Unless you are a resident of Oregon, chances are you have never heard of Cylvia (pronounced Sylvia!) Hayes. Hayes was first lady for the state and is the fiancée of former Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber. A rising star in Oregon government, and a supposed 
advocate for those mired in the cycle of poverty, she was once listed in the Oregon group of movers and shakers of “40 under 40.” I am sure she once attracted a large following of admirers. As for now, she is drawing at lot less.
The Oregon Ethics Law Violations Commission has recently fined her $110,000 for committing 22 violations of the state ethics code in regard to improper contracts. The chairperson of the commission also alleges that former Gov. John Kitzhaber also benefited from Hayes’ unethical actions and they are now aggressively pursuing his role.
Tangled Web – Cylvia Hayes
As the Oregon Ethics Law Violations Commission began to investigate the business dealings of Cylvia Hayes, they uncovered a tangled web of transactions that were intended to confuse and cover-up unethical behavior. This is not atypical. Those who commit fraud often do so because they believe they see an opportunity that only they can see. Ask them, they will tell you they’re the best and brightest in the room!
When the business dealings of Hayes were examined under the light of truth, it was obvious that Hayes used her power and access to government to gain financial reward. She violated laws that prohibit public officials from accepting gifts, engaging in conflicts of interest and using a position of power from having inside access to deals closed to others in the bidding process.
Said commission head Nathan Sosa on the day of her hearing:
“Ms. Hayes ignored the ethics laws of this state for years. She chose not to be here today to be held accountable. She needs to be held accountable now.”
The case against Hayes took a long time to unfold, which is also not surprising. Clever crooks put a lot of work into weaving their webs. The investigation into influence-peddling (a fancy term for using a position of power to buy your way into ‘soliciting brides’) back in 2014.
Among the many violations that were uncovered, that Cylvia Hayes skimmed in excess of $200,000 from fellowship grants and that she was awarded three “consulting” contracts. The
contracts she was “awarded” by vendors just happened to be touching on areas she was working on at the time with the governor.
Said another member of the Ethics Commission:
“What we saw is a complete blending of private, paid work with a government official’s public work. I was very, very disappointed to see in the report the complete lack of a bright line between private business and the and the business of the public.”
What did they expect?
Hayes operated in a world where there was no true oversight. As first lady, she made policy, was an advisor, supervised public employees and was in attendance high level staff meetings. As she was not only a member of the governor’s administration but lived in the same household, she was as subject to the state’s ethics laws as he was.
However, there was no oversight and no firewall, and no one thought to examine the business/political relationship between Hayes and the contracts that were being awarded. The ethics board concluded:
“The responsibility for this abuse of position and abuse of office is shared by the governor. She wasn’t elected. He was. [my italics] He was paid a large amount to be governor and he was the vehicle by which she was able to profit.”
The former governor, of course, is denying a great deal but that is obviously rationalization. Unless they had no communication and no relationship, it is obvious that she used his position to gain and consolidate her power. They did so in plain sight without ever being seen.
I am not naïve to the fact that within the governor’s circle there were certain individuals who probably raised concerns, but what could they do? As there were no ethical checks and balances, it was her word against theirs. As she had the relationship with the governor, who was going to stand up against her?
I am often asked why it is important for our elected officials to have ethics training. This is a prime example. When a politician claims to be ethical, we have no real assurance that he or she is. Ethics training may not be perfect, but at least it makes the unethical think twice.
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