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The Oregon Department of Forestry has terminated its second-highest-ranking manager, deputy state forester Mike Shaw.
Documents WW obtained under a public records request show that Shaw’s boss, state forester Cal Mukumoto, fired Shaw on Oct. 31, following an investigation into an affair Shaw engaged in with a female ODF subordinate.
That is a far different explanation than many observers expected. In recent weeks, WW and The Oregonian have reported on upheaval within ODF, some of it related to the agency’s diversity, equity and inclusion policies. That reporting led to speculation online and in right-leaning publications, such as the New York Post and the U.K.’s Daily Mail, that Shaw was being scapegoated for not toeing the line on DEI. (WW first reported that Shaw had been placed on administrative leave for unspecified reasons.)
Related: State Provides More Information About Suspension of Deputy Director at Department of Forestry
“A top Oregon state official has been put on administrative leave after a pink-haired, DEI-obsessed subordinate complained he was making hiring decisions based on qualifications instead of personal identity considerations, according to a report,” the Post reported Oct. 14.
But an investigation report released to WW on the afternoon of Nov. 4 shows an entirely different explanation for Shaw’s suspension.
“During his interview [with state investigators], Mike Shaw admitted to have a sexual relationship with [name redacted by state] from the spring of 2022 to the summer of 2024,” the report says. “Shaw admitted going to [the woman]’s home 3-4 times, and she came to his hotel or Salem residence too many times to count. Mike Shaw also admitted to physical touching between himself and [the woman] in ODF buildings/state property.”
The investigation found that Shaw, whose annual salary was $192,000, regularly communicated with the woman on Microsoft Teams on his state computer outside work hours; that in a one-month period, they exchanged 92 calls lasting 1012 minutes; and that “hundreds of memes were recovered from Mike Shaw’s work cell phone, 94 of them were sexually explicit.”
Shaw “admitted it was wrong to be in a sexual relationship with [the woman]” but told investigators he felt he could not end it because “she would ruin his career or his family by telling his wife.”
Investigators also noted that when a woman under his supervision was placed on leave during an “unrelated investigation,” Shaw ignored instructions from the ODF human resources manager to have a “corrective conversation” with the woman. “It appears Mike did nothing to address the investigation or truly inquire as to the findings,” the report says.
The report also notes that he failed to disclose his affair. “Shaw admitted to not filling out the agency’s conflict of interest form declaring his personal relationship with [the woman].”
Shaw could not be reached for comment.