Skip to main content
Last
week, WW published emails showing that former Gov. John Kitzhaber had been
ambivalent about seeking re-election, and that he worried that he lacked the energy and
desire to continue.
The
emails show that, while Kitzhaber wavered, then-first lady Cylvia Hayes did
not—she wanted him to run again and to give her an even larger role in his
administration.
The
emails are among those Kitzhaber's office sought to have deleted from state
servers Feb. 5, eight days before he announced he would resign amid allegations
of influence peddling and conflicts of interest against both Hayes and
Kitzhaber.
Records show that Kitzhaber worked to balance Hayes' demands for a greater political
role against his staff's concerns about her influence in the governor's office.
"My only
priority is for you to be happy," Kitzhaber wrote to Hayes in a May 14, 2013,
email, "for you to feel fulfilled in the mission-driven work to which you have
dedicated your life; for you to be as effective as you can possibly be; and to
help support in any way I can moving your career to the next level and for you
to be known and sought after as a national and international speaker,
consultant and messenger."
"I know
you remain very frustrated about your role in the administration," Kitzhaber
continued. "But I never, ever want you to feel like my 'side kick.' And if I
have somehow done something to make you feel that way–again I am sorry.
My intention is just the opposite as I said before: to support your work and
your career. I obviously have no way of really knowing how difficult the 'First
Lady' role is but I recognize that it is very challenging."
On July
27, 2013, Hayes sent Kitzhaber an email about her plans to expand the reach of
one of her top priorities, the adoption of the "genuine progress indicator," or
GPI, as an alternative measure of economic output.
Hayes had
been hired earlier in the year to promote the GPI by Demos, a New York-based
advocacy group. In April 2013, she and Kitzhaber had traveled to Bhutan to meet
with a Demos representative and other GPI supporters. Hayes' $25,000 contract
with Demos was part of the more than $220,000 in private consulting contracts
she obtained while serving as first lady and an adviser to Kitzhaber.
The July email Hayes sent to Kitzhaber makes clear Kitzhaber was aware of her desire
to mix her role as first lady with her job as a paid consultant to Demos.
That
email detailed Hayes' hope to get other states and institutions to adopt the
GPI. The plan reveals significant conflicts between her role in the governor's
office and her work as a private consultant.
Here's an
excerpt from that plan:
Work Components:
1) Directly assisting targeted states:
- Drilling down with Washington state: maybe the next step is to work with Wendy from [Washington Gov. Jay] Insleeâs office to spearhead a high-level briefing for Inslee and key staff.
- Engage with the Colorado folks to help shape where that effort is heading in terms of government engagement and stakeholder alignmentâmaybe heading toward a concrete strategic planning meeting.
- Oregon GPI
- Assist with development of structure of GPI âownershipâ and management
- Identify and communicate with targeted constituents and partners
- Assist with development of âLaunch Planâ
Next Steps:
- Develop list of OR targeted constituents/ partners
- Set up Seattle meetings in August
- Follow up contact with Nike sustainability leaders (maybe they could provide modest funding for the Oregon GPI through PSU; also, it looks like we may be doing a federal event probably in January or February, and as part of this it would be great to have a dialogue between the private and public dimensions of sustainability measurement.
- Follow up with Ecotrust in the GPI work (maybe they can help us development a state-level environmental account)
On Dec. 2, 2013, Kitzhaber announced he was running for re-election. The three senior staff members whoâd resisted Hayesâ gaining more powerâchief of staff Curtis Robinhold, economic adviser Scott Nelson and communications director Tim Raphaelâall left the governorâs office before 2014.
Hayes soon asked for regular time on Kitzhaberâs work calendar.
That plan included speaking engagements in New Orleans, Boise, Chicago, Boston and Russia.
Energy and Climate:
- Part of planning, fundraising and implementation of build up to carbon pricing campaign in Oregon (numerous calls, meetings, strategic thinking, stakeholder development)
- Assist with hiring ODOE Director
- Providing vision, leadership and strategic thinking on coal, natural gas, oil trains and ODOE strategic planning
Hayes frequently referred to herself as a CEOâher title at her consulting company, 3E Strategies, where she was the only employee. Still, she took that title seriously when it came to warnings from the White House about relations with Russia.
âWith great disappointment I have decided not to do the Russia trip,â Hayes wrote to Kitzhaber and his political adviser, Patricia McCaig, on May 30, 2014. âI just think it is too problematic at this time. President Obama recently asked U.S. CEO's not to attend an economic summit in Russia scheduled for later this year. I feel I need to honor that request.â
âMoreover, there is no question that news of my visit to Russia will be taken out of context and used to try to create a scandal,â Hayes continued. âNone of the positive aspects of the work I would be doing in Russia will get mentioned â it will be all about trying to turn this into a scandalâ¦. This was about working with small business people who are trying to do good by the environment in a very special part of our world. Arggghhh.â
WWeek 2015