Subscriber Special: Oregon Governor Paid Law Dues with Taxpayer Money

May 17, 2018 10:00 AM

"Oregon Governor Kate Brown used public funds for a private purpose during her time as secretary of state and as governor.

Oregon taxpayers should demand answers."

Today, our CEO at OpenTheBooks Adam Andrzejewski published our troubling investigation into Oregon Governor Kate Brown. We found she flaunted Oregon open records laws and blurred the line between the Office of Governor resources and her campaign activities.

Consider just a few examples of our findings:

During her first two terms, Brown redacted 4,000 items from her official state calendar. Our audit revealed the governor redacted calendar entries on nine out of every ten days since taking office. There are up to 14 line-item redactions per day.

Brown’s calendar was packed with hundreds of events tagged as "campaign," with further details redacted. How can the governor use a taxpayer-funded calendar platform to book, schedule, and keep track of her campaign events?

As secretary of state, Brown charged her annual $537 Oregon State Bar membership fees to an office credit card. As governor, Brown paid $1,671 to cover law dues of staffers who are deputies and policy advisors.

On multiple occasions, the governor admitted to using public funds for private purpose. Brown was caught by her accounting department and forced to reimburse the state (taxpayers) which is potentially theft of public funds.

When former Governor John Kitzhaber resigned from office amidst a corruption scandal, Kate Brown took over, promising a new day in Salem. Instead of keeping her promises, Brown is creating a disappointing legacy.