Oregon GOP Chair Accuses Governor of Fake Transparency To Hide Misconduct Until After Election
Wilsonville, OR – The Bend Bulletin is questioning Governor Kate Brown’s commitment to transparency in a new editorial, blasting Brown for obstructing an investigation into her troubled economic development agency in such a way that could conceal the results from the public. Kate Brown has said that she will investigate allegations of a toxic work environment in her economic development agency, including allegations that pregnant women and mothers have been denied opportunities for advancement.
As The Oregonian first reported, Brown’s administration has hired a private law firm to conduct the investigation and could use attorney-client privilege to shield the results from public disclosure. Now the Bend Bulletin is calling out Kate Brown’s lack of transparency and questioning whether Brown’s commitment is “hollow.”
The Bend Bulletin editorial board writes:
“Business Oregon, the state’s economic development agency, may have serious problems with the way it treats female and older employees. The state is kicking off an investigation to learn if there is truth to anonymous allegations sent to Gov. Kate Brown.
Oregonians need to know. But the way the state has structured the investigation could be a sign that it won’t be fully transparent about what it finds.
“…It’s the way the contract is structured that could mean little or no information will be released to the public. The contract says Perkins Coie is to conduct ‘an attorney-client privileged investigation.’ Government agencies love those because it can mean the findings of the investigation can be exempt from disclosure under the state’s public records law.”
“Oregonians deserve answers to these troubling allegations, and Kate Brown is already setting it up so that the results of this ‘investigation’ won’t be truly known by the public,” stated Oregon Republican Chairman Bill Currier.
“While our negligent, bungling, tax-hiking, anti-small business, radical George Soros-funded Governor blows off Oregon’s big problems like the PERS Crisis, Brown also appears to be rigging any scrutiny of the misconduct and management failures on her watch until long after the election – and perhaps not even then,” added Currier.
“It’s time to dump the ‘fake transparency’ politician Kate Brown and get a genuine Governor this November.”
Link to Online Posting:
https://oregon.gop/kate-brown-fake-transparency-hiding-misconduct-until-after-election-2018-04-27
The Oregon Republican Party is the state’s arm of the Republican National Committee. Its Chairman and officers are dedicated to promoting Republican principles within the state of Oregon and to improving the lives and livelihoods of Oregon’s working families through economic freedom and equal protection under the law.
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