Former Republican lawmaker Rich Vial has resigned as deputy Oregon secretary of state, saying in his letter of resignation that he will “continue to search for those places that my service might be most effective.”

Vial, 65, who represented a district that straddles Washington, Clackamas and Yamhill counties for one term before losing to Democrat Courtney Neron in 2018, was tapped by newly appointed Secretary of State Bev Clarno in April 2019 to serve as her deputy. She said at the time that “his legislative experience, extensive knowledge of state and local government, and bipartisan reputation for intelligence and integrity will allow him to immediately hit the ground running.”

His resignation, submitted Monday and made public Thursday, is effective Friday.

There has been speculation that Vial will seek the Republican nomination to run for secretary of state this year. He told The Oregonian/OregonLive on Thursday that he has not decided to do so, nor has he ruled it out. He said he is also considering running for a different public office and also considering not running at all.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reported in November that, at the same time the public was paying his $172,000 salary, Vial was moonlighting as an attorney in private practice, representing clients with cases pending before a state agency he had the power to have audited. On at least two days, Vial represented private clients in legal matters – once in Hillsboro in May and again on the Oregon coast in June.

The Oregonian/OregonLive also reviewed his work calendars for his first six months on the job and reported that he frequently had an empty calendar on two days of the work week. The newsroom also obtained records showing Vial’s email activity and logs for his desk phone and work cell phone. Those showed numerous work days during which Vial recorded little or no email or phone activity on days his calendar was blank.

Last week, the Oregon Ethics Commission cleared Vial for representing legal clients during his paid work week. In November, a retired education professor filed an official complaint about that conduct based on The Oregonian/OregonLive’s reporting and Vial’s state time sheet for one week in which he did private legal work but logged five full work days.

Tasha Peterson, human resources director for the Secretary of State’s Office, wrote that highly paid employees such as Vial who are not eligible for overtime are not supposed to log the actual hours they work. Rather, the human resources system automatically generates a time sheet showing that overtime-exempt employees work from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. Such employees are only to notate days on which they log a full day of vacation, sick leave or other paid time off, Peterson wrote.

Based on that information and Vial’s attestation that he works more than 40 hours every week, including the weeks he represented private legal clients, the ethics commission voted Jan. 3 to dismiss the complaint. It did not seek any independent confirmation of the hours he actually worked.

Andrea Chiapella, legislative director for the Secretary of State’s Office, said Thursday that Clarno did not ask Vial to resign. Vial told Clarno “he wanted to look at opportunities,” without specifying more, Chiapella said.

Gov. Kate Brown appointed Clarno to the role after Dennis Richardson, elected to the office in 2016 as the first Republican statewide state office holder since 2002, died of cancer in February 2019. Brown selected Clarno after the 83-year-old Republican former lawmaker from Central Oregon agreed she would not seek election after serving in the appointed role.

Four Democrats have filed to run for the office this year, but so far, no Republican has. Candidates have until March to do so.

In his resignation letter, Vial said he was grateful for the opportunity to work on Clarno and her team and will miss doing so. He compared the role, with its steep learning curve, to being in graduate school.

Clarno said in a statement Thursday, “Deputy Vial has so much to offer government. His thoughtfulness, leadership, and collaborative spirit make him an exemplary public servant, and I have greatly appreciated his advice and assistance."

Chris May contributed to this report.

-- Betsy Hammond; betsyhammond@oregonian.com; @OregonianPol