Oregon House in Turmoil as Speaker Rayfield Urges Stout to Step Down

Representative Brian Stout (R-Columbia City) works the House floor on February 28, 2023, in Salem, Oregon. Oregon Capital Chronicle photo by Amanda Loman. On Tuesday(9 May 2023), when a court in Columbia County maintained a restraining order against Republican state representative Brian Stout, House Speaker Dan Rayfield called Stout to resign.

The Columbia City freshman Stout has been fighting a restraining order against him for five years, filed by a former campaign worker who claims he s*xually abused her and endangered her life for months. On Tuesday, Judge Cathleen Callahan of the Columbia County Circuit Court affirmed the order, noting that the accusing lady was more trustworthy than Stout.

Callahan outlined months of court proceedings in a 13-page letter to counsel for both sides. The Capital Chronicle will not identify the former campaign volunteer who began d@ting Stout in 2020 because she is a victim of s*xual assault.

If you want to know why Speaker Rayfield is begging Stout to resign, here’s a YouTube movie that does a good job of explaining it:

At the beginning of their relationship, she said that Stout was aggressive, threatening to push her over Multnomah Falls if she informed anybody, forcing her to perform s*xual things she didn’t want to do, and touching her improperly in public.

According to the letter, the connection terminated after Stout’s wife interrupted one meeting. Reports of Stout intimidating the lady at public gatherings and the subsequent propagation of rumors across the city were corroborated by eyewitnesses. After the separation, Stout claimed that the lady pursued him and his family, an accusation that Callahan did not believe.

“Petitioner and respondent began a friendly relationship and when petitioner ended it, respondent pursued her after the breakup. When that approach failed, he confronted the friends supporting the petitioner,” Callahan wrote. “Respondent then amplified the bullying by the malicious and unjustified harming of petitioner’s reputation.”

In response, Stout “switched to playing the victim,” as described by Callahan.

Rayfield released a statement on Tuesday expressing his distress at the claims made against Stout. After reading about the original court ruling in Willamette Week, he took Stout off all committees before the session started.

“The behavior described in the judge’s order does not align with the values of the House of Representatives,” Rayfield said. “I no longer believe he can effectively serve and should therefore resign. Whether he makes that decision or not, he will remain without any committee assignments.”

Stout can participate in House proceedings, including voting and giving floor speeches. Reporters were told that Rayfield and Stout had a conversation on Tuesday.

“I was very direct with him,” Rayfield said. “He can decide how he wants to operate in this world and whether he chooses to stay or not, and allow the voters to make the ultimate decision in two years if he chooses to run.” When contacted by phone, Stout just read from a script.

The following is up-to-date information on current events in Oregon:

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• Oregon Senate Stalemate Nearing Resolution: Lawmakers to Meet Wednesday.

“While always respectful of the judicial process, I strongly disagree with the recent ruling on the hearing, and I’m currently spending some time in review,” he said. “Additional conversations and reflection with my family and community will continue over the next few days and weeks.”

Vikki Breese-Iverson, R-Prineville, the Republican leader in the House, declined via a spokesman to comment on whether or not she thought Stout should quit. As an alternative, she issued a brief written statement, “Representative Brian Stout is reflecting on the court determination with his family and community.”

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