Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan resigns over $10k-a-month second job ... trends now
Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan has resigned less than a week after it emerged she was moonlighting as a consultant for an embattled cannabis firm that donated around $250,000 to her campaign.
The mother-of-two said Tuesday she took the $10,000 a month job - on top of her $77,000 annual salary as Secretary of State - to 'make ends meet' for her family.
Her resignation came a day after she terminated her contract with Veriede Holdings, an affiliate of legal cannabis company La Mota, apologizing to voters for her 'poor judgment by contracting a company that is owned by my significant donors and is regulated by an agency that was under audit by my Audits Division'.
There is no suggestion the Secretary of State has broken any rules, but her work for La Mota had sparked concerns over her judgment.
Its owners, Rosa Cazares and Aaron Mitchell, and their businesses owe more than $7million in unpaid state and federal taxes and have been sued in Oregon courts 30 times, often over the alleged nonpayment of bills.
Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan was moonlighting as a consultant for an embattled cannabis firm that donated $250,000 to her campaign and other top Democrats
La Mota, along with a political action committee controlled by its owner Rosa Cazares (above), have contributed more than $200,000 to Democratic politicians since 2019
Fellow La Mota co-owner Aaron Mitchell has reportedly donated $45,000 to Fagan since 2020
Cazares and Mitchell have donated generously to top Oregon Democrats, including Fagan, Governor Tina Kotek and Congresswoman Val Hoyle.
La Mota and a political action committee controlled by Cazares have contributed more than $200,000 to Democratic politicians since 2019 and Mitchell has given $45,000 to Fagan since 2020, according to Willamette Week.
Auditors in the Secretary of State's office are set to release an audit of Oregon's cannabis regulatory system Friday. Fagan recused herself from any involvement in February.
In her resignation statement, Fagan referred to an ethics investigation into her contract with Veriede Holdings.
'While I am confident that the ethics investigation will show that I followed the state's legal and ethical
