Oregon’s longest serving governor, John Kitzhaber, MD, resigned on Feb. 18, 2015, due to investigations into whether his fiancée, Cylvia Hayes, violated ethics rules by advising him on clean energy while she was receiving compensation as an energy consultant through her company, 3E Strategies. Dr. Kitzhaber, who earned his MD at Oregon Health & Science University, worked as an emergency physician before starting a career in politics in 1978. He served as governor of Oregon from 1995 to 2003 and 2011 to 2015.
In January, Dr. Kitzhaber announced that Ms. Hayes would no longer have a policy role in his administration and would no longer do consulting work for the state of Oregon, according to The Oregonian, although he said that the two are still engaged. However, his announcement did not stop some of his fellow Oregon Democrats from calling for his resignation. Both the Oregon attorney general’s office and the United States attorney’s office for Oregon are investigating Dr. Kitzhaber and Ms. Hayes for possible criminal misconduct, according to The New York Times.
Dr. Kitzhaber made headlines last May for pulling over to administer CPR to an unconscious woman during a drive through downtown Portland.
Following Dr. Kitzhaber’s resignation, Kate Brown, former Oregon Secretary of State, was sworn in as Oregon’s governor on Feb. 18, 2015.
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