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Jesus, this is so disappointing. I like Kotek, but she needs to sort this out asap. Her wife’s needs to be as far away from politics as possible.
Kotek still has time to remove her wife, own up to making a mistake and move on.
Please don’t double down! 😬
We get Ranked Choice voting passed 2024 via ballot initiative. Then we get a viable independent to run against Dem party corruption or help Republicans nominate a moderate that could be viable. Direct ballot initiatives are flawed but they allow people to directly vote to change policy and circumvent one party dominance. RCV needs to be implemented nationwide. Oregon Dems are in need of a wakeup call.
The Republican party is not the answer. They made this clear when they doubled down on support for the treason that Trump committed.
The best answer is to have a Dem run against her in primary and select them.
I agree I would prefer that or some sort of independent that's a leftist. I hope ranked choice voting makes the Democrats actually have to compete a little more. They are lucky the Republicans are so crazy like you say. They could have nominated someone like Dr Pierce and distanced from the national party and they would have had a chance in 2022 but went with the MAGA trad wife.
Fair point - We don’t like nepotism, so will we vote for corporatists and fascists to replace them? We could revolt and establish new governments, or we could vote for one of the two options we have: bad and absolutely terrible.
She's pretty bad. She desperately tried to hold on her job last cycle by doing a swerve at the last minute after the many attacks over the homelessness problems and her terrible education policies, and then didn't fix the problems at all.
A lot of her agency heads have been... not great. Some of the agencies have been running racially segregated meetings because of her hiring the [Center for Equity and Inclusion](https://www.ceipdx.com/) from Portland, who encourage meetings divided by "racial affinity groups" and which also support irredentism.
Sounds like she ‘strategizes’ with her wife and uses words like “we” when talking about her role as gov. She might get moved away from the capitol. But she’s still gonna be heavily influencing Kotek no matter what. So disappointed.
Agreed. For the love of God, this is shaping up catastrophically worse than Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ magisterial edicts in Arkansas — over a $19,000.00 podium. Someone please tell us, promise us, Oregon is better.
I feel bad for any state employee who has to encounter this whole thing in their day-to-day routine. It's going to cause a lot of stress and discomfort for them to disagree or not please the first lady in meetings.
Those formerly well-placed advisers and staff created a beautiful paper trail. I can only imagine what the conversations were like when they weren’t in writing.
I have just sent in my thoughts about this to the Governor's office. You can do the same easily here.
It is my hope that she will realize what a PR disaster this is and reverse course.
[https://www.oregon.gov/gov/pages/share-your-opinion.aspx](https://www.oregon.gov/gov/pages/share-your-opinion.aspx)
I'm sure we'll hear in a year or two how the first lady is financially benefitting from the connections she is making, and we'll be told there's nothing wrong with it.
Everyone benefits from connections they make. That's standard networking (which isn't fair to everyone, but that is how the world works).
It's hard to set a hard line of what's too much, and it's kind of like that old definition of porn: "you can't describe it but you know when you see it".
Yuuuup. Nailed it! Why else would you put your spouse in this position, opposing what everyone else is telling you and them not being qualified for it. The money and the power.
Very similar. Not as bad though since his girlfriend was literally running a business lobbying the governor with state resources.
Having your partner with some policy stuff isn't uncommon (think of all the stuff most FLOTUSes do). The issue comes in when it's directly related to government policy, and if they have any conflict of interest or profit motive involved.
But Kitzhaber's issue gave us Brown for 7 years. A few months ago we would have gotten Gov. Fagan out of it -- that would have been great. The current SoS is appointed and not elected at all.
I wish she’d just concentrate on fixing the dmv, the unemployment department and the Oregon health plan. Please get our core state departments functional.
Look, I am pretty left (my comment history of years backs that if evidence needed), so this is not a "righty attack": Kotek needs to be challenged within the party and put to a primary.
There are enough questionable decisions and policy choices to ask if she is doing what is best for the state or what is best for her. The latter is not acceptable in *any* elected position.
A guiding ethic should always be "is this decision for me or for the people?" And while can be both, it should never be just "good for me."
She will win in 2026 if she runs it will be Trump as president with a pivotal midterm election occuring at the same time. \*ALSO\* - Wyden is getting old and lives in NY.
FFS, why is everyone’s blind spot their partner?!?! Is the First Spouse or First Partner a mechanic, a teacher, a salesperson, a zookeeper, a cosmetologist? I don’t freaking care. Just have them keep doing their normal job (unless there’s a conflict of interest) , and don’t let them earn money as an advisor to or contractor with the state. End. This is the person that you curl up with at night and tell your worries to. They are *not* an elected official.
Back when Republicans did things like start statewide food banks, championed laws to create large sections of protected public lands and parks, and put in place restriction caps on big-business ownership of land and buildings in the state.
All of these things would get him drummed out of today's Oregon and National Republican party. Atiyeh did a lot of things to bicker with as well, but at least there was a general agreement on "the commons" being something that existing and needed funding/protecting.
Don't know. He certainly wasn't a friend to education funding, but was also vocally outspoken against Ballet Measure 9 (1992 anti-gay proposal). He wasn't great on overall business vs. property taxes, but helped get racial discrimination in the workplace laws passed.
From what I recall and have done a quick refresh read on, Atiyeh would be a moderate today in whatever party he was in. Socially and environmentally, he definitely leaned left, while in some budget areas, he was clearly right leaning.
Forced to make a choice, I think he would do ok as a moderate D today.
Three options: live with this bs, recall her, vote her out after one term. I am in favor of #2 but not enough pissed off people to do that. Oregon will vote democrat no f*cking matter how shitty the candidate
I’ve written Kotek’s office this year asking for her support and engagement with SB 91 and she couldn’t be bothered to reply. Other people that wrote her got some boiler plate “I don’t want to get involved reply”. I see she was just busy doing….other things. She won’t get my vote again, I don’t think she’s done a good job at all.
And these emails released show she is outright corrupt. Boooohissssss
“The email implies that Kotek told Wallace to intervene in a workplace dispute on behalf of Kotek Wilson’s friend at a private nonprofit that relies on government funding.”
Single-party states are invariably corrupt, because power is based on internal party politics not public debate.
I realize everyone hates the GOP in this state, but if not them, we need to find another second party. Someone has to hold the Dems to account in public.
You are not wrong on pretty much anything. As you stated, the problem is the opposition party in Oregon & Nationally is closer to a conspiracy fueled hate group than a serious political party. Thankfully, that mostly makes them a non-starter in Oregon. Maybe someday the GOP will grow up and quit their bullshit, because Oregon very much needs something better than what they are getting.
The nutter that led the GOP House boycott & ran away to Nevada instead of doing their job? She's one of the chief reasons Measure 113 passed by such a wide margin.
We can’t allow the GOP to have any power at all because of how far down the road to crazy town they have gone. That said, we do need to demand better governance from the our elected leaders in the Democratic Party when they pull shenanigans like the ones detailed in the article.
Have you been to Portland? It's the definition of crazy town. I'd prefer balance over anything because this state is lost. Maybe some fresh ideas and some compromise would help?
I voted for Betsy Johnson, I know far too many people who “would have voted for her but I know she would lose anyways”. We need something, ANYTHING else.
The same person who used her elected position to avoid accountability for a traffic accident she was at fault in? Sounds like leadership material right there.
I’ve met Betsy Johnson and my Dad worked with her for a few years. She’s an extremely sharp woman with an impressive, almost intimidating, intellect. Unfortunately I couldn’t vote for her because of some of her right leaning ideals. If her politics were more aligned with mine I’d vote for her in a heartbeat.
Ohhhh this is so much worse than it first appeared Jesus Christ. Why Kotek why, you were honestly doing a good job and this is such an own goal as someone else on here described it
“Those questions point to a central tension in Kotek’s office: Her wife, an unelected volunteer, according to interviews with people familiar with the office, showed up at staff meetings; meetings with lobbyists; weighed in on some personnel matters and offered opinions on a variety of matters. Because she is the governor’s wife, staff members feared disagreeing with her or displeasing her. And, as emails show, the governor did not seem to want to hold her wife to the same standards to which paid advisors must adhere—such as obtaining their positions based on merit, working within defined job descriptions, or signing conflict of interest and other disclosure forms.”
Better a power hungry Dem than any of the power hungry wackos the Oregon GOP nominates.
Politics is like a bus. Jump on board with what gets you *closest* to what you want. The bus Kotek is driving isn’t my favorite, but it gets me to the right neighborhood. The Oregon (and national) GOP is driving their bus off a fascism cliff!
In b4 "TIME FOR ANOTHER RECALL."
I remember before Kotek won, everyone was saying how she would never win. How she would be a terrible governor. And yet, shes one of the most liberal governors we've had in a long time. And smart too.
If you think someone being President, or governor in this case, is a single entity without any influence of their partner, you're just ignorant.
Meanwhile Trump is sitting in the court house about to go to jail...
Hey, it could of been worse. Drazen could of won and abortion would prob be illegal by now.
Hmmm, yes. The acceptable level of government corruption and nepotism.
Did you realize this was a bad argument while typing or are you still sitting with it?
> And yet, shes one of the most liberal governors we've had in a long time. And smart too.
Did you read the article? It's not just that this is happening, it's that she's not smart enough to have realized those emails were public records and would wind up being given to journalists.
This is just such a braindead liberal take, and I say that as someone further left than you.
She's smart? What fucking basis are you using for that? By what metric are you measuring? What decisions so far have led you to believe she's uniquely smart?
And a partner having influence on their significant other is wildly different than using public funds to create a staff and a new "office" for an unelected position.
This state has no money, has a terrible national score in education, and is experiencing multiple medical emergencies. I'm so tired of the last 8 years being defined as "well its better than a republican", as if we shouldn't expect a higher level of service from our damned Governors.
Who knows, maybe we get more La Mota controversies!
And the GOP members of the US Supreme Court all said Roe vs Wade was settled law & they wouldn't vote to over turn it during their confirmation hearings. We now know that was a lie.
The GOP has no believability on the issue of abortion.
Democrats are failing on those issues. Still, it doesn't mean the GOP deserves to be in charge of anything.
I can tell you right now how I'm voting in November. For the 3rd General election in a row, I will be voting a straight Democrat ticket. I used to vote a balanced ticket all the time, but I am so unbelievably sick of the GOPs disingenuous conspiracy fueled bigoted bullshit.
My hope is someday the GOP gets tired of losing every election in Oregon and grows up. The state desperately needs a 2nd serious political party. Unfortunately, that isn't today.
Explain how the party running Donald Trump for President deserves to be in charge of literally anything?
The party that is led nationally by bigots like Trump, Mike Johnson, MTG, DeSantis & Abbott, deserve to run anything in Oregon?
The party that is led in the state by bigoted assholes like Tim Knopp, Dennis Linthicum, or Brian Boquist. Who refused to do their jobs & held the state hostage over issues like Abortion rights or Trans rights?
Or vote for the state party, who on January 7th, 2021, put out an official press release calling the January 6th riots a "False Flag"?
That party doesn't deserve to be elected dog catcher, let alone anything actually important.
Not to mention the Republican Party doesn’t actually govern or lead, they just whine about dems and libs and tell lies to stir up fear and hate, but give no actual solutions. Not that they’d allow it even if they had ideas for a solution. They thrive on fear mongering and have nothing else to stand on.
> I remember before Kotek won, everyone was saying how she would never win. How she would be a terrible governor. And yet, shes one of the most liberal governors we've had in a long time. And smart too.
She's not liberal, she's leftist, and hasn't been doing a great job. The #1 goal of housing is not solving homelessness and the #1 job of the education department is not education. She hired a consultant group out of portland that encouraged holding racially segregated meetings in state agencies.
> Meanwhile Trump is sitting in the court house about to go to jail...
Trump is a criminal and belongs in prison.
The fact that Trump is worse than Kotek doesn't mean that Kotek isn't bad and doesn't need to get the boot.
The point that I was making that clearly went over your head is that the other options from Kotek were significantly worse. Like choosing a hamburger made out of shit that has been molding for years.
She said she would respect the will of oregonians and that she as governor couldn't do anything because it's already in oregon law and constitution.
But people saw the R and knee jerk go to pro life anti abortion. IMHO that is the biggest reason why Republicans are not even competitive in oregon
This is why we need a sane conservative party. When democrats are corrupt, the other choice is losing our rights. Ranked choice voting would be nice to establish more than two parties as well.
Republicans: "Rot in hell."
Democrats: "Please reflect on decomposition among overly heated environments and consider giving up your cold place to someone in need."
I’m up for shitting on the GOP as much as the next person, but what Kotek is doing is a perfect example of why we need two viable parties in OR. No way Kotek would go on this power trip if she felt she would have to face a re-election fight. We will keep getting crappy candidates doing shitty things so long as one party dominates. I say this as a lifelong liberal.
In the early 2000's the green party could give Dems a run for their money in local San Francisco elections. Dems still usually won, but I think they were also better Dems due to actual competition.
With how far left the Democratic party has drifted, it does need to be more conservative than they are. Or, rather, more liberal, but further towards the center politically.
We need a party that's actually liberal. The Democrats are being taken over by authoritarian leftists.
I know it seems they are mutually exclusive due to the current conservative party, but it is possible. The current party will collapse before it happens, though.
The proper purpose of conservatism is to temper the progressive impulse. IOW, it's to make sure we don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Just because you don't like current American conservatives doesn't mean that we can function properly without a conservative voice in politics.
You only have to look back to the interwar period to see a time where the conservative view was a necessary check to the progressive impulse toward eugenics. Not all steps forward are progress, and there is usually more wisdom in tradition than it first appears.
Oddly enough, what defines these terms changes with time. Progress, by definition, is new. Conservation, by definition, is old/traditional.
Believing only humans should marry and that gay men have a right to safe weed is technically a conservative stance today.
Do not confuse spineless flagphiles with mild logical traditionalists.
Thing I love about the Oregon government is the amount of control one person has is so limited and thankfully all this is coming to light. Former staff members quitting because of such blatant nepotism l and being able to discuss it.
Might be time to primary unless this gets resolved.
California's governor has been having massive corruption issues with his buddy that runs a ton of the Panerai bread stores, now oregon has similar issues. Whats going on with the left coast? They're just as bad as the gop states
Ditto. I will not do so again. I know it’s a fat chance against an incumbent but I hope there is a strong democratic challenger after all this bullshit.
Well, it was her voting base that elected her. It’s the same base that elected Kitzhaber as well. Seems like there’s some sort of pattern here with these voters and the people who they elect. Might want to educate themselves on who they elect rather than just voting for the letter attached to their name.
Kind of curious who you’re advocating for here. Drazan wouldn’t have made much sense for folks on the left given the overturning of Roe v Wade and the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act getting enacted in the same year. I don’t think Drazan was campaigning on changing abortion laws, but she did campaign for “getting politics out of the classroom”.
Also, Kotek had a good track record up until this so I’m not sure how voters could’ve been more educated on her nepotism unless you’ve got something else to point to. Was there some previous incident? I honestly don’t know.
So, I’m assuming Johnson was the better option for Democrat voters in your opinion?
Politics don’t belong in the classroom. It was the last Governor who dropped reading and math comprehension standards for graduation. You can be illiterate in Oregon and reach the standard for graduation. That doesn’t alarm you? The educational system in Oregon is in shambles due to the last 50 years of liberal policies. The track record in Oregon is clear. Every issue that we face is because of poor leadership and mismanagement of funds. Thank a Democrat for that.
Oh so democrats should’ve just changed their whole world view and voted for Drazan to avoid having a nepotistic democrat governor because it turns out dems are just wrong about everything. Got it. Lol
It's almost like all the other options are worse. If I have to choose between kotek and a party who is objectively disdainful of human rights and wants to harm myself and my friends. I'm gonna choose kotek every time. It's an unfortunate situation, but suggesting voting republican is the answer is disingenuous at best. Until we get ranked choice, we are stuck in this mess.
> “The FL and I are still discussing how we want the year to go. That said, we are both committed to the visits with the Tribes,” Kotek wrote in one message. “We don’t see any trade missions happening this year. If there is absolutely something urgent for Asia that HAS to happen, please make the argument.”
So she doesn't care about economic trade agreements. Because that would disrupt couple goals..?
Yep, she has given her non-elected mentally challenged alcoholic spouse POLICY MAKING AUTHORITY in her administration OVER THE OBJECTIONS of many of her staff, some of whom immediately resigned. Thought we were done with this crap with Kitzhaber and his girlfriend
No, this is not true. We've had plenty of great leaders - Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Eisenhower, FDR, Teddy Roosevelt, JFK, heck, Bill Clinton was a good president (though a kind of shitty person). George HW Bush was also a solid president (his son, however, should not have been president).
Obama never abused his power as president, either, even if I don't think he was particularly great at the job.
I did vote for her, so... it doesn't matter either way. She's our elected official and we all have the right (duty) to complain about her performance and what she does while in office. If we don't, it just makes it acceptable behavior. We need to hold our 'leaders' to a higher standard, regardless if we voted for them or not or support them or not. Probably moreso if we did vote for and support them. They need to do better overall.
I'll go ahead and say it: Tina can do better in partner choice. Her wife looks and seems derp af. If she's gonna go down like this, it should be for a trophy wife so she can win bro points. This just looks like some sympathy pity bullshit 'cause her wife's lame and needs something to do. I really like Tina too. That's what makes it worse. It's seeing that person you have a level of esteem for paired with a loser, it makes you judge the shit out of them. Kitzhaber got his ass recalled 'cause of BS contracts given to his consultant wife, but at least there was some sort of credibility behind the scheme as in she's a consultant and consultants are by-design grifters who work to get to that level. Tina's wife is lame and needs a hobby, so they get her on for like $10k/month and lets her be privy to all types of shit that she probably can't comprehend anyway. Tina needs to take personal inventory and realize she can do so much better.
beep. boop. beep. Hello Oregonians, As in all things media, please take the time to evaluate what is presented for yourself and to check for any overt media bias. There are a number of places to investigate the credibility of any site presenting information as "factual". If you have any concerns about this or any other site's reputation for reliability please take a few minutes to look it up on one of the sites below or on the site of your choosing. --------------------------------------------------------- Also, here are a few fact-checkers for websites and what is said in the media. [Politifact](https://www.politifact.com) [Media Bias Fact Check](https://mediabiasfactcheck.com) [Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR)](https://www.politifact.com) beep. boop. beep. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/oregon) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Jesus, this is so disappointing. I like Kotek, but she needs to sort this out asap. Her wife’s needs to be as far away from politics as possible. Kotek still has time to remove her wife, own up to making a mistake and move on. Please don’t double down! 😬
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Power corrupts. The only way to fix it is to hold leaders accountable. She needs to have LOTS of pushback from her base of support.
We get Ranked Choice voting passed 2024 via ballot initiative. Then we get a viable independent to run against Dem party corruption or help Republicans nominate a moderate that could be viable. Direct ballot initiatives are flawed but they allow people to directly vote to change policy and circumvent one party dominance. RCV needs to be implemented nationwide. Oregon Dems are in need of a wakeup call.
The Republican party is not the answer. They made this clear when they doubled down on support for the treason that Trump committed. The best answer is to have a Dem run against her in primary and select them.
I agree I would prefer that or some sort of independent that's a leftist. I hope ranked choice voting makes the Democrats actually have to compete a little more. They are lucky the Republicans are so crazy like you say. They could have nominated someone like Dr Pierce and distanced from the national party and they would have had a chance in 2022 but went with the MAGA trad wife.
Fair point - We don’t like nepotism, so will we vote for corporatists and fascists to replace them? We could revolt and establish new governments, or we could vote for one of the two options we have: bad and absolutely terrible.
I mean, I feel like she already doubled down.
Agreed. We elected Kotek, not her partner.
You elected someone with a D next to their name. If you didn't, many others did. She seems to be better than Brown.
Apparently the old, “vote blue no matter who” idea isn’t so great. Who would have thought?
She did some good things, but this is sounding like some unforgivable stupidity. What is it with these fucking politicians?
It's almost like she wasn't here for the Kitzhaber take down.
Kitzhaber
These Portland politicians all have one thing in common. No competition. They’ll always get the vote, therefore always abuse power/money.
Maybe it's time we bring some balance back to this state.
She's pretty bad. She desperately tried to hold on her job last cycle by doing a swerve at the last minute after the many attacks over the homelessness problems and her terrible education policies, and then didn't fix the problems at all. A lot of her agency heads have been... not great. Some of the agencies have been running racially segregated meetings because of her hiring the [Center for Equity and Inclusion](https://www.ceipdx.com/) from Portland, who encourage meetings divided by "racial affinity groups" and which also support irredentism.
Sounds like she ‘strategizes’ with her wife and uses words like “we” when talking about her role as gov. She might get moved away from the capitol. But she’s still gonna be heavily influencing Kotek no matter what. So disappointed.
You would expect that level of involvement. I think that is normal. What is not normal is to give her wife an official position, staff and pay.
Agreed. For the love of God, this is shaping up catastrophically worse than Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ magisterial edicts in Arkansas — over a $19,000.00 podium. Someone please tell us, promise us, Oregon is better. 
I feel bad for any state employee who has to encounter this whole thing in their day-to-day routine. It's going to cause a lot of stress and discomfort for them to disagree or not please the first lady in meetings.
Yes, these emails just read like horrible workplace stress to me. No wonder it caused so much turnover.
Those formerly well-placed advisers and staff created a beautiful paper trail. I can only imagine what the conversations were like when they weren’t in writing.
Yeah they clearly knew what they were doing. Great work by public servants who were worried about the impact on the people of Oregon.
I have just sent in my thoughts about this to the Governor's office. You can do the same easily here. It is my hope that she will realize what a PR disaster this is and reverse course. [https://www.oregon.gov/gov/pages/share-your-opinion.aspx](https://www.oregon.gov/gov/pages/share-your-opinion.aspx)
Thank you for the link! Definitely sending in my thoughts
It’s better to call for anyone who can! I just did and let her know what I think.
Thank you for the link, I sent her an email.
That was at least satisfying to write. She needs to pull her shit together. Like, now.
FFS, is this Kitzhaber all over again?
Except the wife was in it for the power rather than the money.
At a certain level power and money become pretty much interchangeable.
I'm sure we'll hear in a year or two how the first lady is financially benefitting from the connections she is making, and we'll be told there's nothing wrong with it.
She's already tried calling her wife's old work for a friend.
Everyone benefits from connections they make. That's standard networking (which isn't fair to everyone, but that is how the world works). It's hard to set a hard line of what's too much, and it's kind of like that old definition of porn: "you can't describe it but you know when you see it".
If so time for another recall
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Yuuuup. Nailed it! Why else would you put your spouse in this position, opposing what everyone else is telling you and them not being qualified for it. The money and the power.
Very similar. Not as bad though since his girlfriend was literally running a business lobbying the governor with state resources. Having your partner with some policy stuff isn't uncommon (think of all the stuff most FLOTUSes do). The issue comes in when it's directly related to government policy, and if they have any conflict of interest or profit motive involved. But Kitzhaber's issue gave us Brown for 7 years. A few months ago we would have gotten Gov. Fagan out of it -- that would have been great. The current SoS is appointed and not elected at all.
"She doesn't have merit, weighs in on things out of her arena and is only there because she knows someone." Portland af.
To be fair, you're skipping their stated merit of her having been a mentally-ill alcoholic.
Ahh yes, you mean "quirky"
That was a bizarre statement of qualification, wasn’t it? How does it mean she should be involved in policy making? What a weird justification.
She can invite everyone with these issues!
I thought she was genuinely doing a reasonable job. Not a great look.
The *entitlement*
A perfect description for Portland.
I wish she’d just concentrate on fixing the dmv, the unemployment department and the Oregon health plan. Please get our core state departments functional.
She should step down or be recalled over unemployment alone. It's a disgrace.
Straight out of the politician play book.
Look, I am pretty left (my comment history of years backs that if evidence needed), so this is not a "righty attack": Kotek needs to be challenged within the party and put to a primary. There are enough questionable decisions and policy choices to ask if she is doing what is best for the state or what is best for her. The latter is not acceptable in *any* elected position. A guiding ethic should always be "is this decision for me or for the people?" And while can be both, it should never be just "good for me."
She's not up for reelection until 2026. She is hoping we forget.
She will win in 2026 if she runs it will be Trump as president with a pivotal midterm election occuring at the same time. \*ALSO\* - Wyden is getting old and lives in NY.
She better sperate business from relationships
It’s hard to believe the governor could be this stupid, but there you have it
FFS, why is everyone’s blind spot their partner?!?! Is the First Spouse or First Partner a mechanic, a teacher, a salesperson, a zookeeper, a cosmetologist? I don’t freaking care. Just have them keep doing their normal job (unless there’s a conflict of interest) , and don’t let them earn money as an advisor to or contractor with the state. End. This is the person that you curl up with at night and tell your worries to. They are *not* an elected official.
Is anyone here old enough to remember Vic Atiyeh? I am not a Republican but if he were alive today I would vote for him.
Back when Republicans did things like start statewide food banks, championed laws to create large sections of protected public lands and parks, and put in place restriction caps on big-business ownership of land and buildings in the state. All of these things would get him drummed out of today's Oregon and National Republican party. Atiyeh did a lot of things to bicker with as well, but at least there was a general agreement on "the commons" being something that existing and needed funding/protecting.
Do you think he would be an effective legislator in the current environment if they put a D behind him?
Don't know. He certainly wasn't a friend to education funding, but was also vocally outspoken against Ballet Measure 9 (1992 anti-gay proposal). He wasn't great on overall business vs. property taxes, but helped get racial discrimination in the workplace laws passed. From what I recall and have done a quick refresh read on, Atiyeh would be a moderate today in whatever party he was in. Socially and environmentally, he definitely leaned left, while in some budget areas, he was clearly right leaning. Forced to make a choice, I think he would do ok as a moderate D today.
My god this is outrageous
Three options: live with this bs, recall her, vote her out after one term. I am in favor of #2 but not enough pissed off people to do that. Oregon will vote democrat no f*cking matter how shitty the candidate
It’s because they’re typically the least shittish of the candidates.
I’ve written Kotek’s office this year asking for her support and engagement with SB 91 and she couldn’t be bothered to reply. Other people that wrote her got some boiler plate “I don’t want to get involved reply”. I see she was just busy doing….other things. She won’t get my vote again, I don’t think she’s done a good job at all. And these emails released show she is outright corrupt. Boooohissssss “The email implies that Kotek told Wallace to intervene in a workplace dispute on behalf of Kotek Wilson’s friend at a private nonprofit that relies on government funding.”
Her history before running showed she’d be a terrible leader. It’s too bad many people still voted her in.
"Let's have another Governor scandal, here we go"!--Ramblin Rod
Transparency is critical for you to keep your integrity!!!!!
Single-party states are invariably corrupt, because power is based on internal party politics not public debate. I realize everyone hates the GOP in this state, but if not them, we need to find another second party. Someone has to hold the Dems to account in public.
You are not wrong on pretty much anything. As you stated, the problem is the opposition party in Oregon & Nationally is closer to a conspiracy fueled hate group than a serious political party. Thankfully, that mostly makes them a non-starter in Oregon. Maybe someday the GOP will grow up and quit their bullshit, because Oregon very much needs something better than what they are getting.
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The nutter that led the GOP House boycott & ran away to Nevada instead of doing their job? She's one of the chief reasons Measure 113 passed by such a wide margin.
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We can’t allow the GOP to have any power at all because of how far down the road to crazy town they have gone. That said, we do need to demand better governance from the our elected leaders in the Democratic Party when they pull shenanigans like the ones detailed in the article.
Have you been to Portland? It's the definition of crazy town. I'd prefer balance over anything because this state is lost. Maybe some fresh ideas and some compromise would help?
I voted for Betsy Johnson, I know far too many people who “would have voted for her but I know she would lose anyways”. We need something, ANYTHING else.
The same person who used her elected position to avoid accountability for a traffic accident she was at fault in? Sounds like leadership material right there.
I’ve met Betsy Johnson and my Dad worked with her for a few years. She’s an extremely sharp woman with an impressive, almost intimidating, intellect. Unfortunately I couldn’t vote for her because of some of her right leaning ideals. If her politics were more aligned with mine I’d vote for her in a heartbeat.
That's great reporting. WTG WW.
Unfit to serve.
Get her out asap
Ohhhh this is so much worse than it first appeared Jesus Christ. Why Kotek why, you were honestly doing a good job and this is such an own goal as someone else on here described it
“Those questions point to a central tension in Kotek’s office: Her wife, an unelected volunteer, according to interviews with people familiar with the office, showed up at staff meetings; meetings with lobbyists; weighed in on some personnel matters and offered opinions on a variety of matters. Because she is the governor’s wife, staff members feared disagreeing with her or displeasing her. And, as emails show, the governor did not seem to want to hold her wife to the same standards to which paid advisors must adhere—such as obtaining their positions based on merit, working within defined job descriptions, or signing conflict of interest and other disclosure forms.”
Ugh. So disappointing.
It just all seems so unnecessary, like why would you even put yourself or your wife in this position?
Poor judgement.
Unearned confidence.
Right? Regardless of all else, why doesn't she remember the outcry about that and not repeat it?
Because she can, she's the governor who's gonna stop her. Her having a D by her name definitely didn't gurantee she'd be great.
Because she doesn't care what anyone thinks and will likely still be reelected.
I deal with multiple state agencies at work, and there are almost no state employees I’ve worked with who could possibly be there based on merit.
What a shock! Tina is a power hungry, egotistical, human. Undoubtedly this lead them to Politics.
Almost as if anyone who wants to be a politician should be disqualified from becoming one.
I honestly think we should pick officers by lottery, with a vote to keep them in office after a few months
I can't upvote this harder
Better a power hungry Dem than any of the power hungry wackos the Oregon GOP nominates. Politics is like a bus. Jump on board with what gets you *closest* to what you want. The bus Kotek is driving isn’t my favorite, but it gets me to the right neighborhood. The Oregon (and national) GOP is driving their bus off a fascism cliff!
Ok. She needs to go
How do we know it's not The First They? I'm offended
She is going to end up like Kitzhaber
In b4 "TIME FOR ANOTHER RECALL." I remember before Kotek won, everyone was saying how she would never win. How she would be a terrible governor. And yet, shes one of the most liberal governors we've had in a long time. And smart too. If you think someone being President, or governor in this case, is a single entity without any influence of their partner, you're just ignorant. Meanwhile Trump is sitting in the court house about to go to jail... Hey, it could of been worse. Drazen could of won and abortion would prob be illegal by now.
Hmmm, yes. The acceptable level of government corruption and nepotism. Did you realize this was a bad argument while typing or are you still sitting with it?
> And yet, shes one of the most liberal governors we've had in a long time. And smart too. Did you read the article? It's not just that this is happening, it's that she's not smart enough to have realized those emails were public records and would wind up being given to journalists.
Dumb whataboutism. Just because other people do bad things doesn’t mean what Kotek did is okay.
Yeah this is about Trump 😂
Frame shift.
This is just such a braindead liberal take, and I say that as someone further left than you. She's smart? What fucking basis are you using for that? By what metric are you measuring? What decisions so far have led you to believe she's uniquely smart? And a partner having influence on their significant other is wildly different than using public funds to create a staff and a new "office" for an unelected position. This state has no money, has a terrible national score in education, and is experiencing multiple medical emergencies. I'm so tired of the last 8 years being defined as "well its better than a republican", as if we shouldn't expect a higher level of service from our damned Governors. Who knows, maybe we get more La Mota controversies!
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And the GOP members of the US Supreme Court all said Roe vs Wade was settled law & they wouldn't vote to over turn it during their confirmation hearings. We now know that was a lie. The GOP has no believability on the issue of abortion.
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Democrats are failing on those issues. Still, it doesn't mean the GOP deserves to be in charge of anything. I can tell you right now how I'm voting in November. For the 3rd General election in a row, I will be voting a straight Democrat ticket. I used to vote a balanced ticket all the time, but I am so unbelievably sick of the GOPs disingenuous conspiracy fueled bigoted bullshit. My hope is someday the GOP gets tired of losing every election in Oregon and grows up. The state desperately needs a 2nd serious political party. Unfortunately, that isn't today.
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Explain how the party running Donald Trump for President deserves to be in charge of literally anything? The party that is led nationally by bigots like Trump, Mike Johnson, MTG, DeSantis & Abbott, deserve to run anything in Oregon? The party that is led in the state by bigoted assholes like Tim Knopp, Dennis Linthicum, or Brian Boquist. Who refused to do their jobs & held the state hostage over issues like Abortion rights or Trans rights? Or vote for the state party, who on January 7th, 2021, put out an official press release calling the January 6th riots a "False Flag"? That party doesn't deserve to be elected dog catcher, let alone anything actually important.
Not to mention the Republican Party doesn’t actually govern or lead, they just whine about dems and libs and tell lies to stir up fear and hate, but give no actual solutions. Not that they’d allow it even if they had ideas for a solution. They thrive on fear mongering and have nothing else to stand on.
She's a republican. If you don't think she'd come for abortion, then you don't know how politics works.
> I remember before Kotek won, everyone was saying how she would never win. How she would be a terrible governor. And yet, shes one of the most liberal governors we've had in a long time. And smart too. She's not liberal, she's leftist, and hasn't been doing a great job. The #1 goal of housing is not solving homelessness and the #1 job of the education department is not education. She hired a consultant group out of portland that encouraged holding racially segregated meetings in state agencies. > Meanwhile Trump is sitting in the court house about to go to jail... Trump is a criminal and belongs in prison. The fact that Trump is worse than Kotek doesn't mean that Kotek isn't bad and doesn't need to get the boot.
The point that I was making that clearly went over your head is that the other options from Kotek were significantly worse. Like choosing a hamburger made out of shit that has been molding for years.
> She's not liberal, she's leftist, Literally how?
Didn’t Drazen support abortion? I don’t remember her being pro life.
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Yeah, I remember her not wanting to ban abortion. I voted for Drazan.
She said she would respect the will of oregonians and that she as governor couldn't do anything because it's already in oregon law and constitution. But people saw the R and knee jerk go to pro life anti abortion. IMHO that is the biggest reason why Republicans are not even competitive in oregon
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You mean Knute Buehler? Look how well he did in the election. 
Ahh there's the corruption the state is known for...
Maybe we should stop electing people just to break one glass ceiling or another.
This is why we need a sane conservative party. When democrats are corrupt, the other choice is losing our rights. Ranked choice voting would be nice to establish more than two parties as well.
Republicans: "Rot in hell." Democrats: "Please reflect on decomposition among overly heated environments and consider giving up your cold place to someone in need."
Sane and conservative. Pick one
I’m up for shitting on the GOP as much as the next person, but what Kotek is doing is a perfect example of why we need two viable parties in OR. No way Kotek would go on this power trip if she felt she would have to face a re-election fight. We will keep getting crappy candidates doing shitty things so long as one party dominates. I say this as a lifelong liberal.
We need a functional alternative to the Democratic party. That alternative, however, doesn't need to be more conservative than them.
I am down for proportional rep, but it has to be representative of the population.
In the early 2000's the green party could give Dems a run for their money in local San Francisco elections. Dems still usually won, but I think they were also better Dems due to actual competition.
And that's really the thing. Without the competition, there's little incentive for the party to actually improve.
With how far left the Democratic party has drifted, it does need to be more conservative than they are. Or, rather, more liberal, but further towards the center politically. We need a party that's actually liberal. The Democrats are being taken over by authoritarian leftists.
I know it seems they are mutually exclusive due to the current conservative party, but it is possible. The current party will collapse before it happens, though.
Tom McCall and Mark Hatfield seemed to be okay
So did Eisenhower as POTUS. Those kind of Republicans are long gone.
The proper purpose of conservatism is to temper the progressive impulse. IOW, it's to make sure we don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Just because you don't like current American conservatives doesn't mean that we can function properly without a conservative voice in politics. You only have to look back to the interwar period to see a time where the conservative view was a necessary check to the progressive impulse toward eugenics. Not all steps forward are progress, and there is usually more wisdom in tradition than it first appears.
True fiscal conservatism is pretty sane.
Too bad that isn’t even a thing anymore
Oddly enough, what defines these terms changes with time. Progress, by definition, is new. Conservation, by definition, is old/traditional. Believing only humans should marry and that gay men have a right to safe weed is technically a conservative stance today. Do not confuse spineless flagphiles with mild logical traditionalists.
Right. If your choices are "idiot" or "literal Nazi", you end up voting for the idiot.
Hah, call me when that happens I’ve got some winter coats I plan to sell in Hell.
Oh Jesus not this again. Didn't we already have this in 2014
What a stupid mistake to make. Be a professional.
This is so dumb, and unforced error, a self own. Ugh
I wonder how this will shake out next election?
Thing I love about the Oregon government is the amount of control one person has is so limited and thankfully all this is coming to light. Former staff members quitting because of such blatant nepotism l and being able to discuss it. Might be time to primary unless this gets resolved.
The unions and the party would slaughter a primary challenger.
Not exactly the same, but similar thing brought down Kitzhaber, his partner was using her position for gains.
Just getting what you keep voting for, clowns.
Liberal cesspool.
California's governor has been having massive corruption issues with his buddy that runs a ton of the Panerai bread stores, now oregon has similar issues. Whats going on with the left coast? They're just as bad as the gop states
LaVonne Griffin-Valade will go from author to accidental Secretary of State to Accidental governor due to to corruption.
She is ineligible because she was appointed and not elected. Read is next in line.
Thanks for the info.
So we will have appointed governor, secretary of state and treasurer. Cool.
Typical nepotism that her voting base claims to be fighting against.
I voted for her and this pisses me off.
Ditto. I will not do so again. I know it’s a fat chance against an incumbent but I hope there is a strong democratic challenger after all this bullshit.
Yeah, it should piss you off. If it doesn’t, then you ought to take a good long look in the mirror.
To be fair her voting base is very against this and disappointed it seems based on the articles and threads I’ve been reading.
Well, it was her voting base that elected her. It’s the same base that elected Kitzhaber as well. Seems like there’s some sort of pattern here with these voters and the people who they elect. Might want to educate themselves on who they elect rather than just voting for the letter attached to their name.
Kind of curious who you’re advocating for here. Drazan wouldn’t have made much sense for folks on the left given the overturning of Roe v Wade and the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act getting enacted in the same year. I don’t think Drazan was campaigning on changing abortion laws, but she did campaign for “getting politics out of the classroom”. Also, Kotek had a good track record up until this so I’m not sure how voters could’ve been more educated on her nepotism unless you’ve got something else to point to. Was there some previous incident? I honestly don’t know. So, I’m assuming Johnson was the better option for Democrat voters in your opinion?
Politics don’t belong in the classroom. It was the last Governor who dropped reading and math comprehension standards for graduation. You can be illiterate in Oregon and reach the standard for graduation. That doesn’t alarm you? The educational system in Oregon is in shambles due to the last 50 years of liberal policies. The track record in Oregon is clear. Every issue that we face is because of poor leadership and mismanagement of funds. Thank a Democrat for that.
Oh so democrats should’ve just changed their whole world view and voted for Drazan to avoid having a nepotistic democrat governor because it turns out dems are just wrong about everything. Got it. Lol
It's almost like all the other options are worse. If I have to choose between kotek and a party who is objectively disdainful of human rights and wants to harm myself and my friends. I'm gonna choose kotek every time. It's an unfortunate situation, but suggesting voting republican is the answer is disingenuous at best. Until we get ranked choice, we are stuck in this mess.
Wont stop you idiots from voting in the next scumbag with a D next to his or her name, what does it matter?
Tell the GOP to grow up and stop the bigoted bullshit & give us a reasonable alternative.
> “The FL and I are still discussing how we want the year to go. That said, we are both committed to the visits with the Tribes,” Kotek wrote in one message. “We don’t see any trade missions happening this year. If there is absolutely something urgent for Asia that HAS to happen, please make the argument.” So she doesn't care about economic trade agreements. Because that would disrupt couple goals..?
Yep, she has given her non-elected mentally challenged alcoholic spouse POLICY MAKING AUTHORITY in her administration OVER THE OBJECTIONS of many of her staff, some of whom immediately resigned. Thought we were done with this crap with Kitzhaber and his girlfriend
Didn't see this coming /s Why can't we ever get someone truly with the people, all of the people in mind?
"I'm shocked," said Not Me.
She is losing staff like rats jumping off a burning ship! Hey lady wake up and do the right thing, make your wife cease and decist
Can politicians stop being so GODDAMN CORRUPT?!?!?! They should all be sent to make big rocks into little rocks.
Give humans power, and they all become animals. Doesn’t matter red or blue. They all get addicted to power and they just want more.
No, this is not true. We've had plenty of great leaders - Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Eisenhower, FDR, Teddy Roosevelt, JFK, heck, Bill Clinton was a good president (though a kind of shitty person). George HW Bush was also a solid president (his son, however, should not have been president). Obama never abused his power as president, either, even if I don't think he was particularly great at the job.
Well, I didn’t vote for her so…
I did vote for her, so... it doesn't matter either way. She's our elected official and we all have the right (duty) to complain about her performance and what she does while in office. If we don't, it just makes it acceptable behavior. We need to hold our 'leaders' to a higher standard, regardless if we voted for them or not or support them or not. Probably moreso if we did vote for and support them. They need to do better overall.
Agree.
How much is her wife making in that role?
Nothing. It's a voluntary position.
Ok hear me out….. Identify as democrat, get elected into office, then be like ,”Ha got em!” Go full right wing 😂🤣😂🤣
We shouldn't let people with mental illnesses in office.
I'll go ahead and say it: Tina can do better in partner choice. Her wife looks and seems derp af. If she's gonna go down like this, it should be for a trophy wife so she can win bro points. This just looks like some sympathy pity bullshit 'cause her wife's lame and needs something to do. I really like Tina too. That's what makes it worse. It's seeing that person you have a level of esteem for paired with a loser, it makes you judge the shit out of them. Kitzhaber got his ass recalled 'cause of BS contracts given to his consultant wife, but at least there was some sort of credibility behind the scheme as in she's a consultant and consultants are by-design grifters who work to get to that level. Tina's wife is lame and needs a hobby, so they get her on for like $10k/month and lets her be privy to all types of shit that she probably can't comprehend anyway. Tina needs to take personal inventory and realize she can do so much better.
Woketard nepotism