Some of Oregon’s most powerful elected officials expressed alarm Friday after news broke that Secretary of State Shemia Fagan had accepted a job as a cannabis industry consultant, even as her office prepared an audit arguing for more lax regulation of the industry.
Gov. Tina Kotek called for two investigations — one by the Oregon Government Ethics Commission into Fagan’s actions and another by the Department of Justice into the newly released audit. The Legislature’s top two Democrats both said they were deeply concerned by the situation.
Meanwhile, legislative Republicans called for Fagan to step down.
But Fagan offered no suggestion she was rattled. In a Friday evening statement — her first since Willamette Week broke news of the arrangement on Thursday — the secretary offered the most details yet about what her consulting work entailed. Fagan also suggested she embraced the mounting scrutiny.
“I welcome Governor Kotek’s request to DOJ to review the audit because it will simply highlight the professional work of Oregon’s auditors,” Fagan’s statement said. “I am relieved that the Governor has asked DOJ and the Government Ethics Commission to engage in fact finding because the facts will restore trust in our audits division and in me as your Secretary of State.”
The cascading fallout over Fagan’s consulting work left Oregon politicos on both sides of the aisle speculating Friday about her future.
In February, Fagan signed a contract with a company called Veriede Holding...
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