Kate Brown, John Kitzhaber lay low Monday before transition of the state’s top position.
BY JACOB PALMER | OB DIGITAL NEWS EDITOR
Following Friday’s circus in Salem, the state’s top officials remained mum Monday as Gov. John Kitzhaber prepares to leave office after three-plus terms.
Kate Brown worked behind the scenes to prepare for her new role as the state’s top official, the Register-Guard reported Tuesday.
The Register-Guard interviewed a politics expert who said Brown’s actions since Friday have been prudent, arguing that it would be hasty to act as governor before Kitzhaber officially resigned.
While Brown has remained out of sight, she does have a lot of work that should be done before assuming the governorship.
Brown has not publicly laid out any agenda yet. But Courtney and Kotek, who said they spoke briefly with Brown on Friday, said Monday they don’t expect a major shift in policy once she’s running the executive branch. Kotek said that she doesn’t think any of the major policies that Democrats backed so far will “go off-course.” Those include a low-carbon fuel standard for cars and trucks, a transportation funding package, some gun control measures, and a slew of policies aimed at helping low-income workers.
“There are a lot of important issues that have been teed up for this session by the governor, by legislators, and if we have a successful session, we don’t need any new items,” she said. “If the incoming governor has particular priorities, I welcome those. But I also think she cares a lot about the work that’s already underway.”
Brown named Brian Shipley, Oregon Health and Science University’s top lobbyist, as her new chief of staff — as reported by the Willamette Week:
Shipley is a longtime Salem insider, having worked as deputy chief of staff for former Gov. Ted Kulongoski and briefly for the Kitzhaber administration. Prior to going to work for Kulongoski, Shipley served as chief of staff to Oregon Senate majority office and also worked for Senate President Peter Courtney (D-Salem).
A graduate of Willamette University and Georgetown Law, Shipley also worked for Forest Capital Partners, a large Portland-based investment group, in 2011 and 2012. He returned to politics after that group sold its nearly two million acres of timber holdings in 2012.
Many are wondering if Kitzhaber will use his remaining political capital to commute the 34 inmates on death row before he leaves office Wednesday morning, when Brown will be sworn in on the House floor.
From a OregonLive.com report:
John Kitzhaber is clearly angry. His political career appears over. And with seemingly little for him to lose personally, he might feel more likely to act on his longtime frustration with the death penalty by emptying out death row as one of his final acts in office.
That is all, of course, speculation. Kitzhaber has said publicly only that he’s “proud that Oregon has not invoked the death penalty during my last four years on the watch.” Since he announced his resignation under fire last week, he has maintained a wall of silence.
