State announced $150,000 contract to wife of key Kitzhaber advisor before competitive bidding

Oregon Health Authority officials announced the selection of the wife of a former top aide to Gov. John Kitzhaber for a $150,000 contract before any formal bidding took place, The Oregonian has learned.

A state manager internally announced the hiring of Kate Raphael to produce videos about the governor's health reforms on July 31, documents show. That was eight days before a formal competitive-bidding solicitation was issued, and nearly a month before a contract was signed.

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Coal terminal opponent signed Cylvia Hayes to contract a year before Kitzhaber opposed project

A company hired to persuade Gov. John Kitzhaber to block a massive coal export terminal had a year earlier retained First Lady Cylvia Hayes as a consultant.

Resource Media Inc., a Seattle-based environmental PR firm, helped coordinate a media campaign last spring aimed at convincing Kitzhaber that a proposed coal export terminal at the Port of Morrow was a bad idea.

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Why credit Kitzhaber for being ‘bipartisan’ in a one-party state?

In a recent endorsement of Gov. Kitzhaber for a 4th term as Oregon Governor, the Statesman Journal Editorial Board wrote “A key example is how Kitzhaber worked with the Legislature to have a successful, bipartisan special session last fall on pension reform, mental health care, taxes, school finance and other issues — at the same time the federal government was shut down because of partisan gridlock.”

Christian Gaston at The Oregonian expressed a similar sentiment last October after the “Grand Bargain” session. Gaston wrote “Against a backdrop of gridlock in Congress, Kitzhaber can boast that Oregon stands as a national model of bipartisan cooperation.” That was seven months before the same Christian Gaston left The Oregonian to “work for Gov. John Kitzhaber’s re-election campaign.”

I can understand why Gaston wrote what he wrote — it was part of his job application. I don’t understand how the Statesman Journal Editorial Board could write such nonsense.

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Oregon GOP files ethics complaint against Kitzhaber, Courtney

OREGONLIVE.COM, 6/21/2010 by Michelle Cole, The Oregonian - The Oregon Republican Party filed an ethics complaint Monday [last week] against Democratic gubernatorial candidate John Kitzhaber and Oregon Senate Democratic leaders over a $1,500-a-ticket campaign fundraiser. ∴ The June 29 event at Portland's Arlington Club is billed as a "private luncheon to discuss potential (legislative) session issues." The names on the invitation include Kitzhaber, Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem; Senate Majority Leader Richard Devlin, D-Tualatin; Rep. Peter Buckley, D-Ashland and budget committee co-chair, and Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose. ∴ No more than 15 guests will be allowed to attend the two-hour power lunch. In their complaint filed with the Oregon Ethics Commission Monday, Republicans claim Democrats are offering lobbyists a "quid pro quo." ∴ "This goes well beyond normal political campaign requests in that this makes a link between the contribution and consideration of legislation and the "session issues" and is therefore illegal...," the complaint says. ∴ Molly Woon, spokeswoman for the Senate Democratic Leadership Fund, declined to comment Monday. ∴ The Kitzhaber campaign did not return calls made late in the day. But last week Kitzhaber's campaign manager, Derek Humphrey, said his boss had nothing to do with putting the invitation together. Read More......