[Tom Joad]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/article...gon-s-guv.html

In honor of Valentine’s Day, Oregon’s governor lets his scandal-prone fiancé ruin his political career.

On the surface, Cylvia Hayes looked like the perfect First Lady of Oregon: neat, brown hair; wide, toothy grin; conservative clothing and a warm demeanor. She came from made-for-campaign-literature beginnings and had a cause to which she devoted her life.

But Hayes also had secrets: a past life as the green-card wife of an Ethiopian teenager, plans to use a 60-acre farm in rural Washington to grow marijuana, and a suspicious amount of influence in the gubernatorial administration of her boyfriend, all of which raised questions about a conflict of interest with her own work as a policy consultant.

On Thursday, outrage over Hayes’ multiple scandals reached its conclusion. Her fiancé, Gov. John Kitzhaber, resigned, putting an end to his more than three-decades-long career in Oregon politics, 20 years of which were spent in the governor’s office.

“I am in love,” Kitzhaber said when asked about Hayes’ alleged wrongdoings at a press conference on Jan. 30. “I have no regrets over my personal relationship with Cylvia Hayes. She is a wonderful lady.”

A wonderful lady, but perhaps also a con artist.

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