Top Dems call on Oregon governor to step down

SALEM, ORE. — Oregon’s top Democrats urged Gov. John Kitzhaber to resign Thursday, saying he cannot lead the state effectively amid a growing ethics scandal involving his fiancee, a green-energy consultant accused of using her relationship with the governor to land contracts for her business.

Senate President Peter Courtney said he and House Speaker Tina Kotek asked for Kitzhaber to step down.

“I finally said, ‘This has got to stop,’” Courtney told reporters after he and Kotek met with the governor. “I don’t know what else to do right now. It seems to be escalat- ing. It seems to be getting worse and worse.”

The state treasurer also joined in the call to Kitzhaber to step down.

“Unfortunately, the current situation has become untenable, and I cannot imagine any scenario by which things improve,” said Treasurer Ted Wheeler, another Democrat. “Oregon deserves a governor who is fully focused on the duties of state.”

Their statements came hours after Democratic Secretary of State Kate Brown said she had a “strange” and contradictory conversation with Kitzhaber about succeeding him as governor.

Brown said the governor had asked her to fly back to Oregon from a conference in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, but when she arrived, he asked why she had returned.

She said Kitzhaber told her he was not resigning, but then began a discussion about a transition.

“This is clearly a bizarre and unprecedented situation,” Brown, who would automatically become governor if Kitzhaber steps aside, said in a statement.

Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber is caught in an ethics scandal involving his fiancee.