Ethics panel agrees: Cylvia Hayes violated state law

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – An ethics watchdog panel has given approval to a preliminary report that found Oregon former first lady Cylvia Hayes of Bend violated state ethics laws.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reported the Oregon Government Ethics Commission approved an investigator’s report during a Friday meeting.

The report found Hayes earned more than $200,000 during Gov. John Kitzhaber’s term from private groups that paid her to push green energy and economic development.

Hayes was also pursuing those agendas as first lady and as an unpaid but official adviser to the governor.

The commission found that Hayes was only able to obtain the private advocacy jobs because of her unique status and access to Kitzhaber.

Hayes and her attorney did not attend the meeting.

The Portland Tribune reported the ethics panel unanimously voted for the investigators’ report that found Hayes violated ethics law 22 times. She may still reach a settlement with the agency before final findings and penalties are imposed.

Hayes faces fines of up to $110,000, but an ethics investigator said the commission could require she pay double the amount she received for work acquired due to her position in the governor’s office, equaling hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The commission is expected to take up Kitzhaber’s case next month, having earlier rejected a proposed $1,000 settlement.

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Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com