Governor’s Fiancée Tied to Marijuana Farm in Washington

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

GoLocalPDX News Team

The relationship between Governor John Kitzhaber and his fiancée’ Cylvia Hayes takes a new twist today.

The latest disclosure comes from a report from KOIN-TV, which unveils that Hayes was the co-owner of a house in Washington intended for a marijuana-grow operation. The ownership of the farm took place in the late 1990s.

Hayes issued the following statement:

Last Thursday I admitted that 17 years ago I was in the middle of a very difficult and unstable period of my life. I said then, and I’ll say again… I was associating with the wrong kind of people and making mistakes.

I am not proud of that brief period of time – I was involved in an abusive relationship with a dangerous man. We lived together for several months on the property in Okanogan that was intended to be the site of a marijuana grow operation that never materialized. I was never financially involved with it. I did not pay any part of the down payment or mortgage payments. I had no money.

The money I had received in July 1997 for entering a fraudulent marriage was used as I have previously stated — to purchase a laptop and pay school expenses.

In the spring of 1998 I began to make plans to get away. In July 1998 I moved to Central Oregon and began building a life and career that I am very proud of.

-Cylvia

Ethics Commission Investigation

This unveiling is just the latest in a series of episodes that have come out in the past week and are now being investigated by the Oregon Ethics Government Commission per a request from the Governor.

On Monday GoLocalPDX reported, Governor Kitzhaber sent a letter, through his General Counsel Liani Reeves, to the Oregon Government Ethics Commission, asking for its opinion on the role his long-time partner Cylvia Hayes has played in the government, according to ethics commission director Ron Bersin.

"Recent media coverage has raised questions on the separation of Cylvia Hales's private consulting work from her role as the First Lady of Oregon," Reeves states in the letter. "Given the concerns... we are requesting the Commission to provide a formal opinion on the First Lady's role, the private business activity conducted by Cylvia Hayes, and the Governor's Office activities with respect to keeping the roles separate and transparent."

Related Slideshow: Slideshow: 10 Western States And The Money They Could Make From Legal Pot

Oregon could earn $54,558,596 a year from excise taxes on legal Marijuana, according to a study by NerdWallet. The study also determined each state's marijuana market size, population percentage 25 and over who use, and the state's percentage of the U.S. pot market. See how these other Western states compared to Oregon.