Kitzhaber has less to smile about since he was pictured on this campaign flyer last fall.
Governor Kitzhaber evidently thinks of Oregonians as idiots who will believe anything. He now wants us to believe that he called Secretary of State Kate Brown and asked her to hustle back from a conference in Washington, D.C., so he could tell her he was not resigning. Really?
He says that this is not something one should say over the phone. Seriously?
“Say, Kate, I’m glad I got you. Just wanted to let you know that no matter what you hear, I’m not leaving office. So don’t worry about it, at least not for a while, OK? Hope your conference is successful. Talk to you when you get back next week. See ya!”
How hard would that have been? Instead, he tells her something that makes her change her plans at a moment’s notice and get on a plane for a five- or six-hour flight just to give her the information that there’s nothing for her to do? If that’s actually what he did, he’s the most inconsiderate man in state government.
But no, it’s not remotely believable. If he had asked Brown to get back here just to tell her that, she would have laughed at him over the phone. “Fine, John, it’s up to you, if you don’t want to resign, I understand. But I’m not about to rush out of my meetings here and start all kinds of rumors. Gotta go, my conference awaits. Let me know if you change your mind. Bye!”
That’s how that would have gone. So no, it is obvious that Kitzhaber intended to quit. Then he had a meeting with his lawyer and Cylvia Hayes, as reported, and they talked him out of it.
Instead of explaining what happened, Kitzhaber spins an unbelievable tale. They say his credibility is gone. This fiasco proves it. (hh)
i would speculate Kitzy didn’t realize phones work for things like that, or his attorney advised him it would hurt his defense if he quit.
Does that mean our Camelot era could be on the way out…..? It just goes to show how overly arrogant, scornful of the public, a cavalier attitude that rascal has. Did Portland re-elect him just to show the rest of the nation how really weird politics can be in Oregon!!
……JE
Next we’ll hear, “I have no idea what caused that 18 minute gap in the audiotape”. Not to worry though, there will no doubt be a cushy position in the Obama administration waiting for him. He’s make a dandy follow-up to Kathleen Sibelius as Secretary of HEW. Telling the truth will no longer be relevant then.
Agreed. He should resign. Even if he personally is “innocent” of wrongdoing, the appearance of impropriety is overwhelming.
I said that before the election!
Hasso, good read. I’m still shaking my head wondering why in the world did we vote this guy in, again? Time for him to leave and hopefully, Oregonians can put someone in his place that won’t become a total embarrassment to our state and actually do something productive.
Does this mean he’ll be planting trees this weekend?
Maybe Kate wanted to stir things up for her own political agenda. ? ?
Below is a statement sent out by Secretary of State’s office:
Late Tuesday afternoon, I received a call from the Governor while I was in Washington, DC at a Secretaries of State conference. He asked me to come back to Oregon as soon as possible to speak with him in person and alone.
I got on a plane yesterday morning and arrived at 3:40 in the afternoon. I was escorted directly into a meeting with the Governor. It was a brief meeting. He asked me why I came back early from Washington, DC, which I found strange. I asked him what he wanted to talk about. The Governor told me he was not resigning, after which, he began a discussion about transition.
This is clearly a bizarre and unprecedented situation.
I informed the Governor that I am ready, and my staff will be ready, should he resign. Right now I am focused on doing my job for the people of Oregon.
Kate Brown, Oregon Secretary of State
Bizarre indeed.
I just read SoS Brown’s noon press release. What is going on? Has Kitzhaber lost his mind?