Former Secretary of State Fagan Seeks to Settle With the Ethics Commission

Former Secretary of State Shemia Fagan, who resigned in May 2023 after WW revealed she’d signed a $10,000 monthly consulting contract with two of her top campaign donors, is seeking to settle twin cases with the Oregon Government Ethics Commission.

As first reported by the Salem Statesman-Journal, Fagan agreed last week to pay a $1,600 fine stemming from two incidents that resulted in complaints filed with the OGEC: her consulting agreement with the co-owners of cannabis chain La Mota, and her seeking state reimbursement for some expenses incurred on work-related trips with her children and dog that the commission deemed had “provided a financial benefit to herself.”

The commission concluded, according to its proposed settlement order, that Fagan had violated state ethics laws by “using her position to obtain private employment” with Aaron Mitchell and Rosa Cazares, the principals of the troubled cannabis outfit La Mota and the principals of the LLC with which Fagan signed the contract, Veriede Holding.

Fagan resigned just five days after WW reported on the existence of the $10,000-a-month contract. Fagan, according to the contract, was hired to research cannabis regulations in other states as La Mota’s owners sought to expand their embattled chain to other states. (The ethics commission’s order also states Fagan planned to be a Veriede Holding board member once the company expanded into other states.)

Mitchell and Cazares ran a vertically integrated cannabis empire that included farms, processing facilities, distribution warehouses, and more than two dozen dispensaries. But records showed at the time that Mitchell and Cazares, then a couple who shared a young daughter, were in arrears with both federal and state tax authorities. And they’d been embroiled in more than two dozen local legal disputes over unpaid bills, evictions and frayed business deals.

Meanwhile, the couple had made inroads with some of Oregon’s top Democrats by contributing large sums of money to various election campaigns and by hosting lavish parties for some political candidates, including now-Gov. Tina Kotek and Fagan. After WW reported on the couple’s legal and financial disputes, those Democrats donated all of the campaign contributions they’d received from the couple to various charities.

The feds launched a criminal investigation into Fagan’s actions in the summer of 2023. In late 2024, that investigation ended, and no criminal charges were filed against Fagan.

The ethics commission order states that Fagan denies using her official position to obtain private employment. Still, Fagan has signed the settlement agreement and said she would rather settle than continue to pay legal fees to fight the violations.

The commission will vote Friday whether to approve the settlement.