Former Secretary of State Kate Brown was sworn in as Oregon’s 38th governor on Feb. 15.
By JACK ARMSTRONG News Editor
Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber has resigned after mounting pressure from constituents and fellow legislators amid allegations of ethical wrongdoing by the four-term democrat and his fiancée, Cylvia Hayes.
Prosecutors allege that Hayes used Kitzhaber’s position to funnel government contracts to her environmental consulting firm 3E Solutions. Hayes also used the title “First Lady of Oregon” while speaking on paid, for-profit tours and consulting jobs.
A subpoena requesting a wide range of documents concerning the investigation was delivered to the governor’s office just prior to his resignation.
As the investigation into possible violations of ethical policies by the former governor continues, Oregon appointed Kate Brown (Democrat) to run the state in the interim.
Kate Brown was sworn in as Oregon’s 38th governor Wednesday, Feb. 18. She has previously served for five years in the Oregon House of Representatives, and 12 years in the Oregon Senate.
Unlike most other states, Oregon does not have a lieutenant governor, the office that normally succeeds the governor if they are not able to carry out their term. Brown held the next office in line of succession, secretary of state.
Governor Brown came to Oregon initially to attend Lewis and Clark Law School with a focus in environmental law.
After being elected as secretary of state in 2008, she led the creation of the online voter registration system to make voting more accessible for Oregonians. She also headed various committees striving for more clarity in the state legislative process.
She is well known for her years of service to the state, but as she has moved further into the public spotlight, she has also become known for her sexual orientation.
Governor Brown is a self-declared bisexual, and is the first governor in United States history to be openly bisexual.
While she is married to a man, Dan Little (now First Gentleman of Oregon), Governor Brown has stated that she is attracted to both sexes.
Her sexual orientation has come with its share of difficulties. In an essay Governor Brown submitted for the “Out and Elected in the USA” project in 1992, she wrote “some days I feel like I have a foot in both worlds, yet never really belonging to either.”
She experienced resistance from fellow legislators after a story published in The Oregonian revealed her bisexuality to the public.
Her public outing did not slow her drive to enact legislative policy that took aim at inequality in civil rights and marriage issues.
According to her official state biography, she helped pass the “Oregon Equality Act.” This act officially took effect in 2007 and addressed issues of discrimination in housing on the basis of sexual orientation.
Seeing the success of the Equality Act, Brown became instrumental in passing the “Family Fairness Act” which brings legal recognition to committed same-sex partners, allowing them to gain the same protections as heterosexual domestic partnerships.
Brown’s most lauded achievement has been the streamlining of small business licensing procedures in Oregon with the Business Xpress website. The site enables business owners to conduct the majority of their licensing processes rather than having to deal with physical paperwork.
The new governor will remain in interim office until 2016, at which time she will have the option of running to win the last two years of Kitzhaber’s term in a general election.
