Sounds like Fagan’s grift went up in smoke…
According to multiple reports, Oregon’s Secretary of State Shemia Fagan has resigned for consulting with a cannabis company for $10,000 a month while her office was overseeing an audit of the state’s marijuana regulator —a massive conflict of interest.
“Gov. Tina Kotek…asked the Oregon Government Ethics Commission to investigate Ms. Fagan’s dealings. Gov. Kotek also asked the state’s Justice Department to look into a recent audit of the cannabis industry overseen by the secretary of state’s office,” The Wall Street Journal reports.
Fagan, who is paid $77,000 a year for her job as Oregon’s Secretary of State, believes that she will ultimately be cleared and has done nothing wrong ethically; she released a statement:
“While I am confident that the ethics investigation will show that I followed the state’s legal and ethical guidelines in trying to make ends meet for my family, it is clear that my actions have become a distraction from the important and critical work of the Secretary of State’s office,” Fagan said in a statement. “Protecting our state’s democracy and ensuring faith in our elected leaders — these are the reasons I ran for this office. They are also the reasons I will be submitting my resignation today. I want to thank the incredible staff in the Secretary of State’s office for their hard work and Oregonians for the opportunity to serve them. It has been a true honor to serve the people of Oregon.”
According to the WSJ, “Ms. Fagan had recused herself from the audit in February, before her consulting work began, according to a memo published alongside the audit.”
Gov. Kotek is preparing to appoint a new Secretary of State.
“It is essential that Oregonians have trust in their government,” said Ms. Kotek, a Democrat. “I believe this is a first step in restoring that trust.”
Ms. Fagan claims she initially took the consulting job, in addition to some teaching work, to help support her family, saying $77,000 wasn’t enough to support her family.
“So to put it bluntly, my secretary of state salary alone is not enough to make ends meet,” Fagan said.
Money struggles are easy enough to understand, Ms. Fagan —especially in the Biden economy. But what you did created a conflict of interest and violated public trust.
