Kotek names retired Portland-area auditor as new secretary of state after scandal forced Fagan out

The mission of LaVonne Griffin-Valade, who retired nine years ago, is to restore confidence in the office until voters pick the next secretary in November 2024

Gov. Tina Kotek tapped LaVonne Griffin-Valade, a longtime government auditor in the Portland area, to become Oregon’s next secretary of state, an appointment that marks the end of a tumultuous chapter for the office following the resignation of Secretary of State Shemia Fagan in early May amid a moonlighting scandal.

Kotek’s appointment, announced Wednesday, will be effective on Friday when Griffin-Valade is sworn into office. She will serve the remainder of the term, leaving voters to pick the next secretary of state in the November 2024 election. The office, with 231 staff members, oversees elections, audits of state agencies and business filings for Oregonians.

Deputy Secretary Cheryl Myers has run the agency since Fagan resigned. The secretary of state is the next in line to lead the state if the governor dies or resigns. Griffin-Valade, who’s 69, retired in 2014 to become a full-time writer after working as an auditor for more than 16 years. She was hired as a senior management auditor at the Multnomah County Auditor’s Office in 1998 and later became the elected Multnomah County auditor. In 2009, Griffin-Valade was elected Portland city auditor, serving one term before her retirement.

Kotek said in a statement and subsequent news conference that Griffin-Valade has the professional background and ethics to steer clear of  politics and regain the trust of Oregonians in the office.

Kotek called her “a leader with a steady hand,” adding that she was “precisely what this role demands at this moment after the scandal in that office.” She said she expects Griffin-Valade to scrutinize what the office is doing, how it conducts business and make any needed changes.

“She will look at everything they’re doing,” Kotek said. “I will leave it to her discretion if she needs to make any (changes).”

In the release, Griffin-Valade said she has the experience to bring back accountability and transparency to the office.

“It’s never been more important to have a leader who will focus on rebuilding the public’s trust in the Secretary of State’s Office, and that is exactly what I will aim to do every day,” she said in a statement.

As Portland auditor, Griffin-Valade oversaw divisions requiring a high level of independence and ethical judgment from managers and staff, the release said. She also worked on government auditing nationwide and in Canada as a member of an international committee.

The work she began in Multnomah County still continues. Among her endeavors, she started a hotline to report fraud, waste and abuse in the county, Multnomah County Auditor Jennifer McGuirk said in an interview with the Capital Chronicle. That hotline is still in operation.

“I’m just excited that someone who has experience leading an audit division and an elections division already is going to be in this position, and I think it will really support and improve morale among the staff there,” McGuirk said. “She just really is someone who has tons of integrity and knows how to run a really complicated office. This is a really smart appointment to help rebuild people’s trust in the Secretary of State’s Office.”

McGuirk didn’t work with Griffin-Valade but she played a role in ballot measures that affect Multnomah County government. McGuirk requested – and received – Griffin-Valade’s input and endorsement for a voter ballot measure that strengthened the office’s role and created a county ombudsperson in the auditor’s office to investigate complaints about county actions.

“Trying to maintain the independence of an audit function is a pretty typical hurdle that auditors are up against in government,” McGuirk said.

After Griffin-Valade left government, she earned a master’s in fine arts in writing. Besides essays, she’s published a four-part series of gritty crime novels set in eastern Oregon featuring Sgt. Maggie Blackthorne of Oregon State Police as the protagonist. Griffin-Valade lives in northeast Portland, has been married 41 years and has four children and as many grandchildren.

The Oregon Public Employees Retirement System pays her a pension of $31,098 a year, according to data compiled by The Oregonian/OregonLive. As secretary of state, she’ll earn $77,000, a sum that is set in statute.

Griffin-Valade’s appointment follows the sudden downfall of a rising political star. Fagan resigned May 2, just one day after she apologized for “poor judgment” in accepting a $10,000-a-month consulting job for a cannabis chain seeking to expand. The Secretary of State’s Office was conducting an industry-related audit at the time. Fagan said she needed the side job to make ends meet. A former state legislator, she won the role in the 2020 election.

On Feb. 20, Fagan began working with Veriede Holding LLC, an affiliate of La Mota, which grows, manufactures and sells cannabis products, while her office was auditing the state’s regulation of the cannabis industry. Fagan was researching other states’ cannabis regulations.

In early February, shortly before she started working for Veriede, Fagan recused herself from the audit, which was largely finished by that time. But Fagan had communicated with La Mota’s owners about the scope of the audit, raising questions about a potential conflict of interest.

In May, Sens. Brian Boquist, I-Dallas, and Art Robinson, R-Cave Junction, sent a letter to the U.S. Attorney’s office requesting an investigation after reading a Willamette Week article about the owners of La Mota who gave thousands in dollars in campaign funds to prominent politicians, including Kotek and Senate President Rob Wagner, and Fagan, all Democrats.

Since Fagan’s resignation, several investigations have started.

Federal prosecutors have subpoenaed the Secretary of State’s Office, the Department of Administrative Services, the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission, the Oregon Government Ethics Commission and the Department of Revenue for records related to Fagan and La Mota’s owners Aaron Mitchell and Rosa Cazares.

Separately, the state Justice Department is investigating the audit, and the state ethics commission is investigating Fagan after receiving complaints.

Oregon has had five secretaries of state in the past decade and none has had a second term. Kate Brown became governor, Dennis Richardson died in office and Fagan resigned. Two appointees, Jeanne Atkins and Bev Clarno, did not run for full terms. (SOURCE)

New Website for Oregon Department of Human Services Increases Access and Usability

Need to know

• Oregon Department of Human Services launched a new website to better support people in Oregon. The new website address is https://oregon.gov/odhs.
• Most old links will automatically redirect to new pages

(Salem) – This morning, visitors to the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) website will see a fresh look. The redesigned website is more accessible, mobile-friendly, has more Spanish-language content and new language access features.

The vision of ODHS is that everyone in our communities can access the services they need. Our website, with over 10 million hits per year, is a key way ODHS delivers information about those services.

People using the site can now easily navigate to the services they need. Increased readability and less text will also help people find what they need more quickly. A new office finder will help people find which local office is closest to them and will provide directions via Google maps. Going forward, we will continue to make improvements to the website based on user feedback.

“This website advances our ability to connect with people in Oregon, including the nearly 1.5 million we serve each year,” said ODHS Director Fariborz Pakseresht. “We want to make it as easy as possible for people to get what they need. ODHS is dedicated to making accessibility a priority and we’ll continue to refine our site based on user needs and feedback.”

Even though our website address is changing, most links to our old website will automatically direct people to the correct location in the new site. People can visit this page for tips on using our new website, to share feedback or to report any issues or broken links.

The process of this website redesign has taken nearly two years of planning. ODHS is grateful for the many members of the public, partners and staff who have offered invaluable feedback and input.

Note: This update does not affect the ONE Eligibility system applicant portal people use to apply for and manage medical, food, cash and child care benefits.

Woman-Suffrage-History Marker to be Unveiled at Oregon State Capitol State Park

Portland, OR — June 29, 2023 —The history of woman suffrage in Oregon takes its rightful place of honor at the Oregon State Capitol State Park in Salem! Join OHS, the Oregon Women’s History Consortium (OWHC), and the Oregon State Capitol Foundation on Thursday, July 6, 2023, from 11am to 12pm for a public event to mark the unveiling of a new, woman-suffrage-history marker on the east end of the Capitol grounds. Featured guests will include Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum and Gwen Carr of the Oregon Black Pioneers.

The marker was created as part of the 2020 woman suffrage centennial and the work of OWHC with the National Votes for Women Trail. Sponsored by the National Collaborative for Women’s History Sites, the National Votes for Women Trail seeks to recognize and celebrate the enormous diversity of people and groups active in the struggle for woman suffrage. The Trail consists of two parts: a database with a digital map and a program of historical markers for about 250 woman suffrage sites across the country.

Funded by the William G. Pomeroy Foundation and the federal Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission, markers have been created and donated to each state and territory in the United States. Each marker is unique, and the content on the Capitol marker notes the state’s suffrage history and Oregon’s ratification of the 19th Amendment. The unveiling date recognizes a historical moment in Oregon: on July 6, 1905, Susan B. Anthony unveiled a statue of Sacagawea (Agaideka (Lemi) Shoshone) at the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition in Portland.

In 2020, the Oregon Historical Society commemorated the centennial of woman suffrage through an original exhibition, Nevertheless, They Persisted: Women’s Voting Rights and the 19th Amendment. This exhibition shared the many ways Oregon history connects to the national history of woman suffrage and to the complex history of democracy in the United States. Portions of this exhibition are available to view online, and related curriculum is also available for educators.

About the Oregon Historical Society

For more than a century, the Oregon Historical Society has served as the state’s collective memory, preserving a vast collection of objects, photographs, maps, manuscript materials, books, films, and oral histories. Our research library, museum, digital platforms, educational programming, and historical journal make Oregon’s history open and accessible to all.We exist because history is powerful, and because a history as deep and rich as Oregon’s cannot be contained within a single story or point of view.

Oregon’s New Minimum Wage Rates Start July 1st

Starting July 1, the minimum wage in Oregon will go up 70 cents an hour.

The minimum wage won’t be the same dollar amount across the state, however, as Oregon’s minimum wage system is different than other states.

Oregon has three levels of minimum wage: the standard rate, a lower rate for rural areas and a higher rate for the more expensive Portland metro area.

Currently, the minimum rates across the state break down like this:

• $12.50 an hour in rural Oregon
• $13.50 an hour, considered the “standard rate” for more populated areas
• $14.75 an hour for the Portland metro area

Starting in July, everyone goes up 70 cents an hour, bringing the new minimum wage rates to:

• $13.20 an hour in rural Oregon
• $14.20 an hour, considered the “standard rate” for more populated areas
• $15.45 an hour for the Portland metro area

State data shows only one-in-20 Oregonians make minimum wage. A recent study by National Low Income Housing Coalition shows Oregon renters must make $29.72 an hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment. The figure is about seven dollars less than the average hourly rate of Oregon renters.

KGW went to the Sellwood-Moreland Neighborhood to see how a raise would play, and found two baristas at Blue Kangaroo Coffee Roasters who make minimum wage plus tips.

“It is hard. I would say you need a couple roommates for sure or support from family or friends,” said barista Caden McFarland. “I definitely think working minimum wage, you cannot go out and get a place for yourself at all.”

“Seventy cents could make a difference in a day, yeah so over time it’ll be nice, definitely,” said barista Isabella Blair.

Sitting in front of the coffee roastery was one couple who appreciates the need for a raise, based on inflation.

“But do businesses have a problem then because can they afford employees when they start raising the minimum wage? So it’s tough on both sides,” said Sandra.

The challenges businesses are still facing with costs and trying to hire is real, that’s why fast food places and others advertise wages dollars above the minimum wage.

Eugene Man Faces Federal Charges for Unlawfully Possessing Machine Guns and a Silencer

EUGENE, Ore.—An indictment was unsealed in federal court Wednesday charging a local man with illegally possessing two firearms converted into fully-automatic machine guns and a silencer.

Joshua Allen Lampe, 35, a Eugene resident, has been charged with unlawfully possessing two machine guns and a silencer. The National Firearms Act makes it illegal to possess and transfer certain firearms, including machine guns and silencers, without proper registration.

According to court documents, in an August 2022 search of Lampe’s Eugene residence, investigators located and seized dozens of firearms, knives, ammunition, firearm accessories and parts, scopes, laser sights, packaging materials, tactical gear, and other types of armaments.

In December 2022, investigators sought and obtained a warrant to search Lampe’s home for a second time in just four months. They discovered Lampe had quickly amassed hand tools, a rifle, firearm parts, machine gun switches, a 3D printer used to make switches, several ghost guns, a silencer, and packaging materials as well as methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl pills.

Analysis and testing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) later confirmed two pistols seized from Lampe’s residence were operative machine guns having been converted with switches. An analysis also confirmed the silencer seized was an operative device.

Machine gun switches, sometimes referred to as “Glock switches,” are small attachments used to convert firearms from semi-automatic to fully-automatic.

Lampe made his initial appearance in federal court today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mustafa T. Kasubhai. He was arraigned, pleaded not guilty, and released on conditions pending a jury trial scheduled to begin on September 5, 2023.

Illegally possessing a machine gun and a silencer are punishable by up to ten years in federal prison per count of conviction.

This case was investigated by ATF and the Eugene Police Department with assistance from the Lane County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by the William M. McLaren, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

An indictment is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Oregon State Fire Marshal asks Oregonians to Keep Firework use Legal and Safe

“Keep it legal, keep it safe” is the message from the Oregon State Fire Marshal (OSFM). The 2023 fireworks retail sales season begins June 23 and runs through July 6 in Oregon. The OSFM would like everyone to know which fireworks are legal to use, where fireworks can be used, and how to use them safely.

“We ask Oregonians to be responsible if they plan to use fireworks as part of their celebrations,” OSFM Assistant Chief Deputy Mark Johnston said. “Every year, we see fires and injuries because of improper use of fireworks or illegal fireworks. Our message is simple: keep it legal and keep it safe.”

To reduce the risk of starting a fire, some local governments in Oregon have firework sales or use restrictions in place. Check your local regulations and follow them where you live or where you may be traveling to celebrate the Fourth of July.

Consumer-legal fireworks can only be purchased from permitted fireworks retailers and stands. State regulations limit where those fireworks may be used. People who plan to visit public lands and parks are asked to leave all fireworks at home. The possession and use of fireworks are prohibited in national parks and forests, on Bureau of Land Management lands, on U.S. Fish and Wildlife properties, on state beaches, in state parks, and in state campgrounds. Fireworks are also prohibited on many private lands protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry.

For those who purchase legal fireworks, fire officials encourage everyone to practice the four Bs of safe fireworks use:

• Be prepared before lighting fireworks: keep water available by using a garden hose or bucket.
• Be safe when lighting fireworks: keep children and pets away from fireworks. Never use fireworks near or on dry grass or vegetation.
• Be responsible after lighting fireworks: never relight a dud. Please wait 15 to 20 minutes, then soak it in a bucket of water before disposal.
• Be aware: Use only legal fireworks in legal places.

Oregon law prohibits the possession, use, or sale of any firework that flies into the air, explodes, or travels more than 12 feet horizontally on the ground without a permit issued by the OSFM. Fireworks commonly called bottle rockets, Roman candles, and firecrackers are illegal in Oregon without a permit. Officials may seize illegal fireworks and charge offenders with a class B misdemeanor which could result in a fine of up to $2,500. Those who misuse fireworks or allow fireworks to cause damage are liable and may be required to pay fire suppression costs or other damages. Parents are also liable for fireworks damage caused by their children.

The OSFM has published resources on its website regarding the sale and legal use of consumer fireworks, retail sale permits, and state rules for firework use and enforcement activities. Safety messaging and activities for kids can also be found on the OSFM’s fireworks page.