Gov. Kate Brown's Former Top Aide Goes to Work for a Hospital Chain

Longtime politcial insider Brian Shipley will head government affairs for a three-state hospital chain.

Brian Shipley, a top aide to the past three Oregon governors, has taken a new job as the top lobbyist for PeaceHealth, a non-profit Vancouver, Wash.-based healthcare company that operates 10 hospitals in Alaska, Washington and Oregon.

Shipley brings a wealth of government relations experience to his new job.

He served as deputy chief of staff to former Gov. Ted Kulongoski, legislative director for Gov. John Kitzhaber and chief of staff to Gov. Kate Brown before she abruptly fired him last November.

He also served as legislative director to Sen. President Peter Courtney (D-Salem) and in between stints in Salem, performed a crucial task for Oregon Health & Science University, helping persuade legislators in 2014 to chip in $200 million toward the $1 billion challenge grant made by Nike co-founder Phil Knight and his wife, Penny.

Brian Shipley

"I am excited to be getting back to health care after stepping in for the Governor as chief of staff and then taking a great break," Shipley tells WW.

Related: The five things Oregon's non-profit hospitals don't want you to know about Obamacare.

Although he's done with the Brown administration, Shipley remains entangled in the state's legal battle with Oracle America, the contractor for the failed $300 million healthcare exchange called Cover Oregon. Shipley's conversations with Oracle about a possible settlement of the Cover Oregon litigation are now themselves the subject of litigation.

In his new job, which he begins June 27, Shipley will report to another longtime Oregon politico, former Portland school board chairman and two-time GOP candidate for governor Ron Saxton.

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