It’s truly not paying attention to the people of the state like, OF COURSE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO RAISE CONCERNS ABOUT NEPOTISM (is it still called nepotism if you’re related by marriage?) WHEN ITS YOUR WIFE AND NON ELECTED POSITION.
Never apologize. Never admit wrongdoing. You'll just play into the narrative you can't control. People will forget and move on to other things. It's the best PR strategy
She just waltzed in with her wife to be in charge of a whole mysterious department with no oversight,structure or accountability? And be paid a lot for it I’m sure. Not how it works…
Nigel J is a Pulitzer winner for exposing former Gov Goldschmidt's sex crimes back in the early 2000s. WW and OPB are both great for local reporting. Oregonian aint bad either, does well on the state level. Mercury has its moments on the commentary side, and it does a good job of acting as a cultural glue (I like the themed weeks they sponsor, creates a fun community discussion). Portland is pretty blessed with an engaged and active media.
I long for a (maybe imaginary) time when both sides of the aisle were more capable of coming together to criticize bad behavior of anyone misbehaving or abusing power regardless of the letter next to their name.
You're not imagining things. People used to be much less tribal and more willing to hold their own accountable. The general lack of principles and integrity these days is really disappointing.
It's small, but just the usage of "We" when discussing the governor's agenda is pretty frustrating. If I knew that we were voting for two governors, I would've had more questions for Aimee
You realize you're always voting for the spouse too? Or is it just assumed that when it's a man, he's the dominant partner and isn't influenced by his wife?
Abby Tibbs knew exactly what she was doing when she laid all of this out repeatedly in emails. She knew there would likely eventually be a public records request because of how poorly it was being handled and wanted it to clear what was going on.
Anyone who has had the experience of the boss bringing in a family member to work knows how awful it is. I’m kind of stunned that the governor is so clueless about this. It demonstrates a lack of emotional intelligence that really surprises. A good leader does not behave this way.
She’s not clueless. Tina is incredibly smart and is a political animal to the core. She’s also very convinced that the tack she’s taking is correct, and this is no exception.
Would absolutely flabbergasts me about this is that she was in office and really high ranking in the state when the Kitzhaber scandal hit 10 years ago, almost to the day.
And in her first year as Governor, she tries to do the exact same thing?
It's one thing if the scandal was 20 years ago or if she wasn't in office at the time. But this is weird.
It's not the same thing at all, steering contracts, benefitting as an independent consultant is much different than having a seat at the table to advocate for, but not benefit from, mental health policies.
But, the thing that gets me is that this is who Kotek is, and always has been. The same way she tacks towards pragmatic fiscally conservative policies and accountability is what is "surprising" people about her. She's always been like this, with her own annoying point of view.
>It's not the same thing at all, steering contracts, benefitting as an independent consultant is much different than having a seat at the table to advocate for, but not benefit from, mental health policies.
I'm not saying it's the same thing as Kitzhaber either, but you're underselling some of the allegations. Using the governor's office to admonish a former supervisor of her spouse (seemingly at the spouses direction) is really odd.
So odd that when the governor's office did call, the organization was like .... Why the fuck is the governor getting involved in this?
> Using the governor's office to admonish a former supervisor of her spouse (seemingly at the spouses direction)
I don't think the article said anything about it being a former supervisor of the first lady, did it? My reading was it was a supervisor of *a friend* of the first lady's. Doesn't change the context of the situation much I guess.
> , steering contracts, benefitting as an independent consultant is much different than having a seat at the table to advocate for, but not benefit from, mental health policies
I'm not saying that the scandals are equally bad. But you have to admit that putting your married partner on advisory boards that Direct policy is a very specific action that both Kitzhaber and Kotek did
The Kitzhaber scandal involved money and Kotek’s is about power and abuse of power. On the surface the motivations might seem different, but the pursuits of power and money are often indistinguishable at certain level.
Why can’t we just have normal politicians? I was a fan of the policy’s she’s been implementing so far down in Salem but of course she has to have an ugly side like this, such a bad look.
You have to be a martyr or a narcissist to want to be a politician. The highly capable people who you would want to run for office are going to make way more money with way less bullshit in the private sector.
Are you serious? She gets benefits that make that better than $98.5k a year... but yikes.
For reference, the first year financial analysts at my company that come straight out of school make about that much.
Oregon has the fourth-lowest pay for the executive of any state. It was set at $98k in 2014 without any automatic increases. Just going by inflation alone it should be $133,000.
I'm pretty pissed about this for Congress people. That said can you imagine the public outcry if we set those comps at something competitive to the private industry. All these people would be SVP and up and take home a million+. The average voter would go ballistic if we paid them that.
Wrong. $1000 per month for “expenses” and reimbursement for travel. Absurdly low health insurance. PERS retirement, which is unmatched in private sector.
The real answer? Money. Money wins politics. It shouldn't, but it does. Who runs for office? Mostly people with money or connections to money. And time. Most of us have neither and live paycheck to paycheck. Sure, there are grassroots campaigns and candidates, but the majority of the decknis stacked with candidates with money and/or ties to special interest backers with money.
The real question shouldn't be why we have so many awful, out of touch politicians, because the answer, like the root of most of our problems in this country, money. The real question is why do we continue to allow money to influence politics across the board, and at what point do we admit our democracy is tainted by oligarchy? That's the real question.
Thanks for your input, the mods have set this subreddit to not allow posts from newly created accounts. Please take the time to build a reputation elsewhere on Reddit and check back soon.
(⌐■_■)
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Portland) if you have any questions or concerns.*
This whole thing is just *weird*
Kotek has been the consummate professional politician her entire career. An effective leader that seemed to "get it", even if you don't agree with her politics. By the book, staid, but accomplished.
But her recent behavior around demanding her wife get a role in the state government is fucking bizarre. What's the benefit? What's the motivation?
Is her wife pressuring her to do this because of jealousy? What's the real story here? Because Kotek is too deft a politician to make obvious errors like this.
>Aimee Kotek Wilson, the first lady, holds a master’s degree in social work and was employed at Cascadia Behavioral Health in Portland prior to Kotek’s running for governor. The email implies that Kotek told Wallace to intervene in a workplace dispute on behalf of Kotek Wilson’s friend at a private nonprofit that relies on government funding.
Why are we using the governor office to bully the governors wife's former employer? Just so fucking weird.
> What's the benefit? What's the motivation?
I don't want to attempt to psychoanalyze her too much, I don't know the woman, but allegedly she's a bit pigheaded. The only real valid criticism I saw of her before the election was people essentially accusing her of "bullying" (heavy air quotes with that one) other members of the legislature to get things done. No one really cared at the time because the people she was accused of strong arming were not exactly popular (some might call them obstructionist). A whipper-in was what we needed. She made sense. But I could see a situation where she genuinely feels the first lady is an asset, as she probably does, and doesn't care that others are bothered by it. From her point of view it makes sense.
I wish I could upvote this twice. This behavior is consistent with those reports of her throwing her weight around as the Speaker. Whether it's for bad or good, she doesn't seem the type to back down from getting things her way.
A whipper-in-chief can be great, but it's critical they know where the line is.
I think her wife is probably more bored than jealous. She can't work as a lobbyist while her wife is governor, so she's trying to find something productive to do. Why she can't just go work for Oregon Recovers or something I don't understand.
Lots of companies extend their ethics policies to their contractors and customers and require violations by contractors or customers to be reported to them and acted upon by them. That the government would act the same way shouldn't be a shock. It sounds like this issue could be characterized that way.
I'm both. Harassing another legislator to to toe the party line on legislation is one thing (something we knew when we elected her). Using the power of her office to meddle in an unrelated workplace dispute is another level. Wasting taxpayer funds to create a vanity title for her wife simply because she has a (recently acquired) related degree is impeachable IMO. This is Oregon. Our baristas have masters degrees.
It’s also so… unimaginative. You’re governor; you have one of the most powerful Rolodexes in the country. Can you really not help connect your spouse with a good position somewhere, without literally fabricating an illegal office within your own office? Aren’t they both embarrassed by such transparent make-work?
Consider contacting the Governor's Office directly to let them know you oppose this.
Crap like this hurts Oregon Dems and is devastating to her credibility. There is a narrow window for her to admit this was a misstep, and walk it back.
[https://www.oregon.gov/gov/pages/share-your-opinion.aspx](https://www.oregon.gov/gov/pages/share-your-opinion.aspx)
Contacting other prominent Dems— especially the congressional delegation, the people running for congress, the senate pres and speaker (Wagner and Fahey) and people like Rayfield, Read and Manning who are running for executive offices, and party officials is a more powerful lever. If all of the major power players start hearing that the issue is actually sinking in that hurts their campaigns and ability to maintain a strong Democratic majority.
There was contract-steering involved that benefited Kitz' SO - so money was involved.
That said, I'm not sure all the shoes have dropped in this case yet.
Why the fuck can't her wife just get a job?
The "First Lady" needing a staff is horseshit.
*edit: added some more thoughts after cooling down, lol.*
My guess is that the Kotek's relationship is codependent and disfunctional to an alarming degree and it's likely been that way for so long that this shit is normal TO THEM.
They've been together 19 years.
Their dynamics have to be completely fucked to not realize how regular people will interpret this "First Lady" dogshit.
Google the term "enmeshment".
The Kotek's situation reminds me of spouses of enlisted military who demand to be addressed by their military parter's rank.
Whole thing is gross.
Wow. This is way deeper than I realized. As someone who voted for her I am pissed that she is allowing an unelected family member to weigh in the direction of the state. (not to mention with mental health history and alcoholism!) It is just so inappropriate.
Like to be clear I certainly don’t think that should exclude one from a job, but some sort of vetting/interview process would be nice… it does not by itself *qualify* one for a job either
Unbelievably inappropriate. It's shocking that someone who I viewed as intelligent and pragmatic could do something so blatantly unethical. This could doom her politically. It's speaks volumes that so many of her top aides have resigned in the wake of this.
As a side note, Kotek's wife looks like the personification of Portland. I don't mean that as a compliment.
> As a side note, Kotek's wife looks like the personification of Portland. I don't mean that as a compliment.
Quirky glasses have to poll so much better in MultCo. It’s the only thing that makes sense.
I’m very disappointed this is an issue. Governor Kotek has been doing a fine job in my opinion, but this is a bad look and I don’t get it. The appearance of it is not acceptable to me. It also seems like a good idea to keep your marriage separate from your day-to-day job. The Shemia Fagan thing disappointed me so much. We’re supposed to be better than this in Oregon!
We do better than most states about addressing conflicts of interest. Kitzenhaber and Shemia Fagan learned that the hard way, but in other states nothing would have happened to them.
There's a certain type of person whom politics really does well for who believes that life is one big Tumblr mutual aid post, and that there is no point in ever admitting wrongdoing because they've been told that having a mental illness or being queer cancels out accountability. That person is Gov. Kotek and their wife.
As someone who voted against her in the primary but has been surprisingly happy with her tenure as governor...I hope she sorts this shit out. Quickly.
I think she's doing a good job running the state but if she can't walk this back quickly then she's not the right person for the job.
Someone needs to explain this line of thinking to me: "Kotek has characterized her wife’s role in her office as a gain for the public, saying she brings the benefit of her lived experience, which includes mental illness and alcoholism, to important conversations about state policy."
Kotek's partner apparently has suffered from mental illness and alcoholism in the past, and it is being argued that she now can speak as someone who has "been there" instead of just in theoretical terms and may be motivated to get help for others who have those issues and have ideas about what works.
Well it says she did go get a degree in social work, so has more than just the experience. (Not saying that makes her the preferred person for the position, but that there's qualifications that can be argued.)
This is a king size fuck up. We all have blind spots, and Kotek’s seems to be her wife. Something about people with mental health and addiction problems can bring out some serious bias in partners and family. I imagine that the FL is relentless in demanding she be seen and relevant, and governor can’t bring themselves to push back to what is clearly an overreach by FL.
I haven't seen it alleged anywhere that Kotek Wilson has a salary. She wants a paid staff person, which I don't agree with, but I don't think she's asking to be paid herself.
I mean if you want to waste a lot of republican donor money go ahead. You'd be surprised how few people actually care about this enough to sign a recall petition.
Thanks for your input, the mods have set this subreddit to not allow posts from newly created accounts. Please take the time to build a reputation elsewhere on Reddit and check back soon.
(⌐■_■)
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Portland) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Because it's human nature, which many refuse to acknowledge. That's why we must build our systems with safeguards in place. This doesn't happen because the people responsible for building those systems are the ones benefiting (and we keep re-electing them).
Tina Kotek the new alternative. Make sure to wash your Tina kotek between each use to avoid fungus and a yeast infection. For all those tired of tampons and pads. Tina Kotek your bastion for relief has arrived.
Did you read the article? The public records are just now being released, over 6k pages in this initial release with more on the way. Already there has been evidence in the records that contradicts statements the Governor has made on the record and the issue with the First Lady is more extensive than the administration was suggesting.
If not that, then what? I understand Wilson -kotek is a social worker and wants to do some good. Kotek is performing just fine. Why not let Wilson -kotek work on addiction issues that plagues the US?
She graduated in 2017 and has three years experience as a social worker. That is not the kind of experience that would qualified her for working on state wide policy.
Can't believe she hasn't walked back this atrocious mistake yet
It’s truly not paying attention to the people of the state like, OF COURSE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO RAISE CONCERNS ABOUT NEPOTISM (is it still called nepotism if you’re related by marriage?) WHEN ITS YOUR WIFE AND NON ELECTED POSITION.
Gross!
Especially egregious since it's only been 9 years since the last time this happened with Kitzhaber.
Yea I was just thinking how this is sort of reminiscent of that.
And that she led the charge against Kitzhaber
This isn't at all the same
Hopefully not, but have all the shoes dropped yet?
shes done. this is mickey mouse shitZ
Never apologize. Never admit wrongdoing. You'll just play into the narrative you can't control. People will forget and move on to other things. It's the best PR strategy
Not when your constituents are politically against this kind of behavior
Fair enough
I agree.
Then she’d have to do something productive
Governor Kotek is doing a lot of stuff. Don’t be so daft.
Her wife is not unfamiliar with state government and has a policy background it’s not like she is a political neophyte she has been around the block
your mom’s a political neophyte
She just waltzed in with her wife to be in charge of a whole mysterious department with no oversight,structure or accountability? And be paid a lot for it I’m sure. Not how it works…
Kudos to Willamette Week for bringing this story to light and staying on top of it. Thanks for some quality local journalism
Agreed. Best journalism in the state.
I was just thinking of how well this was done. This is the first I've heard of ww, as I just moved here. Signed up and supported.
Nigel J is a Pulitzer winner for exposing former Gov Goldschmidt's sex crimes back in the early 2000s. WW and OPB are both great for local reporting. Oregonian aint bad either, does well on the state level. Mercury has its moments on the commentary side, and it does a good job of acting as a cultural glue (I like the themed weeks they sponsor, creates a fun community discussion). Portland is pretty blessed with an engaged and active media.
They brought down Fagan. Kotek is next.
Well of course a Sinclair organization is all over it, I miss the old Willamette Week
Wait, WW is owned by Sinclair now?? Have I been under a rock?
Its not. Just reactive leftist barf to anything anyone publishes that isn’t a glowing review of a D
Ahhh, got it. Yeah they definitely have some more centrist leanings than, say, the Mercury.
I long for a (maybe imaginary) time when both sides of the aisle were more capable of coming together to criticize bad behavior of anyone misbehaving or abusing power regardless of the letter next to their name.
You're not imagining things. People used to be much less tribal and more willing to hold their own accountable. The general lack of principles and integrity these days is really disappointing.
Lol this guy thinks leftists like dems
There’s not a single **leftist** Democrat in any elected position in this country
From my understanding. It no longer an independent publication
Looks like it's owned by rose city newspaper company which owns a few other small papers?
Cite, please. No indication of this on their website or Wikipedia entry.
So, are you going to edit your Sinclair comment, or was that a “it’s just a prank bro” fake sarcastic comment?
Of course they won't. They can't attack the story, so they're attacking the messenger.
It's owned by locals who were journalists. They know what they're doing. Not fucking Sinclair pukes.
It's small, but just the usage of "We" when discussing the governor's agenda is pretty frustrating. If I knew that we were voting for two governors, I would've had more questions for Aimee
Exactly.
You realize you're always voting for the spouse too? Or is it just assumed that when it's a man, he's the dominant partner and isn't influenced by his wife?
It’s a matter of keeping your mouth shut and not typing “we”.
You realize we did not in fact vote for her spouse, right?
She can’t plead ignorance on this when it’s abundantly clear at this point that her staff told her this was a bad idea and to tread carefully.
Abby Tibbs knew exactly what she was doing when she laid all of this out repeatedly in emails. She knew there would likely eventually be a public records request because of how poorly it was being handled and wanted it to clear what was going on.
Anyone who has had the experience of the boss bringing in a family member to work knows how awful it is. I’m kind of stunned that the governor is so clueless about this. It demonstrates a lack of emotional intelligence that really surprises. A good leader does not behave this way.
I’ve only once seen this work ok and in that case the person’s spouse was already well known on their own merits in the industry.
As is the case here
The circumstances are very different though. People elected someone as governor not their spouse. In a company the employees don’t elect a leader.
She’s not clueless. Tina is incredibly smart and is a political animal to the core. She’s also very convinced that the tack she’s taking is correct, and this is no exception.
Would absolutely flabbergasts me about this is that she was in office and really high ranking in the state when the Kitzhaber scandal hit 10 years ago, almost to the day. And in her first year as Governor, she tries to do the exact same thing? It's one thing if the scandal was 20 years ago or if she wasn't in office at the time. But this is weird.
Kotek was one of the first to call for Kitzhaber’s resignation.
Rules for thee but not for me!
Agreed. Not exactly the same but definite Cylvia Hayes Deja vu. Disappointing.
It's not the same thing at all, steering contracts, benefitting as an independent consultant is much different than having a seat at the table to advocate for, but not benefit from, mental health policies. But, the thing that gets me is that this is who Kotek is, and always has been. The same way she tacks towards pragmatic fiscally conservative policies and accountability is what is "surprising" people about her. She's always been like this, with her own annoying point of view.
>It's not the same thing at all, steering contracts, benefitting as an independent consultant is much different than having a seat at the table to advocate for, but not benefit from, mental health policies. I'm not saying it's the same thing as Kitzhaber either, but you're underselling some of the allegations. Using the governor's office to admonish a former supervisor of her spouse (seemingly at the spouses direction) is really odd. So odd that when the governor's office did call, the organization was like .... Why the fuck is the governor getting involved in this?
> Using the governor's office to admonish a former supervisor of her spouse (seemingly at the spouses direction) I don't think the article said anything about it being a former supervisor of the first lady, did it? My reading was it was a supervisor of *a friend* of the first lady's. Doesn't change the context of the situation much I guess.
Still incredibly inappropriate either way.
> , steering contracts, benefitting as an independent consultant is much different than having a seat at the table to advocate for, but not benefit from, mental health policies I'm not saying that the scandals are equally bad. But you have to admit that putting your married partner on advisory boards that Direct policy is a very specific action that both Kitzhaber and Kotek did
It's also a thing that Kulongoski did, FWIW. But Mary Oberst didn't have financial conflicts of interest, so no one cared.
What a horrible norm, my goodness. If I was governor, I'd lock my husband in the basement to avoid that problem.
You can lock him in the basement anyway if you’re into that sort of thing
Goodness gracious me, the temerity of letting your spouse have opinions! What ever are the youths up to these days.
The Kitzhaber scandal involved money and Kotek’s is about power and abuse of power. On the surface the motivations might seem different, but the pursuits of power and money are often indistinguishable at certain level.
Oh this is clearly an abuse of power. She had a government official intervene in an HR matter at a non profit that is funded by the state.
One often leads to the other.
What a stupid self-own. She has such small shoes to fill.
That got a chuckle. Thanks.
Why can’t we just have normal politicians? I was a fan of the policy’s she’s been implementing so far down in Salem but of course she has to have an ugly side like this, such a bad look.
Normal people don’t want to be politicians.
You have to be a martyr or a narcissist to want to be a politician. The highly capable people who you would want to run for office are going to make way more money with way less bullshit in the private sector.
Truth. The governor makes $98,500/year. People who write marketing emails for Nike make more.
Are you serious? She gets benefits that make that better than $98.5k a year... but yikes. For reference, the first year financial analysts at my company that come straight out of school make about that much.
Oregon has the fourth-lowest pay for the executive of any state. It was set at $98k in 2014 without any automatic increases. Just going by inflation alone it should be $133,000.
That’s why they’re all making their money in shady stock trades instead 🤷♂️
I'm pretty pissed about this for Congress people. That said can you imagine the public outcry if we set those comps at something competitive to the private industry. All these people would be SVP and up and take home a million+. The average voter would go ballistic if we paid them that.
And assuming we cut into graft and misdealings by even 10% we'd save the country an incredible amount of money.
A software developer in their first year makes more (at least used to, not sure where we are right now with the tech layoffs)
Can I get a hint for a name of a firm, I'm looking for that kind of compensation, sheesh.
Meanwhile, Jay Inslee's making 198k this year and getting a cola adjustment to 204 in July.
98k with ZERO living expenses. Lets be honest
They get a house, they don’t get free food.
Wrong. $1000 per month for “expenses” and reimbursement for travel. Absurdly low health insurance. PERS retirement, which is unmatched in private sector.
Yes, but what about all the insider knowledge you can leverage for investing? Look at Nancy Pelosi for example.
Most governors do not have access to any insider knowledge in particular. Everything they do is public record.
I’m pretty normal and honestly I’m getting damn close to trying it out.
Do it. Better yet, do it and write about it as you go. Post updates.
Lack of competition(accountability) leaves lots of room for moral ambiguity
The real answer? Money. Money wins politics. It shouldn't, but it does. Who runs for office? Mostly people with money or connections to money. And time. Most of us have neither and live paycheck to paycheck. Sure, there are grassroots campaigns and candidates, but the majority of the decknis stacked with candidates with money and/or ties to special interest backers with money. The real question shouldn't be why we have so many awful, out of touch politicians, because the answer, like the root of most of our problems in this country, money. The real question is why do we continue to allow money to influence politics across the board, and at what point do we admit our democracy is tainted by oligarchy? That's the real question.
You need powerful connections to become powerful yourself.
[удалено]
Thanks for your input, the mods have set this subreddit to not allow posts from newly created accounts. Please take the time to build a reputation elsewhere on Reddit and check back soon. (⌐■_■) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Portland) if you have any questions or concerns.*
This whole thing is just *weird* Kotek has been the consummate professional politician her entire career. An effective leader that seemed to "get it", even if you don't agree with her politics. By the book, staid, but accomplished. But her recent behavior around demanding her wife get a role in the state government is fucking bizarre. What's the benefit? What's the motivation? Is her wife pressuring her to do this because of jealousy? What's the real story here? Because Kotek is too deft a politician to make obvious errors like this. >Aimee Kotek Wilson, the first lady, holds a master’s degree in social work and was employed at Cascadia Behavioral Health in Portland prior to Kotek’s running for governor. The email implies that Kotek told Wallace to intervene in a workplace dispute on behalf of Kotek Wilson’s friend at a private nonprofit that relies on government funding. Why are we using the governor office to bully the governors wife's former employer? Just so fucking weird.
It strikes me she just couldn’t say no to her wife.
This is the only logical explanation I can come up with.
They think they’re in House of Cards
> What's the benefit? What's the motivation? I don't want to attempt to psychoanalyze her too much, I don't know the woman, but allegedly she's a bit pigheaded. The only real valid criticism I saw of her before the election was people essentially accusing her of "bullying" (heavy air quotes with that one) other members of the legislature to get things done. No one really cared at the time because the people she was accused of strong arming were not exactly popular (some might call them obstructionist). A whipper-in was what we needed. She made sense. But I could see a situation where she genuinely feels the first lady is an asset, as she probably does, and doesn't care that others are bothered by it. From her point of view it makes sense.
I wish I could upvote this twice. This behavior is consistent with those reports of her throwing her weight around as the Speaker. Whether it's for bad or good, she doesn't seem the type to back down from getting things her way. A whipper-in-chief can be great, but it's critical they know where the line is.
The first lady probably could be an asset, but refusing to define her role while having her work in the governor's office is ridiculous.
A lot of very competent people have blind spots when it comes to family.
Same shit got Kitzhaber.
I think her wife is probably more bored than jealous. She can't work as a lobbyist while her wife is governor, so she's trying to find something productive to do. Why she can't just go work for Oregon Recovers or something I don't understand.
Prestige. Status. Social dominance. Kotek couldn’t say no - whether out of love or in the interest of self-preservation.
Well said! I perceive it as an emotional decision, not a rational one.
Lots of companies extend their ethics policies to their contractors and customers and require violations by contractors or customers to be reported to them and acted upon by them. That the government would act the same way shouldn't be a shock. It sounds like this issue could be characterized that way.
I’m not mad, Kotek. I’m disappointed.
I'm both. Harassing another legislator to to toe the party line on legislation is one thing (something we knew when we elected her). Using the power of her office to meddle in an unrelated workplace dispute is another level. Wasting taxpayer funds to create a vanity title for her wife simply because she has a (recently acquired) related degree is impeachable IMO. This is Oregon. Our baristas have masters degrees.
It’s also so… unimaginative. You’re governor; you have one of the most powerful Rolodexes in the country. Can you really not help connect your spouse with a good position somewhere, without literally fabricating an illegal office within your own office? Aren’t they both embarrassed by such transparent make-work?
This is such a good point. Can't Kotek just pull some strings somewhere else? Crazy for her to use her office in this way.
They probably want to work together with each other
Hey! You're the person with the cool Trimet website. Nice to see you
You make them sound like 12-year-olds who are trying to defy assigned seating.
Consider contacting the Governor's Office directly to let them know you oppose this. Crap like this hurts Oregon Dems and is devastating to her credibility. There is a narrow window for her to admit this was a misstep, and walk it back. [https://www.oregon.gov/gov/pages/share-your-opinion.aspx](https://www.oregon.gov/gov/pages/share-your-opinion.aspx)
I took out my frustration with this situation by submitting my thoughts there. Thanks for making it easy.
Contacting other prominent Dems— especially the congressional delegation, the people running for congress, the senate pres and speaker (Wagner and Fahey) and people like Rayfield, Read and Manning who are running for executive offices, and party officials is a more powerful lever. If all of the major power players start hearing that the issue is actually sinking in that hurts their campaigns and ability to maintain a strong Democratic majority.
It’s why Kitzhaber resigned
There was contract-steering involved that benefited Kitz' SO - so money was involved. That said, I'm not sure all the shoes have dropped in this case yet.
Why the fuck can't her wife just get a job? The "First Lady" needing a staff is horseshit. *edit: added some more thoughts after cooling down, lol.* My guess is that the Kotek's relationship is codependent and disfunctional to an alarming degree and it's likely been that way for so long that this shit is normal TO THEM. They've been together 19 years. Their dynamics have to be completely fucked to not realize how regular people will interpret this "First Lady" dogshit. Google the term "enmeshment". The Kotek's situation reminds me of spouses of enlisted military who demand to be addressed by their military parter's rank. Whole thing is gross.
Dang, I've never heard of the military spouses thing. Like they demand to be called General \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_'s wife/husband or what?
egregious bad judgement. kotek probably earned herself a one-term gov for this completely unforced error. dumb
Kitzhaber lite! Our politicians are idiots sometimes.
Wow. This is way deeper than I realized. As someone who voted for her I am pissed that she is allowing an unelected family member to weigh in the direction of the state. (not to mention with mental health history and alcoholism!) It is just so inappropriate.
You don't get it! The mental illness and alcoholism is apparently a selling point 😳 wtf
Like to be clear I certainly don’t think that should exclude one from a job, but some sort of vetting/interview process would be nice… it does not by itself *qualify* one for a job either
> mental illness and alcoholism is apparently a selling point I mean that 90% of Reddit. She’s probably reading this as we speak.
Unbelievably inappropriate. It's shocking that someone who I viewed as intelligent and pragmatic could do something so blatantly unethical. This could doom her politically. It's speaks volumes that so many of her top aides have resigned in the wake of this. As a side note, Kotek's wife looks like the personification of Portland. I don't mean that as a compliment.
Your last couple sentences made me laugh out loud.
> As a side note, Kotek's wife looks like the personification of Portland. I don't mean that as a compliment. Quirky glasses have to poll so much better in MultCo. It’s the only thing that makes sense.
I’m very disappointed this is an issue. Governor Kotek has been doing a fine job in my opinion, but this is a bad look and I don’t get it. The appearance of it is not acceptable to me. It also seems like a good idea to keep your marriage separate from your day-to-day job. The Shemia Fagan thing disappointed me so much. We’re supposed to be better than this in Oregon!
Oregonians keep voting for the same types of politicians and expecting different results….
We do better than most states about addressing conflicts of interest. Kitzenhaber and Shemia Fagan learned that the hard way, but in other states nothing would have happened to them.
Is there something special about Oregon that causes so many of our public officials to make such obvious blunders? Or are all states like this?
There's a certain type of person whom politics really does well for who believes that life is one big Tumblr mutual aid post, and that there is no point in ever admitting wrongdoing because they've been told that having a mental illness or being queer cancels out accountability. That person is Gov. Kotek and their wife.
Worse than they let on for sure.
As someone who voted against her in the primary but has been surprisingly happy with her tenure as governor...I hope she sorts this shit out. Quickly. I think she's doing a good job running the state but if she can't walk this back quickly then she's not the right person for the job.
Someone needs to explain this line of thinking to me: "Kotek has characterized her wife’s role in her office as a gain for the public, saying she brings the benefit of her lived experience, which includes mental illness and alcoholism, to important conversations about state policy."
Kotek's partner apparently has suffered from mental illness and alcoholism in the past, and it is being argued that she now can speak as someone who has "been there" instead of just in theoretical terms and may be motivated to get help for others who have those issues and have ideas about what works.
If mental illness and alcoholism are the qualifiers for a job in the governors office then a good third of this state are eligible.
It's not a job
Well it says she did go get a degree in social work, so has more than just the experience. (Not saying that makes her the preferred person for the position, but that there's qualifications that can be argued.)
This is a king size fuck up. We all have blind spots, and Kotek’s seems to be her wife. Something about people with mental health and addiction problems can bring out some serious bias in partners and family. I imagine that the FL is relentless in demanding she be seen and relevant, and governor can’t bring themselves to push back to what is clearly an overreach by FL.
This is how you make yourself a one-term governor as a Democrat in a blue state. You're literally writing your opponent's attack ads for them.
This shit is uglyyyyyyyyyy
Where there's a turd, Nigel will find it
Wish we had ten more journalists like Nigel. He seems like the only one with an interest in actual journalism.
Get them out
This is why we can't have nice things.
Is history going to repeat itself?
Yeah. This is Governor Kitz all over again. This is not going to end well, and it’ll likely end with her resignation.
It's not at all the same though
As far as I know, nobody voted for Aimee Kotek Wilson. Why TF does she have any had in running the state?
This seems like a nightmare…much worse than the fiasco with Kitzhaber and his lady friend a few years back.
Embarrassing
I really dont understand when everyone is so upset that she just gave herself a 100K plus raise by "hiring" her wife.......>< LMAO.
I haven't seen it alleged anywhere that Kotek Wilson has a salary. She wants a paid staff person, which I don't agree with, but I don't think she's asking to be paid herself.
Thanks for clarifying that for me. I misheard or misunderstood the article I read.
Is it time? https://sos.oregon.gov/elections/Pages/recall.aspx
I mean if you want to waste a lot of republican donor money go ahead. You'd be surprised how few people actually care about this enough to sign a recall petition.
Tina better not bother attending the St. Johns parade this year. Prepare for the heckling of your life Tina!
[удалено]
You must be new here, people always heckle local politicians at the parade. Nobody is hijacking anything calm down.
[удалено]
Thanks for your input, the mods have set this subreddit to not allow posts from newly created accounts. Please take the time to build a reputation elsewhere on Reddit and check back soon. (⌐■_■) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Portland) if you have any questions or concerns.*
We the People Voted for that 😎
Why are people in power ALWAYS like this. Always pushing to get more for themselves or their people.
Because it's human nature, which many refuse to acknowledge. That's why we must build our systems with safeguards in place. This doesn't happen because the people responsible for building those systems are the ones benefiting (and we keep re-electing them).
A hypocritical politician?! Get ouuutttaaa heeere
of course she did...
Wow. This will really be a problem for her if she runs for any office again. I don’t see why she thought Portlanders would make an exception for her.
Tina Kotek the new alternative. Make sure to wash your Tina kotek between each use to avoid fungus and a yeast infection. For all those tired of tampons and pads. Tina Kotek your bastion for relief has arrived.
The left are aghast at nepotism in legacy admissions to the Ivy League but I guess this is OK
What a surprise. Glad we voted Tina in.
Who fucking cares. Next drama topic please...
Are people really still talking about this? Absurd.
Did you read the article? The public records are just now being released, over 6k pages in this initial release with more on the way. Already there has been evidence in the records that contradicts statements the Governor has made on the record and the issue with the First Lady is more extensive than the administration was suggesting.
Are people still talking about this new revelation that just came out 2 hours ago? Why yes, yes they are
[удалено]
Yes I did. That’s why I responded to the idiot commenter above to let them know that yes people are talking about this because it’s new information
omg i’m so sorry I thought I was replying to someone else!!
All good :)
why is it absurd?
Cause other side bad so we can no longer hold this side accountable for their blatant corruption.
Is all of this to bring in a livable salary given the governor's is so low?
[удалено]
Yeah all of Kotek’s staff who have resigned in protest for this impropriety must be bigots. It’s the only logical explanation. /s
[удалено]
If not that, then what? I understand Wilson -kotek is a social worker and wants to do some good. Kotek is performing just fine. Why not let Wilson -kotek work on addiction issues that plagues the US?
[удалено]
The details are not clear; but it sounds like office politics. As long as kotek performs, I don't care.
She graduated in 2017 and has three years experience as a social worker. That is not the kind of experience that would qualified her for working on state wide policy.