Oregon - Kitzhaber is back. On Facebook Anyway

John Kitzhaber Statement

It's been a year now since I’ve left office and I've intentionally kept a low profile to give the federal investigation time to resolve itself. But I can’t sit any longer and allow my career and my reputation to be defined by a media narrative that, from the start has been long on speculation and short on facts. You know, politics can be a rough neighborhood and I know all about being scrutinized. For over 26 years I’ve served in public office in this state, Oregonians electing me eight times, four times as governor. I’ve been scrutinized more than any public figure in Oregon’s history. And not until the last month of my last campaign was there any hint of scandal or misconduct of any sort. And when the truth is known and the current investigation complete—the public will know that I was not involved in any wrongdoing.This experience has personally been very painful for me. I committed my life work to public service and I’ve struggled with the feeling that I let down the people who elected me. That was never my intention. This last year has given me the opportunity to reflect on everything that happened in February of 2015, including letting myself get isolated. But it’s also given me the opportunity to reflect on what public service has meant to me. When I was 21, in 1968, Robert Kennedy inspired the idea of public service and the belief that if we will work together as a community there’s no challenge that we can’t meet. And for me, the biggest lesson of this last year is to not allow adversity to dampen my commitment to those ideas that so captured me back then. I’ve had some second thoughts about my decision to step down, but I’ve never had a second thought about the decision I made in 1978 to commit my career to public service in Oregon. I’m going to find new ways to lead . . . and new ways to continue to contribute to those causes that have motivated me over the years. I remain proud of all we did to bring Oregonians together and although I know we didn’t always agree on the policy, we always sought solutions that moved us beyond partisanship and polarization. I’ll continue to be an advocate for equity and opportunity and I’ll continue to try to help build community through collaborative solutions. You know I turned sixty-nine this month and I am happy to say I still have fuel in the tank and some runway ahead. I’m healing, I’m hopeful, and there’s still a few more chapters left to be written ... I know that we’ll write them together.

Posted by John A. Kitzhaber on Friday, 18 March 2016