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Secretary of State Kate Brown.

(Michael Lloyd/The Oregonian)

Secretary of State Kate Brown issued a statement Thursday morning on Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber:

Late Tuesday afternoon, I received a call from the Governor while I was in Washington, DC at a Secretaries of State conference. He asked me to come back to Oregon as soon as possible to speak with him in person and alone.

I got on a plane yesterday morning and arrived at 3:40 in the afternoon. I was escorted directly into a meeting with the Governor. It was a brief meeting. He asked me why I came back early from Washington, DC, which I found strange. I asked him what he wanted to talk about. The Governor told me he was not resigning, after which, he began a discussion about transition.

This is clearly a bizarre and unprecedented situation.

I informed the Governor that I am ready, and my staff will be ready, should he resign. Right now I am focused on doing my job for the people of Oregon.

The governor's office couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

-- Laura Gunderson

lgunderson@oregonian.com

503-221-8378 @lgunderson