All the things we thought weren't proper could be right in time
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| Apparently the Ethics Commission offices are somewhere inside this place. |
Here was a Friday news dump of shameless proportions: The toothless Oregon Government Ethics Commission, deadlocked 4 to 4, did not approve going forward with an investigation into the outsized role the governor's wife, Aimee Kotek Wilson, has been playing in the functions of the state government.
The four Republican appointees all voted to take the investigation forward; they complained that the staff hadn't done an adequate preliminary inquiry to justify dropping the matter. But four commissioners can't force the issue without one more vote on the nine-member board. (A ninth commission member, a Democratic appointee, missed the meeting.)
A number of commissioners, including Dan Mason and Richard Burke, questioned [commission director Susan] Myers about the thoroughness of her investigation—asking specifically why she hadn’t interviewed the three former staffers whose departures from Kotek’s office triggered the complaints.
Myers acknowledged she had not interviewed any of the departed staff. She explained that nothing she saw in emails or media reports suggested to her there was a reasonable basis for such inquiries because nothing she saw represented a potential ethics violation.
OGEC chairman Shawn Lindsay, a former GOP lawmaker now in private legal practice, disagreed with Myers. ”Moving to dismiss the complaints would be premature and would treat Gov. Kotek differently from others whose cases come in front of the commission,” Lindsay said. He cited an example of another case on today’s agenda in which an investigator took the step of interviewing subjects who could shed light on a complaint.
So let's just lift up the edge of that big old Salem rug and sweep, sweep, sweep. Nothing to see here, folks! Perfectly legal.
Ya gotta love this line: "The governor’s office expressed satisfaction with the outcome." Ha! Ha! No kidding.
Wilson will continue pushing people's buttons for as long as her spouse wants her to. And the servants will do Wilson's bidding, or else get the ax.
I'd keep a close eye on the First Spouse. Oregon has long tradition of having the politicians' life partners carry the "gift" bags.
More solid evidence Portland and Oregon will remain in decline for at least a few more years. Worse than no signs of any shifts, corrections or positive change of course there are not even any signs of maintaining the status quo.
ReplyDeleteNot a pretty outlook.
If only there were a serious, sober, competent alternative.
DeleteThere is only everyone not on the bottom of the Democrat barrel.
DeleteResponding to criticism that the Oregon Ethics Commission is nothing more than a lapdog for Democratic party interests, Commission Director Susan Meyers stated, " Of course we are independent; we determine the outcomes based on facts. To prove it, go ahead: give us an event out of Oregon politics. We will give you an unbiased review."
ReplyDeleteCommenting Monday morning, Myers said, "We rate President Bidens perfromance at the recent debate as exemplary and see no reason for cause for concern."
The governors office did not repsonsd to a qeq
A juicy column from Phil Stanford this week, showing that the slime has been slimy for quite a while:
ReplyDeletehttps://philstanford.substack.com/p/was-goldschmidt-being-blackmailed
It’s noteworthy that Oregon’s major media doesn’t think that there’s a Pulitzer in that mess.
DeleteI’d wager most Oregon media types are trying for a seat on the state govt. gravy train
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