New information is coming to light Friday afternoon concerning Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek and how the role of the First Spouse may be affecting government staffers in Salem after thousands of pages of documents were released by Kotek's office.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- New information is coming to light Friday afternoon concerning Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek and how the role of the First Spouse may be affecting government staffers in Salem after thousands of pages of documents were released by Kotek's office.
KOIN 6 News was among the numerous media organizations to request and receive these emails from Kotek's staffers after three senior members of Kotek's leadership team left their positions for various reasons.
The staffing changes came shortly before reports surfaced that First Spouse Aimee Kotek Wilson sits in on staff meetings focused on behavioral health.
The Oregon Ethics Commission is also investigating multiple complaints about the duties Kotek Wilson assumed after the governor took office last year.
One example of staff concerns about the First Spouse's role and her use of government resources came in a series of memos on Jan. 24 and Jan. 25, 2024.
Yasmin Solorio, the state-paid executive assistant to the First Spouse, wrote the memo to Andrea Cooper, the former chief of staff to Gov. Kotek, "Hi Coop! There are a few events in February and March First Lady has asked for advisor staffing and/or DPU security. I was hoping to run these by you first for guidance before moving forward."
The next day, Cooper wrote this memo to Lindsay O'Brien, the governor's chief of staff for public engagement: "… just wanted to flag for awareness and future discussion. Since I was asked not to attend the scheduling meeting where these events were added to the FL [First Lady] calendar, I didn't have the opportunity to weigh in on the staffing or speaking portions that will now impact comms staff. Perhaps you and I can try to brainstorm next steps to help support the comms team with workload, etc."
O'Brien responded with: "Thanks for flagging. I didn't think there were remarks for either of those events so am hoping we can reset expectations and Yasmin would be the only staffer needed. But imagine more discussion is needed and happy to do that when it makes sense."
Cooper and O'Brien were two of the three top staffers who abruptly left the governor's office.
KOIN 6 News investigators are continuing to sift through these documents and will be releasing more as we process the information.
Stay with KOIN 6 News as this story develops.
