Wilsonville, OR – A new report in the Oregonian is raising questions about Governor Kate Brown’s ability to manage the growing pension crisis, as well as her cozy relation with campaign donors. The Oregonian reports this morning that Brown has appointed Sadhana Shenoy the new CFO of the PERS board. Shenoy “lacks any direct experience in pension management or administration.”
Choosing a PERS head that lacks any pension experience would seem to be the very definition of mismanagement, but that’s only the beginning. Secretary of State records reveal that Sadhana Shenoy is also a direct campaign donor to Kate Brown, contributing to Brown’s re-election campaign just this year. With this appointment, Kate Brown’s PERS board “would be made up entirely of Portland-area Democrats – one a union leader and two others, including Shenoy, who are donors to Brown’s campaign.”
“This appointment raises troubling questions about whether Kate Brown is rewarding a campaign donor with no relevant experience by giving her a senior government position she lacks standard qualifications for,” said Oregon GOP Chairman Bill Currier. “Brown needs to explain immediately why she is rewarding her campaign donor weeks before the election.”
“The PERS crisis is perhaps the most serious crisis facing our state. When you combine Governor Brown’s gross mismanagement of the critical problems facing Oregon with her chronic pay-to-play cronyism, it’s no wonder that Oregonians are looking for someone else to lead our state. It’s time to elect Knute Buehler for Governor.”
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