Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan will step down next week. This is a shocking fall from grace for a top Democrat who was once thought to have a good chance of moving up in government.
The secretary stated on Tuesday, 2 May 2023, that she will step down on May 8. The choice to work as a cannabis consultant on the side for money was the source of a growing scandal, which led to her quick resignation. Her assistant, Cheryl Myers, will take over until Gov. Tina Kotek chooses a new person to do the job.
Fagan’s announcement came after several days of growing backlash from the news, first reported by Willamette Week, that she had signed a $10,000-per-month contract with the owners of an Oregon cannabis chain while her office was auditing the state’s rules for cannabis companies. Both of the cannabis business owners are well-known Democratic fundraisers.
Fagan first tried to show that the deal was in line with state ethics rules, which is a point of view she still has. But after some of her most important supporters privately said they didn’t understand why she made the decision she did, after top Democrats questioned her behavior, and after her real consulting work came under more scrutiny, the secretary canceled the agreement over the weekend.
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After writing a letter of apology on Monday, 1 May 2023, she met with the media to answer their questions.
Now, she is leaving.
Fagan said in a statement, “I am confident that the ethics investigation will show that I followed the state’s legal and ethical rules when I was trying to support my family. However, it is clear that my actions have taken attention away from the important and critical work of the Secretary of State’s office.” “I ran for this job to protect our state’s democracy and make sure people trust their elected leaders. These are also the reasons why I’m leaving my job today.”
By state law, Kotek will decide who will replace Fagan. Tuesday, it wasn’t clear when the governor would make this choice.
The Democratic secretary’s life had taken a big turn for the better, and Fagan’s exit was the last step in a remarkable turn of events. A week ago, Fagan held a sleepy, feel-good press event for the release of the latest version of Oregon’s Blue Book almanac. The event was for student essayists and photo contest winners.
After her contract job was made public two days later, her political future was in danger. She never got better, even though Fagan didn’t always know what was happening to her. Friends in politics said they spent the weekend telling Fagan how bad her mistake was.
A Twitter user Dru Draper shared the news in a tweet which is given below-
NEW: Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan has resigned, effective May 9. #orpol #orleg pic.twitter.com/2r2BzlrUvL
— Dru Draper (@drudraper) May 2, 2023
Monday, when Fagan held a 30-minute news conference to talk more about the consulting work, it seemed clear to her that this was the case. The secretary said she had followed state rules but also admitted that she had broken the public’s trust.
Fagan said, “I’m not here to defend how well I follow the rules.” “I’m here today to admit that following all the rules is not the same as not doing anything wrong.”
Fagan’s chief of staff, Emily McLain, resigned about an hour after the conference. McLain said she would stay until the end of the congressional session, but she made it clear that she could change her mind.
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