OREGON CAPITAL INSIDER - Carpet in the Oregon governor's ceremonial office in the state Capitol in Salem

Richard Whitman will retire at year’s end as director of the Department of Environmental Quality, having led the agency since October 2016. The Environmental Quality Commission chose him as permanent director over the objections of Gov. Kate Brown. A DEQ press release said the commission will conduct a national recruitment for the next director, including “opportunities for public participation and consultation with both Gov. Brown and the new governor-elect.”

Dru Draper has left the Oregon Senate Republican Caucus, where he was communications director, to become political director for the House Republicans’ campaign committee, Evergreen Oregon PAC. Tayleranne Gillespie, a former communications director for the Senate Republicans, will help fill in until a new person is hired.

Gov. Brown appointed criminal defense attorney Kirk Wintermute to the Clatsop County Circuit Court, filling the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Cindee S. Matyas. Brown appointed deputy district attorney Denise Espinoza Keppinger to the Columbia County Circuit Court, following the retirement of Judge Ted E. Grove. The appointments take effect immediately.

Applications close June 30 for executive director of the Oregon Veterinary Medical Examining Board. The position has been vacant since Lori Maakinen retired in December 2020. Since then, Cass McLeod-Skinner has served as interim executive director while continuing as executive director of the Oregon Board of Chiropractic Examiners.

Kyleen Zimber retired June 1 as behavioral health strategic director at the Oregon Health Authority. The agency is recruiting for a deputy director of behavioral health, whose job will encompass much of what Zimber did and also be broader in scope. The job posting seeks “a new Deputy Director to serve as the Behavioral Health Director’s key ‘trusted advisor.’”