The Oregon Government Ethics Commission has unanimously voted to charge Former Gov. John Kitzhaber with 10 ethics violations.
Kitzhaber defended himself before the commission for nearly two hours, saying he made mistakes but never intended to benefit from his position.
"My concern is the assault on my integrity," Kitzhaber told commissioners.
Kitzhaber could be fined as much as $50,000. He now has the chance to appeal or negotiate the penalty.
The commission launched a preliminary review in fall 2014 after complaints alleging Kitzhaber and his fiancée, Cylvia Hayes used their positions for financial gain.
Kitzhaber resigned in 2015 just weeks into his fourth term when state and federal criminal investigations were launched.
The commission suspended its review while the criminal investigations were under way. Last year, federal prosecutors announced they would close their case without filing charges, and the ethics commission resumed its review.
In November 2017, the commission rejected a potential settlement with Kitzhaber that called for him to admit to violating the conflict of interest law and pay a $1,000 fine.
A 131-page investigative report, released Wednesday, alleged Kitzhaber violated conflict-of-interest laws seven times, violated a law prohibiting the use of public office for private gain three times, and violated a law limiting gifts to public officials to $50 one time.
The commission decided to remove one violation of misuse of office – for allowing a staff member to care for Hayes pets – after Kitzhaber explained that the staff member was an old friend who volunteered to provide the care.
Kitzhaber said he may have inadvertently violated the gift provision and conflict of interest provisions.
“I am more than happy and willing and ready to accept accountability for the mistakes I did make,” he said.
But he vehemently denied any attempt to attain financial gain for himself or for Hayes.
“I withstood the scrutiny of eight elections in 26 years,” he said. “This is the first time my integrity has ever been questioned.”
Kitzhaber’s lawyer, Janet Hoffman, argued that he wasn’t aware of what Hayes was doing. The couple did not live together and sometimes went weeks without seeing each other, he said.
“He did not know that it would be a problem for her to give good counsel, intelligent counsel, as long as she wasn’t selling that role,” Hoffman said. “He didn’t know she was selling that role. He did not authorize her to use those roles for her financial gain.”
On Jan..5, the commission decided that Hayes separately committed 22 ethics violations. She could face a maximum fine of $5,000 per violation, and could be required to repay up to twice the amount she earned from contracts received because of her position.
