State
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
A9
Ethics investigation of Kitzhaber, Hayes to move forward
2015 had suspended a preliminary
review of three complaints of alleged
ethics violations against the couple,
triggered by pending state and federal
investigations.
The allegations concerned use of
the public offi ce for profi t, confl ict of
interest and inappropriate acceptance
of gifts.
Janet Hoffman, Kitzhaber’s law-
yer, wrote in a July 12 letter to the
commission that the preliminary re-
view report by the commission staff
“relies almost entirely on news sto-
ries based on speculation and cher-
ry-picked excerpts from a handful of
former Governor Kitzhaber’s person-
al emails.”
“Such speculation does not amount
to substantial objective basis for pur-
suing an (ethics commission) investi-
gation, and this politically motivated
complaint attacking former Governor
By Paris Achen
Capital Bureau
The Oregon Ethics Commission
will pursue an offi cial investigation of
former Gov. John Kitzhaber and fi rst
lady Cylvia Hayes.
The commission vote, taken in a
meeting closed to the public as pro-
vided by Oregon law, was based on
a preliminary review report and rec-
ommendation by ethics commission
investigator Marie Scheffers.
The investigator reported “there
appears to be a substantial objective
basis” to believe that Kitzhaber and
Hayes may have violated state gov-
ernment ethics law.
The vote to pursue an offi cial in-
vestigation was unanimous, 7-to-0,
said Ron Bersin, executive director of
the ethics commission.
The watchdog agency in February
Kitzhaber’s integrity should be dis-
missed,” Hoffman added.
Kitzhaber and Hayes had been
under criminal investigation for more
than two years after Willamette Week
reported the fi rst lady may have used
her position to win several consult-
ing contracts. The scandal eventually
prompted Kitzhaber to resign from
offi ce in February 2015.
The commission resumed the eth-
ics review late last month after the
U.S. Attorney’s Offi ce announced
no criminal charges would be fi led
against the couple. The state Depart-
ment of Justice abandoned its investi-
gation of the couple because its statute
of limitation had expired during the
federal probe.
Under commission rules, ethics in-
vestigators must conduct a preliminary
review to determine whether to launch
a full investigation.
State ethics investigators have up
to 180 days to complete the full inves-
tigation and can request a 30-day ex-
tension, if more time is needed.
The investigation could entail por-
ing through as many as 4 million pages
of documents obtained by the DOJ and
two fl ash drives, according to prelimi-
nary review documents.
Even though Hayes was an unpaid
adviser in Kitzhaber’s offi ce, she and
other volunteers are still subject to
state ethics law.
Disclosures at the time showed
Hayes used a desk, offi ce and com-
puters at the Capitol, according to a
report by The Oregonian. Complaints
further state that Hayes fi led expenses
with the state, advised on energy pol-
icy related to her environmental con-
sulting business, and had staff from
the governor’s offi ce make her travel
arrangements. She benefi ted from re-
ceiving consulting contracts as a result
of her public offi ce, according to the
October 2014 complaint. An Oregon
Business Council grant paid $35,000
to give Hayes her own spokesperson
while Gov. Kitzhaber was promoting
the council’s interest in the Oregon
Business Plan, the complaint states.
Lisa Hay, Hayes’ federal public
defender in the federal investigation,
wrote in an April 18 letter that Hayes
made a “good faith” effort to work
within the boundaries of her role.
“Any errors in adhering to state
ethics rules or statutes were the result
of confusion with the administration,
mistakes and the lack of clear guide-
lines for an unmarried partner and
not due to criminal intent to commit
fraud.”
Kitzhaber and Hayes could face
fi nes of up to $5,000 per violation or
as little as a letter of reprimand.
Term limits would remove
25 legislators from offi ce
Capital Bureau
EO Media Group/Mateusz Perkowski
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, left, and Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., speak Saturday
about the borders of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument at Hyatt Lake, which
abuts the monument.
Zinke: How monument’s boundaries
were set remains a mystery
Original monument boundary
Newly expanded boundary
Medford
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Area in
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Cascade
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CASCADE-
SISKIYOU
NAT’L MON.
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Calif.
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Siski
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Since undertaking a review
of Oregon’s Cascade-Siskiyou
National Monument, Interior
Secretary Ryan Zinke hasn’t
gotten a satisfactory answer to
a key question.
“How were the boundaries
made? Nobody knows how the
boundaries were made,” Zinke
said during a July 15 visit to
the monument.
The original 53,000-acre
monument was created in 2000
but was increased to roughly
100,000 acres by the Obama
administration last year.
It’s now one of 27 nation-
al monuments created in the
last two decades that are under
review by the Trump adminis-
tration.
Zinke’s recommendation
for potential changes to the
Cascade Siskiyou’s monument
is due Aug. 23, after which any
fi nal decision will be in Pres-
ident Donald Trump’s hands.
“He’s the best boss I’ve ever
worked for. He doesn’t micro-
manage,” said Zinke.
Unlike many national mon-
uments, the Cascade-Siskiyou
isn’t known for a particular
geological feature, but rather
for its unique biodiversity.
“Other monuments don’t
have the same object,” said
Zinke.
Another particular trait
of the Cascade-Siskiyou is
the large amount of private
land that’s enclosed within its
boundaries, which can create
access problems for landown-
ers, he said.
While he’s prepared to ac-
cept the premise that the area’s
fl ora and fauna justify a monu-
ment designation, Zinke said the
Cascade-Siskiyou’s boundaries
seem arbitrary in some areas.
So far, nobody at the Interior
Department has taken respon-
Cascade-Siskiyou National
Monument expansion
ive
EO Media Group
R
Ore.
th
By Matuesz Perkowski
Kl a m a
5
Calif.
Alan Kenaga/Capital Press
sibility for drawing the bound-
aries or explaining their place-
ment, he said.
It’s become clear the bound-
aries weren’t established at the
direction of local U.S. Bureau
of Land Management offi cials,
Zinke said.
“They had nearly no input in
drawing the boundaries and that
concerns me,” he said.
Any changes to the national
monument would be based on
science — specifi cally, which
areas contain watersheds, plants,
animals, soils and geological
features that should be protect-
ed, Zinke said.
Zinke is also examining how
the boundaries affect traditional
economic uses, such as grazing
and timber, as well as recre-
ational uses, including hiking,
snowmobiling and horseback
riding.
A top concern is that manag-
ing the land as a wilderness in-
creases the amount of fuels that
can contribute to a catastrophic
fi re, he said.
“Burning habitat down is not
acceptable,” Zinke said.
Grazing is an important
industry in the region, but it’s
also a tool to keep those fuels in
check, said Rep. Greg Walden,
R-Ore., who accompanied Zin-
ke on the two-day trip.
“Cattle can play a productive
role,” Walden said.
Legal precedents have made
clear that presidents can modify
national monuments — it has
occurred 18 times in the past,
Zinke said.
The law is less certain when
it comes to an outright rescission
of a monument, Zinke said.
Such a decision would have
to be substantially justifi ed by
the science, he said.
National monuments have
been controversial since the
fi rst one — the Devils Tower in
Wyoming — was designated by
President Theodore Roosevelt
in 1906, Zinke said.
Such designations have pro-
tected some of the greatest na-
tional treasures in the U.S., he
said.
At the same time, Zinke said
he’s a strong advocate of multi-
ple uses for public lands.
“Public land is not a political
issue, it’s an American issue,” he
said.
During a stop at Hyatt Lake,
which abuts the monument,
Zinke was greeted by support-
ers and opponents of the mon-
ument.
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Voter approval of a pro-
posal to enact term limits for
state lawmakers would wipe
out nearly one-third of the
Oregon Legislature member-
ship, according to analysis
by a lawyer for the state la-
bor union director.
Harry B. Wilson, SEIU’s
counsel, submitted the anal-
ysis on behalf of Matt Swan-
son, SEIU state council ex-
ecutive director, Monday to
weigh on Initiative Petition
19 for the “Maintain a Citizen
Legislature Act.”
The proposal by former
GOP gubernatorial nominee
Bud Pierce would prohibit
state legislators from serving
for more than eight years in a
12-year period.
If approved for the ballot
and passed by voters in 2018,
the act would take effect im-
mediately and apply retroac-
tively. That means incumbents
with more than eight years in
offi ce would have to leave of-
fi ce as soon as election results
were offi cial. Incumbents who
are re-elected in 2018 would
be allowed to serve out those
terms, two years for represen-
tative and four years for sen-
ators, but they would be re-
moved from offi ce for several
weeks between the election
and the beginning of their new
terms in January.
Wilson identifi ed at least
25 lawmakers who would be
affected by the term limits and
wrote that the measure “could
have profound consequenc-
es.”
The 20-member legisla-
tive Emergency Board, which
allocates funds to agencies in
between legislative sessions,
would lose eight members.
Pamplin Media Group
Initiative Petition 19,
a term limit measure
backed by former GOP
gubernatorial candidate
Bud Pierce, would cost
25 sitting legislators
their seats, according
to analysis by a lawyer
for SEIU Oregon State
Council.
House Speaker Tina
Kotek, D-Portland, and Peter
Courtney, D-Salem, the lon-
gest serving Senate president
in the state’s history, would
be among the 25 lawmakers
who would have to leave of-
fi ce under the initiative.
The Speaker and Senate
President are the last two of-
fi cials from the gubernatorial
line of succession.
“It would interrupt the op-
eration of the state boards and
commissions, much of which
are led in party by represen-
tatives and senators,” Wilson
wrote. Swanson said the ini-
tiative is poorly written and
would leave a potentially dis-
ruptive power vacuum.
Pierce, a Salem oncologist
who has hinted at future polit-
ical aspirations, acknowledged
that the immediate effective
date of the initiative could cre-
ate short-term inconveniences
at the Legislature. He said he
chose to propose the measure
as a statutory change, rather
than a constitutional amend-
ment, so that lawmakers could
fi x any fl aws in the proposal
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after voter approval.
Term limits have worked
well for state-level offi cials
and in other states such as
California, Pierce said.
“It’s not a panacea, but I
think it is an important step,”
Pierce said. “There is just too
much power in the incumben-
cy.”
That power hold keeps the
state from solving some of its
biggest problems, he said.
He will need at 88,184
signatures to win a place on
the 2018 ballot.
In all, 16 Democrats and
nine Republicans would be
required to leave offi ce under
the proposal: Senate President
Courtney, Speaker Kotek, Rep.
Sal Esquivel, R-Medford; Rep.
Paul Holvey, D-Springfi eld;
Rep. Phil Barnhart, D-Eu-
gene; Rep. Nancy Nathanson,
D-Eugene; Rep. Andy Ol-
son, R-Albany; Rep. Sherrie
Sprenger, R-Scio; Rep. Bri-
an Clem, D-Salem; Rep. Jeff
Barker, D-Aloha; Rep. Brad
Witt, D-Clatskanie; Rep. Deb-
orah Boone, D-Cannon Beach;
Rep. Mitch Greenlick, D-Port-
land; Rep. Margaret Doherty,
D-Tigard; Rep. Bill Kennemer,
R-Oregon City; Rep. Gene
Whisnant, R-Sunriver; Rep.
Greg Smith, R-Heppner; Rep.
Huffman, R-The Dalles; Rep.
Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario; Sen.
Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene;
Sen. Jackie Winters, R-Salem;
Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scap-
poose; Sen. Ginny Burdick,
D-Portland; Sen. Richard
Devlin, D-Tualatin; and Sen.
Rod Monroe, D-Portland.
DUNKIRK PG-13
Allied soldiers from Belgium, the
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surrounded by the German army and
evacuated during a fierce battle in
World War II.
FRI - THURS (12:45) (4:00) 7:00 9:40
VALERIAN & THE CITY OF A
THOUSAND PLANETS PG-13
A dark force threatens Alpha, a vast
metropolis and home to species from a
thousand planets.
FRI - THURS (12:45) (3:45) 6:45 9:45
WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE
APES PG-13
After the apes suffer unimaginable
losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker
instincts and begins his own mythic
quest to avenge his kind.
FRI - THURS (12:45) (3:50) 6:50 9:50
$9 Adult, $7 Senior (60+), Youth
Whiskey Gulch Gang’s
D EMOLITION D ERBY
Sat., July 22, 2017
Grant County Fairgrounds
Top Prize:
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At The Gate: $12 adults, $8 12 & under
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www.bluemountainhospital.org
Services available at the
Home Health Office,
422 W. Main, John Day.
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By Paris Achen
For more info call Hugh Farrel
at 541-575-0329,
visit www.grantcountyfairgrounds.com
or email farrelhugh@yahoo.com