Schedule suggests Gov. Kitzhaber was checked out for final 2 weeks

SALEM, Ore. — The final two weeks former Gov. John Kitzhaber was in office were shrouded in questions. Even his staff appeared not to know where he was much of the time, and he made no public appearance.

Records obtained by the Statesman Journal show that between Feb. 5 and 18, Kitzhaber was engaged in less and less state business. He used much of his time for personal business or appointments with no obvious ties to his office.

Even before other Democrats called for Kitzhaber’s resignation, his focus appeared to be drifting elsewhere.

The following are the events scheduled for Kitzhaber during his final two weeks. His schedule was not detailed, and informational context has been added where possible.

Thursday, Feb. 5

One day after The Oregonian editorial board called for his resignation.

11:30 a.m.: Met with House Republican Leader Mike McLane to discuss the 2015 legislative session.

1:15 p.m.: Met with Sen. Michael Dembrow, D-Portland. They discussed a variety of education, workforce development and environmental issues, Dembrow said in an email.

1:30 p.m.: Meet and greet with Grant High School students from Portland.

4 p.m.: Departed Salem for Portland.

Friday, Feb. 6

The last day Kitzhaber’s office seemed to be operating as usual. For example, it is the last time his staff sent a tweet from his official Twitter account, announcing the appointment of a new district attorney.

9:15 a.m.: Haircut.

10:15 a.m. to 12:15 a.m.: W/O.

(Kitzhaber’s schedule uses this abbreviation multiple times. Gov. Kate Brown’s staff did not know what it stood for.)

11:45 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Two back-to-back “private appointments.”

2 to 6 p.m.: “Keep this afternoon open.”

Sunday, Feb. 8

10 a.m.: Conference call with the Economic Policy Institute.

10:30 a.m.: Depart for Roseburg.

1 p.m.: Attended a reception for Bob Nicholls at the Blac-N-Blue Bistro in Roseburg. Nicholls was a Winston-Dillard firefighter who pushed for paramedic training in 1974, which was groundbreaking at the time. Kitzhaber was an emergency room doctor in Roseburg at the time and helped Nicholls get that training secured. Many of the paramedics ended up helping on his first campaign for the Oregon Legislature, and Nicholls met his wife that way.

Forty years later, Kitzhaber attended Nicholls’ memorial after he died of brain cancer just days before he announced his resignation.

Monday, Feb. 9

The day Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum announced her investigation of Kitzhaber and his fiancee, Cylvia Hayes.

7:30 a.m.: Traveled to Portland from Mahonia Hall, where he spent the night after returning from Roseburg.

8:45 to 10:30 a.m.: W/O.

11 a.m.: Meeting with Tom Chamberlain, president of Oregon AFL-CIO, and Elana Pirtle-Guiney, Kitzhaber’s labor liaison.

11:30 a.m.: Meeting with Sean O’Holleran and Karmen. (O’Holleran’s identity is unclear, but Karmen is likely Karmen Fore, Kitzhaber’s transportation adviser.)

2:30 p.m.: Coffee with Caitlin Baggott, former Bus Project executive director.

Tuesday, Feb. 10

8:45 a.m.: Leave for Salem.

9 a.m.: TC with Dan Carol (NGA). This appears to be either a phone call or a shared town car with Dan Carol, who was director of the Office of Strategic Initiatives for Kitzhaber and is continuing to work for Brown. Carol has been the subject of media scrutiny for having apparently arranged a lucrative fellowship for Hayes before being hired to Kitzhaber’s staff.

10 a.m.: Met with Speaker of the House Tina Kotek to discuss Kitzhaber’s possible resignation.

10:30 a.m.: Met with Senate President Peter Courtney to discuss resignation.

11 a.m.: Senior staff meeting.

1:30 p.m.: Meet with Mike Bates. It is unclear who this is. An Internet search finds a reference to “Michael Bates,” a member of Kitzhaber’s security team, in one of Kitzhaber’s speeches. However, the page cannot be accessed because the former governor’s website has been largely wiped clean.

2 p.m.: Go to Portland.

2:15 p.m.: TC with Dan Dixon. Another shared town car or scheduled conversation during travel, but it is unclear who Dan Dixon is.

Wednesday, Feb. 11

The day Secretary of State Brown returned early from Washington, D.C., at Kitzhaber’s request.

11 a.m.: Met with general counsel Liani Reeves, Deputy Attorney General Fred Boss, Chief of Staff Mike Bonetto and legislative liaison Dmitri Palmateer to discuss litigation not related to the resignation. Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum was scheduled to attend but chose not to.

1 p.m.: Western Governor’s Association conference call. Richard Whitman, natural resources policy adviser, and Tom Tuchman, forest policy adviser, took the call.

1:30 p.m.: Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife interviews. Whitman staffed this meeting, as well.

3:45 p.m.: “Unspecified meeting.” Kitzhaber met with Brown when she returned from Washington, and that meeting occurred Wednesday afternoon.

Thursday, Feb. 12

8:30 a.m.: Leave for Salem.

9:45 a.m.: Meeting with Kotek and Courtney, in which they asked him to resign, a request they later made public.

11:30 a.m.: Met with Chief of Staff Bonetto.

2 p.m.: Left for Portland.

Friday, Feb. 13

The day Kitzhaber announced his plans to resign.

8:30 a.m.: Drove to Salem.

11 a.m.: Met with senior staff.

11:30 a.m.: Met with all staff.

1 p.m.: Met with Bonetto, Palmateer, Reeves, Department of Administrative Director Michael Jordan, and Steven Powers, also general counsel.

2 p.m.: Drove to Portland.

Saturday, Feb. 14

Nothing scheduled.

Sunday, Feb. 15

Nothing scheduled.

Monday, Feb. 16

10 a.m.: Travel to Portland.

1 p.m.: Meeting at the Oak Street office, seventh-floor conference room.

2 p.m.: Travel to Salem.

Tuesday, Feb. 17

10 a.m.: Personal meeting.

Wednesday, Feb. 18

4:30 p.m.: Kitzhaber was scheduled to attend a briefing on the revenue forecast but did not attend.

Kitzhaber has not made any public appearance since leaving office. Much of his staff now works for Brown. He and Hayes have spent at least some of their time since Feb. 18 in Bend, where she maintains a residence.