Just hours after Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber announced his decision to resign, a subpoena arrived in a state office building confirming that federal agents are looking into the influence-peddling scandal that led to the abrupt end of a four-decade political career.
The Democratic governor gave in to mounting pressure Friday, abandoning his office amid suspicions that is live-in fiancée used her relationship with him to land contracts for her green-energy consulting business.
His resignation, which takes effect Wednesday, cleared the way for Secretary of State Kate Brown to assume Oregon’s highest office and become the nation’s first openly bisexual governor.
–
Kitzhaber, 67, met Hayes, 47, before the 2002 election, when he was governor and she was a candidate for the state Legislature. She lost her race, but they later reconnected after Kitzhaber’s term ended.
Hayes used the title “first lady,” though the couple never married, and she took an active role in his administration. They were engaged last summer.
“One thing I hope people know about me is that I love this state and its people, its rivers, its mountains and its landscapes with every fiber of my being,” Kitzhaber said in is parting statement. “It is because of that love that I tender my resignation.”
