Oregon Governor Kotek Appoints New Secretary of State and Education Chief Amidst Scandal and Resignations

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek has appointed LaVonne Griffin-Valade as the new secretary of state, filling the vacancy left by Shemia Fagan's resignation in May. Griffin-Valade, a former Portland city auditor, will serve the remaining 18 months of Fagan's term and will oversee the state's elections infrastructure, including the 2024 presidential race. The appointment aims to restore confidence in the Secretary of State's office after Fagan's scandal involving a private consulting job with a cannabis company while her office was formulating an audit on state cannabis regulations. Griffin-Valade's appointment comes as a surprise, as she left government service in 2014 to pursue a writing career, and it was expected that Kotek would choose someone who currently or recently held public office for the role.