Oregon state Sen. Jeff Kruse (R) said that he was resigning after an investigation “determined he had harassed women in the Capitol building with prolonged hugging, groping and other unwelcome physical contact,” the AP reports.
Oregon
Trump Way Ahead in Oregon
A Hoffman Research Group poll in Oregon shows Donald Trump leading the GOP presidential race with 43%, followed by Ted Cruz at 26% and John Kasich at 17%.
Kasich Not Included In Oregon’s Voter Guide
John Kasich “isn’t featured in Oregon’s voters’ pamphlet for the May primary election — an embarrassing blunder for any major campaign,” the Register-Guard reports.
“It’s up to candidates to get their photos and statements into the pamphlet, which is one of the most cost-effective political advertising tools in the state. Each Oregon household — roughly 1.5 million in total — gets a free copy of the pamphlet. Presidential candidates pay $3,500 to put their half-page statement in the pamphlet, or else submit 500 supporters’ signatures and get their statement included for free.”
“Kasich’s failure may throw a wrench in a coordinated strategy announced publicly Sunday night… Ironically, the Cruz campaign got its presidential statement included in Oregon’s voter pamphlet.”
GOP Candidates Quiet on Oregon Standoff
“Republican presidential candidates are staying mum as an armed group has taken over part of a national wildlife refuge in rural Oregon — even those who supported the father of at least one of its leaders, who had his own standoff with the government in 2014, and have called for limits on federal control over Western land,” the Washington Post reports.
“There was relative quiet from some more conservative Republican presidential candidates who had previously called for the government to release more of the land it owns. The issue has become a larger one in the GOP primary as states such as Colorado, Idaho and Nevada may play a bigger role in determining a nominee in a large, fractured field.”
The Fix: Why aren’t we calling the Oregon militia terrorists?
Federal Corruption Probe Expands In Oregon
“The IRS has partnered with the FBI in the broad-ranging federal investigation of former Gov. John Kitzhaber and his fiancée, Cylvia Hayes,” the Oregonian reports.
Oregon Will Have First Openly Bisexual Governor
Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown (D) will become the first openly bisexual governor when Gov. John Kitzhaber (D) resigns from office next week, the Washington Post reports.
“It would be a milestone for LGBT elected officials. An LGBT governor has never been elected, although New Jersey did have an openly gay governor briefly in 2004, after Gov. Jim McGreevey (D) came out as gay and admitted an affair with a man he had appointed to a key job. He resigned three months later.”
“Brown is married to husband Dan Little; she has publicly discussed her bisexuality in past campaigns. She is already arguably the highest-ranking bisexual elected official in America; Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ.) became the first bisexual member of Congress in 2013. There are about 525 openly LGBT public officials in office at all levels of government, according to the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund.”
Speculation Grows That Kitzhaber Will Resign
Gov. John Kitzhaber’s private attorney, Jim McDermott, “sought to tamp down a flurry of speculation that the governor was planning to resign,” the Oregonian reports.
Said McDermott: “I have every reason to believe the governor will stay in office.”
“Sepculation about the governor’s future was fueled Wednesday morning after Secretary of State Kate Brown cut short a trip to Washington, D.C. to return to Oregon. The governor’s office has not responded to requests for comment about whether he was getting ready to leave office amid controversy over fiancee Cylvia Hayes’ consulting contracts and how he and his aides handled them.”
Oregon First Lady Directed Policy She Was Paid to Promote
“A new batch of emails released Friday show Cylvia Hayes directed state employees how to implement a new policy while she was being paid $25,000 by an advocacy group to promote it,” the Oregonian reports.
“The emails appear to erase any doubt that, as first lady, Hayes was taking money in her private role and pushing the same policy in her public one. The governor’s office has conceded only that Hayes’ roles as first lady and policy adviser to Gov. John Kitzhaber and as a private consultant put her in a gray area.”
Oregonian First Lady Used Staff for Personal Use
Emails show Oregonian First Lady Cylvia Hayes asked Gov. John Kitzhaber’s (D) staff to help with mundane tasks like sneaking cats into a hotel room and complaining to an airline, the Oregonian reports.
“The 500 pages of records capture communications between Hayes on her personal email accounts and a scheduler in Kitzhaber’s office. They were released as the governor’s office continues to whittle away at a months-long backlog of public records requests.”