Governor Kate Brown Is Not Cleaning House
Saturday, February 21, 2015
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In a press address at the Capitol on Friday, Brown said she would be assessing existing staff positions as the legislative session moves forward.
Last week, the governor announced her new executive staff, which includes Chief of Staff Brian Shipley, Communications Director Kristen Grainger, General Counsel Benjamin Souede, and Senior Policy Advisor Gina Zejdlik.
"We’re going to be evaluating positions on a case by case basis," Brown said.
Brown's announcement last week means members of Kitzhaber's inner circle, including Chief of Staff Mike Bonetto, General Counsel Liani Reeves, Communications Director Amy Wojcicki, and Policy Writer and Speech Writer Roy Kaufmann are not in the current governor's office.
Still, more than a dozen staff members from Kitzhaber's previous term remain in Brown's administration, according to the office directory. They include the governor's assistant and scheduler, press secretaries, and several deputy and assistant positions. See below for a full list.
"I expect staff to align with my state ethics," Brown said Friday. The governor expanded on her inauguration day promise--not just that neither she nor any member of her family would seek outside income related to government, but that none of her staff would either.
Kitzhaber announced his resignation Feb. 13, during the legislative session that began Feb. 2. Brown said her priority is a smooth transition, given that lawmakers are well into the session, and that the past weeks have been challenging for the governor's existing staff.
"This has been an incredibly difficult time for them," Brown said. “It was very bittersweet, that’s the best I can say,” she said Friday of her swearing-in Wednesday.
Brown's decision to retain much of the existing gubernatorial staff is striking in light of political analysis that the mishandling of communications contributed significantly to Kitzhaber's eventual downfall.
Political Analyst and Pacific University Political Science Professor Jim Moore said a media "feeding frenzy" escalated in the final days of Kitzhaber's shortened term.
"But it was mainly because there was a resounding silence from the governor and his staff. Were there alternative narratives and assumptions? Then tell us what they were. A colossal failure to communicate on Kitzhaber's part," Moore said.
However, Moore said that while the old staff will likely move on over time, the day-to-day operations of the office were never called into question.
"There was never any complaint about Kitzhaber’s dealings with the media on policy issues, it was on his dealings with the media on scandal issues," Moore said.
He explained that the logic in retaining staff from the previous administration lies in their familiarity with the governor’s agenda, the details of plans, and the direction of the public conversation.
"Gov. Brown will move them along as she becomes more up to speed on the details of legislation and policy preferences and puts her imprint on them," he said.
Brown is expected to announce her appointment for Secretary of State Friday, March 6.
See below: staff directory for Gov. Kate Brown's office, taken Feb. 20, top; staff directory for former governor John Kitzhaber's office, taken July 22, 2014 via Wayback Machine, bottom.
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