Gov. Tina Kotek answers questions from reporters during a press conference on Jan. 16, 2025. (Photo by Ron Cooper/Oregon Capital Chronicle)
Saying they needed more information, members of the Oregon Government Ethics Commission voted Friday to investigate Gov. Tina Kotek’s reported spending on parking, concert tickets and an employee recognition buffet.
Auditors with the Secretary of State’s Office flagged the spending, which they described as “minor” and “unintentional” apparent violations of state ethics law, earlier in January. The ethics commission discussed the findings Friday and concluded it didn’t have enough information to decide how to move forward.
Oregon state auditors flag ‘minor’ spending issues by Gov. Kotek’s office
But, commission chair David Fiskum said, they needed “not to do nothing.”
“We need to take some kind of action in response to the letter, without just letting it lie fallow,” Fiskum said.
He and four other commission members asked staff to investigate the state auditors’ findings and provide more information at a future meeting. The commission could then decide to send an advisory letter explaining state ethics laws, drop the issue or continue an investigation, potentially leading to fines.
State auditors started looking into spending by the governor’s office after receiving anonymous reports to the government accountability hotline, run by the Secretary of State’s Office, last March about misuse of state resources related to Kotek’s since-abandoned plans to create an office of the first spouse.
They determined that those reports were unfounded, but they flagged several issues with parking reimbursements, concert tickets and a dinner for employees from a Salem brewery. Auditors detailed those issues in a letter to Kotek that they shared with the ethics commission and advised Kotek to review state law and accounting procedures.
Spokespeople for Kotek did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday but did address the allegations in the auditors’ report earlier this month.
Among the flagged spending:
- The state was paying $65 monthly for a parking space for first lady Aimee Kotek Wilson. The governor’s office said it was consistent with past practice and advice from Oregon State Police’s Dignitary Protection Unit. Commission Executive Director Susan Myers said Friday that that space didn’t appear to be an issue, because the governor has a parking space at the Capitol and state administrative rules allow public officials to let other people use their parking spaces.
- The state paid $315 per month for Annie McColaugh, the governor’s federal lobbyist, to park in Washington, D.C. The governor’s office told the Capital Chronicle earlier in January that it was reviewing that space. State law prohibits public officials from receiving financial benefits, including parking reimbursements, that aren’t explicitly laid out in official policies.
- Kotek’s office hosted a dinner reception at the governor’s mansion, Mahonia Hall, for employees in August 2023, with a $9,330 spread from Salem’s Xicha Brewing Company, that included a build-your-own tostada bar. The event, which recognized employees of the governor’s office, Oregon State Police and the Department of Administrative Services, is apparently a longstanding tradition and had about 180 guests. But state policy allows only refreshments — things like cookies, chips, coffee and juice — to be served at employee recognition events. Kotek’s office said earlier this month the dinner was consistent with practices by past governor’s offices and that the office is reviewing its catering practices.
- Auditors also flagged about $615 in spending on concert tickets between four events: a Queen tribute concert in Portland, a performance by the Portland Gay Men’s Chorus, an orchestral performance at Salem’s Elsinore Theatre and a silent film concert at Salem’s Temple Beth Sholom. The governor’s office said Kotek and Kotek Wilson paid for the Queen concert and Elsinore performance themselves and the tickets the state bought were for their protective detail, as allowed under state law. It described the other two concerts as official events.
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