John Kitzhaber in Oregon's governor race

Gov. John Kitzhaber gives his acceptance speech and interacts with supporters in Portland, Oregon after winning his election against Dennis Richardson for governor of Oregon.

(Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian)

The Oregon Government Ethics Commission voted unanimously Friday to deny Gov. John Kitzhaber's request to review his fiancee's private contracts and rule on whether she is considered a public official when she serves as first lady.

The vote came after the commission's executive director, Ron Bersin, told its members that state laws allowed them only to offer an opinion on events that are hypothetical or that haven't yet happened -- that's not the case with Cylvia Hayes' contracts.

The question remains why Kitzhaber -- through his staff attorney Liani Reeves -- would ask for a review that would be impossible for the commission to provide. Kitzhaber, who appoints three of the commission's seven members, made the request on Oct. 13, days after a story in Willamette Week asserted Hayes improperly benefited from her dual roles as first lady and as a paid consultant for her company, 3E Strategies.

Rachel Wray, a governor's office spokeswoman, couldn't immediately answer that question but said she expects more information on the topic later today.

Wray did issue a statement:

"The Governor has a strong interest in getting a clear read on whether the First Lady's previous contracts and activities were in line with our ethics requirements," she wrote in an email. "The Governor welcomes the Commission's examination and looks forward to its findings."

Charlie Pearce, who managed the campaign for Kitzhaber's former opponent Rep. Dennis Richardson, said he'd suspected Kitzhaber's request was a ploy.

"We've said from the beginning that Kitzhaber's request for an advisory opinion was nothing more than a political stunt designed to deceive the public prior to the election," he said. "It's the equivalent of being caught committing a crime and then asking the judge to retroactively rule that it wasn't illegal in the first place."

Bersin said it's not common for the commission to be asked to provide an advisory on something that's already happened. He also couldn't say whether it's common knowledge that the commission can't do that.

"On the other hand," he added, "our laws are published on our web site."

Bersin advised the commission on Friday that state rules forbid them from discussing information from potential investigations when it offers an advisory. He said that issue prevented the commission from answering Kitzhaber's question about whether the role of first lady is considered a public official within the eyes of the law.

Bersin is continuing to review two complaints -- one filed by the Oregon Republican Party and another by Rep. Vicki Berger, R-Salem. The commission has until Feb. 26 to decide whether to launch a formal investigation on those complaints.

The commission had received three complaints concerning Kitzhaber and Hayes. A third, filed by an individual, won't go forward as the commission decided it failed to raise issues within the commission's jurisdiction.

This post will be updated as more information becomes available.

-- Laura Gunderson