Oregon’s Governor Deserved Better

Last Friday, after a week of intense scrutiny and speculation, the Democratic Governor of Oregon, John Kitzhaber announced his resignation over his alleged conflict of interest with his fiancée’s use of her government connections to further her private business. The University of Oregon’s Priscilla Southwell argues that commentators have failed to understand just how close-knit Oregon’s political and policy communities are. She writes that given Governor Kitzhaber’s 37 years of state service, he deserved the due process of the law and not a media trial and ‘execution’.