The nugget., November 29, 2017, Page 29, Image 29

Wednesday, November 29, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
A pog o’ gold?
Eghics panel rejecgs $1,000 fine
SALEM (AP) — The
Oregon Government Ethics
Commission has rejected a
$1,000 fine that had been
proposed for former Gov.
John Kitzhaber for failing to
publicly declare a potential
conflict of interest between
his elected position and his
partner’s work.
The panel voted 7 to 1
Friday to deny the settlement,
Ron Bersin, executive direc-
tor of the commission, said
in an email. The Portland
Tribune reported that some
commissioners felt the pro-
posed fine was too low.
“There was a sense that
there were more issues to be
dealt with than were dealt
with in the settlement,” com-
missioner Richard Burke
told The Associated Press
after the meeting. “And I
think there was a sense that
for someone who has had
as much experience in pub-
lic life as Gov. Kitzhaber
has had, there needed to
be a little more contrition.
And the fine was a little bit
light.
“But having said that,
nobody’s out to get the gov-
ernor. The mission of the eth-
ics commission is to educate;
it’s not to punish.”
As part of the agreement,
the commission would’ve
dropped further investiga-
tion into whether Cylvia
Hayes used her relationship
as Kitzhaber’s fiancee to
win contracts for her green-
energy consulting business.
The commission could have
assessed fines of up to a total
of $20,000 for the known
violations, which included
Kitzhaber being credited
frequent flier miles once
when he traveled on state
business.
After investigating the
matter, the U.S. Department
of Justice said in June that
the couple won’t face crimi-
nal charges.
The ethics commission
had said there were poten-
tial conflicts of interest
when Kitzhaber’s duties as
governor overlapped with
the issues that Hayes’ con-
sulting firm, 3E Strategies,
was receiving payment for.
3E Strategies could have
had financial gains or losses
stemming from Kitzhaber’s
policy decisions and public
appearances, the commission
said.
Oregon law “requires
29
an elected public official to
make a public announce-
ment of the nature of the
potential conflict of interest
prior to taking any official
action on the matter,” the
commission wrote, adding
that Kitzhaber failed to make
such public announcements,
for example through press
releases.
The former governor
had apologized this week
for failing to make the pub-
lic declarations. He said he
had not perceived a conflict
of interest because Hayes’
work for nonprofit organi-
zations wasn’t directed at
influencing state policy, but
to educate people on issues.
He said he had referred
matters regarding potential
conflicts to general coun-
sel, and wasn’t advised he
needed to publicly disclose
them.
Secretary of State Kate
Brown, also a Democrat,
assumed Oregon’s highest
office in 2015 after Kitzhaber
resigned just over a month
into his fourth term. She
was elected last November
to complete his term and is
a candidate for re-election in
2018.
PHOTO BY CRAIG RULLMAN
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