SALEM, Ore. — The Oregon Government Ethics Commission as of Friday moved to dismiss an investigation into whether Gov. Tina Kotek violated any ethics laws regarding her wife's role in her administration.
The Oregon Government Ethics Commission confirmed the case's dismissal to KGW. The outcome was first reported by Willamette Week.
According to the preliminary review report, the commission received two complaints on March 25, alleging that Kotek violated ethics laws under ORS Chapter 244. The first stemmed from Kotek planning on creating an Office of the First Spouse for Aimee Kotek Wilson, Kotek's wife. The second alleged concerns of "nepotism" and "waste of taxpayer dollars."
The commission did not meet the minimum number of votes to move the investigation forward, and ultimately concluded that "There is not a substantial objective basis" to believe Kotek violated any statutes.
In a statement issued Friday, the governor's office said, "The Governor is grateful for the commission’s thorough deliberations on this matter. The First Lady is a volunteer and public official with relevant professional experience that can provide tremendous value in furthering the Governor’s priorities. The Governor now looks forward to receiving formal guidance from the commission on the questions her office submitted regarding the role of a First Spouse."
What the report said
The commission determined that Kotek did not "appoint, employ or promote" Kotek Wilson to her position, only becoming a public official due to her "relationship status."
Kotek Wilson, who has a background in social work, had been attending several behavioral health-related meetings, as well as other weekly meetings on the governor's schedule and travel plans. She also attended some events on behalf of the governor's office. Kotek Wilson had been operating as an unpaid volunteer within the governor's office and did not have any paid outside work, the governor's office previously stated in May.
The report noted that Kotek Wilson stated she has not been employed since Kotek took office and that any involvement, such as representing Kotek at events, was on an unpaid, volunteer basis. Though Kotek Wilson was provided an office space, computer, phone, staff support and security, the report continued, they were strictly used for "official duties."
Security, the report added, is also standard protocol due to the "high profile nature of the public offices of Governor and First Partner." The report elaborated, stating that said resources are not being used to "achieve a private financial benefit or to avoid a financial detriment associated with their private lives."
“We note that had the Governor unilaterally decided to provide the First Lady with a salary or other private benefits, the above analysis would be different,” the commission wrote Friday. “The analysis would also be different if there was any suggestion that the public duties of the First Lady could financially benefit a private business with which the First Lady was associated.”
Background
Willamette Week and Oregon Public Broadcasting reported an exodus of Kotek's top staff members, saying tensions between them and the Kotek Wilson led to their departures. The governor's office told KGW that the time it would not comment on what they referred to as "personal matters."
This past spring, a tranche of internal emails from the governor's office, recently released in response to public records requests from multiple media outlets, substantiated the reporting that some of Kotek's top staff members raised concerns about the propriety of Kotek Wilson's influence in the administration well before the governor's office publicized any formal attempt to clarify what her role should be.
In late March, Kotek's office confirmed that Meliah Masiba from the Department of Administrative Services had been shifted to the governor's office in order to work with Kotek Wilson on the formal establishment of the Office of the First Spouse — a feature in some other states that Oregon has always left ambiguous.
Kotek later backtraacked on creating an Office of the First Spouse. She added that Kotek Wilson will continue to have a public-facing role in her office, attending listening sessions and events out in the community, sometimes as a stand-in for the governor, though that they'd be awaiting further guidance from the ethics commission before doing anything else with her role.
