Gov. John Kitzhaber decided to resign Tuesday but then changed his mind, insisting Wednesday afternoon that he's staying, The Oregonian/OregonLive has learned.

Events developed as the Democratic governor, now in a historic fourth term and fighting multiple investigations, faced eroding support from other elected officials and even his own advisers.

The governor decided to pull back from resigning - set for Thursday or Friday -- after meeting with his attorney, Portland lawyer Jim McDermott, and his fiancee, Cylvia Hayes. Hayes' role in his administration has been the source of much of his troubles.

The account of the tumultuous 24 hours was developed from a half-dozen sources with knowledge of the events.

The governor met with Senate President Peter Courtney on Tuesday to talk about where he - and equally important, the legislative projects that are central to his legacy - stood.

He then met with House Speaker Tina Kotek for the same discussion. At issue: the damage to his work from the onslaught of news reports, day after day over the past two weeks, raising questions about his fiancee's propriety in her state work and on federal tax forms, and ultimately, his own ethical standards in addressing it.

The message wasn't good. He had lost credibility. The projects he planned to devote the next four years instituting were in danger of being drowned in the rising tide of controversy.

The news wasn't easy to deliver.

"I know he's hurting," Courtney told reporters. "It's been a painful time."

The mood in his office had been tense for days. Many understood that, without resigning, he risked permanent damage to his central policies and legacy.

To resign, Kitzhaber needed Secretary of State Kate Brown, who would succeed him if he steps down. But Brown, 54, was in Washington, D.C., for a conference of the National Association for Secretaries of State.

Kitzhaber called Brown on Tuesday afternoon, telling her she needed to return to Portland for a face-to-face meeting as soon as she could. She was on a plane by Wednesday morning.

The governor's staffers set to work Wednesday morning, planning for a resignation announcement that all understood was imminent.

But word soon got back to Oregon that Brown had been called back, leaving Washington two days earlier than she planned.

As news reporters began calling for comments from his office, Kitzhaber met with Hayes and McDermott.

Both pushed back against the planned resignation. It's unclear what arguments Hayes and McDermott used to pull Kitzhaber back from the brink.

The governor decided then against resigning.

McDermott left the meeting and not long after, publicly doused all reports of a pending resignation.

"I have every reason to believe he is not going to resign," McDermott told The Oregonian/OregonLive around noon. "I hope he will be making that statement himself later today. The governor has a squeaky clean ethical record."

McDermott later decried what he said had been "this rush to judgment. The governor is entitled to a thorough review and vetting of the facts."

At 2:36 p.m., the governor's office released its own statement.

"Let me be as clear as I was last week, that I have no intention of resigning as Governor of the state of Oregon," the email read. "I was elected to do a job for the people of this great state and I intend to continue to do so."

Later, he met privately with Kate Brown, who by then had arrived back in Portland. The details of the conversation couldn't immediately be established.

-- Laura Gunderson and Nick Budnick

503-221-8378

@LGunderson