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CYLVIA HAYES
AGE: 56
BEST KNOWN FOR: Her involvement in the 2014 influence-peddling scandal that cost her fiancé, Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber, his fourth term.
The former first lady of Oregon became public enemy No. 1 in spring 2015.
The October before, WW first published a story detailing how Hayes was running a private consulting business out of the office of her fiancé, then-Gov. John Kitzhaber. The scandal picked up momentum when a Portland Tribune reporter showed Hayes had been paid $118,000 for consulting work by clients who had an interest in the governor’s energy policy. She had never disclosed those payments on her tax returns, WW noticed.
The scandal cost Kitzhaber his office (he resigned in February 2015) and a $20,000 settlement with the Oregon Government Ethics Commission. Hayes settled for $44,000 in 2019. An FBI investigation went nowhere, but polling showed Kitzhaber’s approval rating as the couple left office was 23%.
The two moved to a Bend home, where Hayes set about reinventing herself. She reemerged as a minister and spiritual guru, and an author and public speaker, offering advice on resilience after trauma, overcoming one’s self doubts, and learning to seek validation from within.
She wrote two books, When Life Blows Up: A Guide to Peace, Power and Reinvention and another titled simply Transcend. She was ordained as a minister in the Unity Church and started a not-for-profit organization called The ReThink Ministry. She holds virtual study groups and workshops for people looking to tap into their spirituality. One of her programs is described as being “grounded in the understanding that all Creation is sacred, and humanity only fully thrives when we are in healthy and respectful relationship with one another and all of life.”
The latest stage in Hayes’s reinvention, however, caught the attention of Wikipedia admins.
Beginning in May, a site user using the alias “AgilityQueen” began removing and editing large swaths of Hayes’ Wikipedia page about the 2014 scandal that brought down her and Kitzhaber.
An edit by AgilityQueen on May 23 reads, “Updated with the person’s new role as an ordained Unity minister. Updated the story about the federal investigation concluding with no charges filed.”
That username made similar edits—cutting out information, swapping information—more than twenty times between May and August of this year. The most recent edit by AgilityQueen, on Aug. 30, shows that the user added Hayes “is an ordained Unity minister, author and environment/economic system change speaker and consultant.” It has since been removed by a Wikipedia administrator.
The day before, a Wikipedia volunteer administrator (yes, that’s a thing) undid some of AgilityQueen’s edits and wrote in notes: “likely self-editing. Suggest edits on the talk page, DO NOT edit the article about yourself.”
On Aug. 31, Wikipedia blocked AgilityQueen indefinitely, citing “Disruptive editing at Cylvia Hayes, including edit-warring, POV-editing; personal attacks.”
Hayes, when reached by email, declined to answer WW’s questions, including whether she was affiliated with AgilityQueen.
Hayes’ website bio says that she’s gotten into dog training, and features a picture of her with a dog named Olive. It says, “She has recently become a self-confessed agility-holic, having a great time winning awards with speedy Olive!”