State Entered Into Secret Agreement with Nike in July

Governor first met with company Oct. 11

Former Gov. John Kitzhaber
By NIGEL JAQUISS

The state of Oregon's business development agency entered into a nondisclosure agreement (PDF) with Nike on July 31, 2012, according to records Gov. John Kitzhaber's office provided WW this morning. That date is earlier than has previously been reported.

The agency, called Business Oregon, signed a five-page agreement with a Delaware company, EMK LLC, that day (the signer for EMK, Evan S. Reynolds, appears to be a Nike lawyer who works in Beaverton). The agency frequently signs such agreements with companies that it is trying to recruit or retain.

Many aspects of the communications between Nike and the state prior to last Friday's unprecedented one-day special session remain murky but the release of the non-disclosure agreement signed by Karen Goddin of Business Oregon provides the first solid piece of a chronological record. Legislative leaders later signed the same agreement, although it's not clear exactly when.

Tim Raphael, Kitzhaber's spokesman, says the governor first became involved Oct. 11, when he met with Nike's Chief Financial Officer, Don Blair.

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