Gov. Tina Kotek this month ordered that her wife, Aimee Kotek Wilson, be provided a consistent security detail by the Oregon State Police when attending events on behalf of the governor’s office, said Elisabeth Shepard, Kotek’s spokesperson.
Kotek Wilson has occasionally had security protection when representing the governor’s office at public events in the past, Shepard said. She did not say what the upgraded protection will look like or how much it will cost. “This change was made using existing resources from the governor’s office budget,” Shepard said in a statement Monday night.
Kotek Wilson will attend the National Governors Association First Spouses Retreat in Utah later this week. The Oregon State Police will provide security protection to Kotek Wilson on the trip, Shepard said.
The security detail is among the state resources that the governor’s office has allocated for the first lady.
On Sunday, the governor’s office also announced that Kotek had brought on Meliah Masiba, a Department of Administrative Services employee, on a sixth-month rotation to explore the creation of an Office of the First Spouse. Masiba will be paid a $144,000 annual salary, or $72,000 for the six-month rotation, the same rate she was paid in her previous role, Shepard said.
The total price for creating an Office of the First Spouse is unknown, Shepard said. She did not say if Kotek will ask the Legislature to fund the office. She said the governor’s office is in the early phases of determining the feasibility of creating the office, which she said exists in “many other states.”
Kotek has not requested an ethics opinion from the Oregon Government Ethics Commission regarding the first lady’s role in the governor’s office or the formation of an Office of the First Spouse, according to Susan Myers, the commission’s executive director.
“The establishment of the Office of the First Spouse is in preliminary stages,” Shepard said. “Ensuring compliance with state ethics laws is being embedded into the process.”
Kotek Wilson also has a scheduler, Yasmin Solorio. Shepard said neither Solorio nor Masiba report directly to the first lady. She did not say how much Solorio is paid.
Kotek Wilson’s role in her wife’s office has come into focus over the last few days since the governor’s office announced Friday that three top Kotek staffers were departing.
The outgoing staffers are Chief of Staff Andrea Cooper, Deputy Chief of Staff Lindsey O’Brien and Special Advisor Abby Tibbs. Deputy Chief of Staff for Public Administration Chris Warner is taking over as Kotek’s chief of staff, her office announced last week.
Two sources who said they had spoken directly with people in Kotek’s office told The Oregonian/OregonLive that ongoing tensions between Cooper and Kotek Wilson led to Cooper’s departure. One of those people said the tension also led to O’Brien and Tibbs leaving.
Kotek Wilson, who has worked as a social worker and holds a master’s degree in the field, has taken a hands-on role in her wife’s administration. Shepard said the governor holds weekly meetings with staff to discuss behavioral health initiatives and that Kotek Wilson has attended several of those meetings in the last year, “in light of her professional experience as a social worker.”
She also regularly attends weekly meetings that pertain to Kotek’s schedule and travel, Shepard said.
Kotek Wilson also has an 8 foot by 8 foot office inside the governor’s office, a similar size to other office spaces within the building, according to Shepard.
However, Shepard said that Kotek Wilson is a volunteer and does not receive a paycheck from the state. Kotek Wilson has not earned an income in either of the last two years, according to Shepard and Kotek’s Statement of Economic Interest.
“The first lady has not received state income and there are no plans for the first lady to receive a state paycheck at any point,” Shepard said. “She will continue to be a volunteer and has no outside employment.”
Kotek and Kotek Wilson both declined interview requests through a spokesperson.
Most Oregon first spouses have been less involved than Kotek Wilson has thus far in her wife’s work as governor. Kotek Wilson, for instance, took part in the vast majority of meetings and tours with the governor on Kotek’s listening tour visits to all 36 Oregon counties. Shepard said she has gone to events on behalf of the governor’s office less than monthly on average since Kotek took office.
In John Kitzhaber’s third term, however, he allowed his fiancée Cylvia 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.
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