Oregon Gov. Kate Brown released more than 17,000 pages of emails Tuesday from two email accounts former Gov. John Kitzhaber used for state business.
The emails span 2012 to 2013 and cover a broad range of subjects.
They capture months of tense negotiations between Kitzhaber and top Obama administration officials. The former governor was aggressively lobbying federal officials for additional funding to expand Medicaid coverage in Oregon under the Affordable Care Act.
The emails also offer a window into former first lady Cylvia Hayes’ role in the governor’s office.
Kitzhaber resigned from the governor's office in February amid allegations he and Hayes used their positions in government for personal gain.
In one note to Kitzhaber and staffers, Hayes pushed for clean energy to be a higher priority during the 2013 legislative session. At the time, Hayes was also working as private consultant on clean energy. However, the first several thousand pages reviewed by OPB revealed no direct instances of influence-peddling.
There are a few more personal notes as well in Tuesday's batch of emails, including plans to install a beehive in the garden at the Oregon governor’s mansion, Mahonia Hall.
Brown’s office is still reviewing more than 12,000 Kitzhaber emails.
Former Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber and First Lady Cylvia Hayes on-stage at the Tower Theatre in Bend.
OPB
/An email between former Gov. John Kitzhaber and Cylvia Hayes.
Copyright 2015 Oregon Public Broadcasting
