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Gov. Kate Brown announced this morning that Portland lawyer Elisa Dozono will step down from her position as chairwoman of the five-member Oregon Lottery Commission.
The announcement comes one week after Miller Nash, the law firm at which Dozono is a partner, filed a lawsuit against the Oregon Lottery and its director, Jack Roberts, on behalf of Paddy's Old Irish Cafe #28, a lottery retailer on Hayden Island.
That lawsuit, first reported by WW, highlighted the complicated position Dozono was in. Then-Gov. John Kitzhaber originally appointed Dozono to the commission in 2012, only to pull the appointment when critics raised conflict of interest concerns about Miller Nash's representation of Oregon Restaurant Services, Inc., which does business as Dotty's Deli's and has long been among the largest lottery retailers.
Oregon Restaurant Services' president, Dan Fischer, also controls the parent company of Paddy's.
After the Oregon Government Ethics Commission ruled that Dozono did not have a conflict of interest, Kitzhaber moved forward with Dozono's appointment, and she has chaired the lottery commission since then.
Dozono was not immediately available for comment Friday.
Ironically, Paddy's filed last week's lawsuit because it claims Oregon Lottery canceled its contract over concerns that there are too many lottery retailers on Hayden Island. So while Hayden Island residents have claimed that Dozono might lead the state agency to go too easy on Miller Nash's client, the client thinks the agency has treated it too harshly.
In any case, Brown is now looking for a new Lottery commissioner and chair.
WWeek 2015