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Karl Marx wrote that the great events and characters in history always appear twice: first as tragedy, then as farce. We never took our commenters for great students of Marx, but they sure as heck can recognize a parallel. For several weeks, WW has broken stories showing that top staff to Gov. Tina Kotek departed her office after conflicts arose over the increasing role of first lady Aimee Kotek Wilson in policymaking. Most recently, on April 5, we reported that Kotek’s chief of staff landed a job at the Department of Administrative Services, a strong indication that she was fired and negotiated a parachute via lawyers. Many readers have noted an echo of the influence-peddling scandal that felled Gov. John Kitzhaber and his fiancée, Cylvia Hayes. Here’s what else they had to say:
surging chaos, via Reddit: “IMO the most damning part about this whole thing is that Kotek herself was one of the first people to call for Kitzhaber’s resignation when his pay-to-play scandal broke. She is repeating a lot of the same mistakes she used to call out on her own.”
Omnichord, via Reddit: “I’ve been a pretty vocal Kotek supporter and think she’s done well so far, which makes this all the more maddening. The staff that left were good people, and them leaving is a big step—like beyond just annoyed about the First Lady.
“How is it possible to take a leader seriously when they would exhibit such incredibly bad judgement on this. Why can’t we just have someone normal?”
Roy Hemmingway, via wweek.com: “Wow! I thought Kotek had better political instincts than to step into this tar pit. Has she learned nothing as a politician? Bringing family into your office rarely has good results. Maybe she thinks that in a Democratic state, she already is a cinch for a second term. I wouldn’t bet on it.”
Susan Moray, via Facebook: “Cue all the dissenters who thought it was no problem for Ivanka and Jared to work in the White House.”
pnw working mom, via Twitter: “The headline should now be: Gov. Tina Kotek literally fired Andrea Cooper (and most likely her two other top staffers) over her unelected wife inserting herself into the governor’s office and advising on policy decisions.
“Can’t wait to see how this plays out.”
BK, via wweek.com: “I was not a huge fan of Kotek, but she was starting to win me over with some of her recent moves. This, however, is more of the arrogance on display in Oregon in governance. Democrats have had power for so long that they shrug or downplay anything questionable. You know that if a Republican did it, they’d nail them to the wall. One-party rule is not a good thing, regardless of the state, regardless of the party.”
Jack Smith, via Facebook: “Wait till you see how much cronyism goes on with 12 city council members hiring friends, sending business to friends, etc.”
Kim McGair, via Twitter: “The state cannot complain about funding when it does things like this. This [placement of Cooper] is not a new job, it is a severance agreement. A certain segment of D’s continue to feed at the trough and benefit themselves and their cronies while doing absolutely nothing.”
Adulations, via Reddit: “What a ridiculously stupid own goal by Tina Kotek.”
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