Vic Atiyeh famously said of being Oregon’s governor, “You walk into this office as a peacock, and you walk out as a feather duster.”

To many Oregonians, the current feather duster was worn out long ago. Kate Brown, who on Monday turns the keys to the executive office over to Tina Kotek, ranks as the nation’s least popular governor.

But Brown, who became governor in February 2015 after John Kitzhaber resigned, leaves with her head held high and specific achievements that should not go unnoticed.

Oregonians can argue about Brown’s leadership. The issues include Oregon’s – and all the West Coast governors’ – failure to effectively address persistent homelessness and lack of housing.

Yet it’s way too early to put her governorship in accurate perspective.

Brown was elevated to the governorship on five days’ notice. No one could have predicted the crises she would encounter: Especially horrific wildfires in 2015 and during the 2020 Labor Day weekend. The mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg. The takeover at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, which had Brown on the phone every day with national officials telling them to bring the standoff to a close. Devastating ice, snow and windstorms. Disruptive protests in Portland. Record-breaking violence that continues in the state’s largest city. 

And, of course, COVID-19.

At the outset of the pandemic, Brown had a conversation with Washington Gov. Jay Inslee that resonated.

“He said to me, ‘It doesn’t matter what you do, people are going to be unhappy. So just do the right thing,’” Brown told me Thursday as we talked about her nearly eight years as governor.

She had to make hard choices, ones that were roundly criticized for being too fast and too slow, too far-reaching and too timid.

With one exception, she declined to second-guess those decisions during our conversation. She said they were science-based, data-driven and effective in reducing the spread of the coronavirus.

More than 9,000 Oregonians have died from COVID-19-related causes. As of last week, Oregon had the eighth-lowest death toll among the states. The Commonwealth Fund, an independent health care foundation, last year credited Oregon with the fifth-best state response to the pandemic.

“I’m not going to Monday-morning quarterback my decisions. I suspect there will be books. There will be lectures. There will be TED Talks about what governors could have done differently,” Brown said.

As to one exception I noted above, she said: “I fervently wish that we had seen earlier on in the pandemic the disproportionate impact that the pandemic had on communities of color, particularly our Latino, our Black, our Pacific Islander, our indigenous, our Indian communities. … That will be a burden I carry for a very long time.”

Justice and equity, a theme throughout her administration, was rooted in her upbringing. Her parents were people of faith, “and they taught us very straightforwardly to treat others like you would like yourself to be treated.”

As a woman born in 1960 and who later came out as bisexual, she knew what it was like to face barriers. Girls were not allowed to play hockey even though she wanted to. She did, however, become the first girl acolyte at her Episcopal church.

Brown, who practiced family law, first came to the Oregon Capitol in 1991 to testify on women’s and LGBTQ issues. That led to 17 years representing Portland in the Legislature, then her election as secretary of state.

Powers That Be often pledge to give greater voice to people who’ve been outside the power structure, including people of color – so long as people in charge don’t have to relinquish their own control just yet.

Brown profoundly changed that dynamic. As with her handling of the pandemic, her decisions drew both praise and derision among the public and state workers.

Many of her appointments to state agencies and commissions were women and/or people of color, although Brown said state government remains behind in diversifying its work force.

Brown has appointed 112 trial or appellate judges. She is proud that over half of them are women, nearly one-fourth are people of color and eight identify as LGBTQ+.

Progress comes slowly. It took almost 160 years of statehood before Supreme Court Justice Adrienne Nelson, appointed by Brown in 2018, was the first Black judge to serve on an Oregon appellate court. President Joe Biden has now nominated Nelson for a federal judgeship.

Brown created a Racial Justice Council to identify and help end state practices that discriminated against people of color and others. She empowered the council by largely taking its agenda to the Legislature for action.

“One of the issues that I see the RJC focusing on next (legislative) session is making sure that people who are behind bars who are suffering from substance abuse disorder get treatment the moment they walk into custody as opposed to waiting ’til the last six months when they leave,” Brown said.

Brown has been an activist on criminal justice reform – closing some corrections facilities, pardoning marijuana offenses, forgiving traffic fines, commuting sentences and last month taking all 17 individuals off Oregon’s death row.

She recognizes the dichotomy between voters’ having upheld the death penalty and their electing governors who oppose capital punishment, including Brown and Kitzhaber.

Brown said she’s comfortable leaving the governorship in Kotek’s hands: “I am very confident she will implement my vision of building a safer, stronger, more resilient Oregon and making sure that Oregon is a place for everyone to thrive.”

What’s next for Brown? She’s unsure, other than a vacation with her husband, Dan Little. She’s unlikely to run for office but hopes to continue serving Oregonians in some way.

“I think part of what makes this bittersweet for me is that I know I will never have an amazing job like this one: an amazing opportunity to work every single day, every single moment, to make lives better for Oregonians across the state.”