Aimee Kotek Wilson, the wife of Gov. Tina Kotek, said Tuesday she lives with mental illness and is in recovery from alcohol use disorder.
“I share this information about myself now, and have in the past, in the hopes it will make a difference and reduce stigma,” said Kotek Wilson in a statement issued by Kotek’s spokesperson.
Kotek Wilson said many Oregonians struggle with mental health challenges and addiction, and increasingly people have spoken out about their experiences “in order to help others.” She didn’t specify what type of mental illness she lives with.
“Far too often, individuals have remained silent about their experience because of shame, pain, and fear,” she said. “And, that is why it is so important for me to do my part to reduce the stigma around addiction and mental health.”
Kotek Wilson’s statement did not disclose how long she has been in recovery.
“To all individuals who are living with a mental illness, struggling with addiction, or are in recovery, I want you to know that you matter and should have hope,” she added.
Kotek Wilson’s statement comes amid questions by news organizations including The Oregonian/OregonLive about her newly elevated role in Kotek’s administration and her personal history.
Kotek Wilson, who has worked as a social worker and has a master’s degree in the field, has taken a particular interest in the governor’s work around mental health and addiction, taking part in some of Kotek’s weekly policy meetings on behavioral health initiatives. During the governor’s listening tour of 36 counties, Kotek Wilson also took part in most meetings with mental health and substance abuse providers on how the state can improve its response to unmet needs.
The governor has brought on a state-funded adviser to explore the possibility of forming an Office of the First Spouse and announced this week that she had ordered the Oregon State Police to provide her wife with a security detail while attending events on her behalf. The state-funded adviser, Meliah Masiba, will be paid $72,000 during the six-month rotation, the same rate that she has earned at the Department of Administrative Services. The governor’s office did not say how much the upgraded security protection will cost, but said the money would come out of the governor’s existing budget.
Kotek Wilson’s role in the governor’s office has received scrutiny over the last few days since it came to light that three of Kotek’s top aides were departing.
Multiple sources who said they had spoken directly with people in Kotek’s office said ongoing tensions between Kotek Wilson and the staff members led to the departures. The governor’s chief of staff and deputy chief of staff were among those who departed.
The dramatic staff shakeup has stirred intense speculation among current and former Salem insiders.
Jeff Barker, a former Democratic lawmaker from Washington County, said he knows Kotek and her wife and had them to his home, but he disagrees with the governor’s decision to raise Kotek Wilson’s profile at the governor’s office.
“I was surprised to see her doing that, you know, trying to make her that special person and giving her an office and giving her state police detail,” he said. “It looks too much like nepotism.”
On Monday, the Oregon Government Ethics Commission said it had received a complaint related to Kotek. The commission, which investigates ethical violations, has opened a preliminary review of the complaint, according to Susan Myers, executive director of the commission. The complaint’s details will remain confidential for at least 60 days, Myers said, after which the commission will vote whether to open an investigation.
Several states, including California and Maryland, have created offices of first spouses, providing paid schedulers and other staffers to help governors’ partners or spouses elevate policy initiatives.
But not every state does so, and it would be new for Oregon and possibly fraught in light of former Gov. John Kitzhaber’s and his fiancée Cylvia Hayes’ ethics problems.
In Kitzhaber’s third term, he allowed Hayes to play a powerful role in influencing some policies and recommending some personnel choices. They both got into serious ethical trouble – not because of Hayes’ policy work per se but because she accepted paid contracts from parties with a specific interest in policies she tried to promote.
Hayes eventually agreed to pay $44,000 for ethics violations arising from her use of public office for personal profit. She acknowledged securing work as a paid consultant by playing off her role as unpaid adviser to Kitzhaber. He resigned over the scandal.
— Carlos Fuentes covers state politics and government. Reach him at 503-221-5386 or cfuentes@oregonian.com.
— Noelle Crombie is an enterprise reporter with a focus on criminal justice. Reach her at 503-276-7184; ncrombie@oregonian.
— Shane Dixon Kavanaugh covers Portland city government and politics, with a focus on accountability and watchdog reporting. Reach him at 503-294-7632. Email at skavanaugh@oregonian.com. Follow on Twitter @shanedkavanaugh
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