The national media begin paying closer attention to the Kitzhaber Steyer connection.
Image Credit: The Oregonian
HT Andy from Beaverton
From the Washington Times in a piece about the Democrats’ latest green energy scandal:
Mr. Steyer, Mr. Kitzhaber and Ms. Hayes appeared together at an environmental dinner in November 2013 celebrating environmental accomplishments in the West. Mr. Steyer has given $100,000 to the Oregon Democratic Party through his NextGen Climate Action political movement.
Mr. Steyer’s office did not return repeated emails seeking comment. A San Francisco-based hedge fund manager, the billionaire environmentalist was a fundraising bundler for both of Mr. Obama’s presidential races and a heavy supporter of Democratic causes across the country.
Jenny Coyle, communications manager for the Energy Foundation, told The Times that the foundation provided the Clean Economy Development Center $50,000 in 2011 and $25,000 in 2012 for the fellowship program in which Ms. Hayes participated. She was the center’s only fellow.
And this tells you what you need to know about she has traded on her position as ‘Oregon’s First Lady’:
Although Ms. Hayes has been removed from Mr. Kitzhaber’s official website as “Oregon’s First Lady,” she still uses the title in her bio on her consulting firm’s website.
The national media are alert to the seriousness of the scandal now. KGW has done a sampling of the national media reaction to the Kitzhaber-Hayes influence peddling scandal. Here’s a sample:
From the Washington Post:
“The governor is pretty clearly holding onto his career by a thread.”
From The Atlantic:
“Just blame the first lady.”
“How does Kitzhaber get off blaming Hayes? After all, he’s a four-term governor of the state, and must have had some understanding of the ethical issues involved. Asked by a reporter if he was “blinded by love,” Kitzhaber did say his eyes were “wide open,” but he also seemed to distance himself from the controversy, saying Hayes is “an independent woman” and announcing her de facto banishment from the government.
From The New York Times:
“[Energy-related] issues have long been a priority of Mr. Kitzhaber’s administration, but now they are bound up in, and perhaps undermined by, questions of whether love and politics got too cozy in the governor’s mansion.
More later.
