legislature. She lost
her race, but they later recon-
nected after Kitzhaber’s term
ended.
After eight years out of
office, Kitzhaber was elected
governor again in 2011.
Hayes used the title “first
lady,” though the couple has
never married, and she took
an active role in his admin-
istration. They were engaged
last summer.
Media reports have
accused Hayes of using her
position to get private con-
sulting work; earning money
from companies that wanted
to influence the state; and
directing taxpayer-funded
staff to make travel arrange-
ments on behalf of her pri-
vate business.
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Last month, EO Media
Group and Pamplin Media
Group reported that Hayes
earned $118,000 over two
years for a fellowship with
a green energy group. The
Oregonian reported that
the money didn’t match her
earnings reported on her tax
returns, which she’d previ-
ously given to the newspaper.
Kitzhaber said the couple
files taxes separately and
refused to answer questions.
The Oregon Government
Ethics Commission has
opened an inquiry and will
decide in March whether a
formal investigation is war-
ranted. The commission
enforces conflict of interest
laws for government officials
and can impose civil penal-
ties, but can’t levy criminal
charges.
Kitzhaber has said he and
Hayes recognized the poten-
tial for conflicts between
her public and private work
and tried to avoid them.
He said last week it’s up to
the ethics commission to
decide whether they were
successful.
The recall effort, filed
by the former campaign
manager and policy direc-
tor for Republican Dennis
Richardson, would require
220,000 signatures within 90
days — a difficult and expen-
sive task. Oregon’s chief
elections official, Secretary
of State Kate Brown, said
Friday that the recall must
wait until Kitzhaber is six
months into his term.
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