Kitzhaber Silence Causes Chaos and Confusion in Salem
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Reports of an imminent resignation by Governor John Kitzhaber spread through every crack of the building as state lawmakers and their staff awaited an announcement.
Sources in Salem told GoLocalPDX Wednesday morning Kitzhaber was preparing to resign, after Secretary of State Kate Brown, who is next in line for the governorship, mysteriously left a national conference two days early to return to Oregon.
But for five critical hours following news of Brown's return, leadership went into freefall as neither the public, nor Oregon’s lawmakers, knew who would be running the state the next day. The governor’s office was conspicuously silent, the Secretary of State was on a plane, and her spokesman, Tony Green, didn’t know why Brown was coming back, or when she would arrive.
“It’s a good illustration that in the absence of information, speculation will fill the vacuum,” said Daniel Keeney, President of DPK Communications, a firm that specializes in crisis communications planning.
Keeney said if Brown were returning for a matter unrelated to state business, such as a family emergency, it would be appropriate to disclose such information to the press, given the circumstances. However, the crisis communications expert said political strategy in a time of crisis does not always adhere to transparency.
“Knowing what happens behind closed doors, there’s a lot of scenarios where they’re trying to think about how to come out and survive the situation,” Keeney said. “You’re not going to be transparent about that.”
‘No intention of resigning’
As speculation grew to a frenzy, the governor confounded media and politicos alike by releasing the following statement, just after 2:30 p.m.:
"Let me be as clear as I was last week, that I have no intention of resigning as Governor of the state of Oregon. I was elected to do a job for the people of this great state and I intend to continue to do so."
If indeed Kitzhaber had planned to resign Wednesday, he did not. If he was never planning to resign, it took him five hours to issue a statement saying he wouldn’t be resigning.
When asked, Keeney said if a sitting governor, such as Chris Christie (R-NJ), was asked if he were planning to resign, he would likely respond with a statement similar to Kitzhaber’s within the hour.
“After so long, they come out with this terse, unequivocal statement,” Keeney said, pointing out the administration is not behaving very differently than it has in the past: it is not the first time the Kitzhaber press office has gone mute.
Kitzhaber’s office could have put out a statement addressing the situation early on, Keeney said. A statement such as "we are reviewing this quickly evolving situation, it’s a serious matter that deserves serious attention" might have sufficed, he said.
Lawyer speaks, then Kitzhaber
The lawyer Kitzhaber retained for the Ethics Commission review against him and Hayes, power broker Jim McDermott, expressed the governor’s intent to stay in office before Kitzhaber’s press crew did. When asked by GoLocalPDX why he was the first person to comment on the Governor’s resignation, McDermott said “I don’t know.”
McDermott works for Ball Janik, the same firm that lobbies for the state of Oregon’s interests in Washington, D.C. McDermott said he was commenting on the situation as a private attorney, not on behalf of the state of Oregon.
Since landing in Portland Wednesday, Brown’s office has not issued an official statement regarding her return. Brown was attending a conference for the National Association of Secretaries of State, of which she is the president, which runs Feb. 10 - Feb. 13.
Calls to Kitzhaber's office Wednesday from GoLocalPDX were not returned.
Related Articles
- Kate Brown Returns to Oregon Unexpectedly, May Signal Kitzhaber Resignation
- Kitzhaber Will Not Consider Resignation, Regardless of Ethics Findings
- Governor John Kitzhaber Says He Has ‘No Intention of Resigning’
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