SALEM, Ore. — Oregon Governor Tina Kotek met with reporters in Salem on Wednesday to address concerns about her wife's role in the administration and the abrupt exodus of the governor's most senior staff members, saying that she will backtrack on her earlier plan to establish an Office of the First Spouse.
“After listening to and reflecting on the concerns of Oregonians who have contacted my office, as well as the advice of staff, I want to be clear about these things: There will not be an Office of the First Spouse," she said. "There will not be a position of Chief of Staff to the First Spouse. Other than staff that is assigned to support the First Lady in her official duties, no state staff will report to her or be supervised by her."
A tranche of internal emails from the governor's office, recently released in response to public records requests from multiple media outlets, substantiate reporting that some of Kotek's top staff members raised concerns about the propriety of Aimee Kotek Wilson's influence in the administration well before the governor's office publicized any formal attempt to clarify what her role should be.
Kotek's office acknowledged that over the past year, Kotek Wilson, who has a background in social work, attended several behavioral health-related meetings, regularly attended other weekly meetings on the governor's schedule and travel plans, and attended some events on behalf of the governor's office.
Kotek Wilson has been operating as an unpaid volunteer within the governor's office and does not have any paid outside work.
In late March, Kotek's office confirmed that Meliah Masiba from the Department of Administrative Services had been shifted to the governor's office in order to work with Kotek Wilson on the formal establishment of the Office of the First Spouse — a feature in some other states that Oregon has always left ambiguous.
At the same time, three of Kotek's top staff members — including her chief of staff, deputy chief of staff and a special advisor — were already heading out the door.
A February email from Abby Tibbs, a special advisor for Kotek's office, suggests that she had voiced concerns to the governor. In an exchange reported on by both Willamette Week and OPB, Tibbs addressed a behavioral health aide about a request from the governor that she characterized as "highly inappropriate at best.”
“I realize I never followed-up with you in writing about the situation we discussed about the governor asking you to call Cascadia about a friend of the (First Lady's) who is upset with her supervisor,” Tibbs wrote. “And I also totally understand how the situation felt awkward at best, and confusing to the supervisor as to why the gov’s office was calling.”
Tibbs said in her email that Kotek and her wife had been “reminded several times now” about the appropriate use of their power.
The exodus from Kotek's office has continued in the weeks since. OPB reported that Kotek's deputy general counsel would also be departing, soon followed by Communications Director An Do.
When Kotek first publicly answered questions about the matter in early April, she said that her office would submit questions to the Oregon Government Ethics Commission for guidance on the establishment of an Office of the First Spouse. However, the ethics commission said that it was already investigating complaints about the issue and thus was restricted from offering advice.
'This hasn't been smooth'
Kotek said Wednesday that Aimee Kotek Wilson will continue to have a public-facing role in her office, attending listening sessions and events out in the community, sometimes as a stand-in for the governor. However, Kotek said that they'd be awaiting further guidance from the ethics commission before doing anything else with her role.
The governor acknowledged that the matter of Kotek Wilson's involvement in her office has been "a little messy," which she said she regretted. She said that it took time to hear and understand some of the concerns raised by her former staff and make decisions accordingly.
"This hasn't been smooth ... we've hit some bumps; we haven't communicated particularly well," Kotek said.
But Kotek was also defensive about some of the criticisms she and her wife have received. In response to a question about the email exchange involving special adviser Abby Tibbs, the governor indicated that her decision to have an aide reach out to Cascadia Health was neither inappropriate nor unusual — that she learned of a potential problem in an important constituency and reached out to gather more information, something she did as House Speaker in the Oregon Legislature as well.
Kotek said that her wife has not been scheduled to meet with other governor's office staff since the beginning of this year, and there are currently no scheduled plans for future meetings — although the governor did not commit to that continuing.
The governor also flatly denied the idea she'd run afoul of any Oregon rules concerning nepotism, which she said only concern matters of financial interest, as in the case of former Gov. John Kitzhaber and his fiancé, Cylvia Hayes. Kitzhaber resigned in 2015 amid accusations that Hayes engaged in influence peddling.
Though Kotek pledged to abandon establishing an Office of the First Spouse, she said that she's committed to defining the role that a First Spouse should have in hers and future administrations, including the creation of a "First Spouse Manual."
"The First Spouse manual is in progress and is one of the reasons Meliah Masiba was brought on as a temporary advisor to my office. She reports to Chief of Staff Chris Warner," Kotek said in her prepared remarks.
“Between now and when we learn more from (ethics commission), the First Lady will continue to accompany me and attend events representing the Governor’s Office, such as Tribal visits and ceremonial events, and she will listen to Oregonians about the issues most impacting them, especially in the area of mental health and addiction," she continued. “Your trust is important to me. I will continue to work hard to solve problems so that every Oregonian can have what they need."