The governor of Oregon appears to be on the brink of resigning, after four months of revelations about his fiancee’s roles as a state contractor and first lady.
Among other allegations, Governor John Kitzhaber is accused of steering contracts to his fiancee’s environmental consulting firm. His fiancee, Cylvia Hayes, is accused of using public office to further private interests.
A controversial figure, Hayes has also come under scrutiny for having married an 18-year-old Ethiopian man in 1997, for $5,000 and to help him secure residency in the US, and for participating in the same year in a plan to buy land in a remote part of Washington state, for the purpose of growing marijuana.