Why did Gov. Tina Kotek’s office hide the names of her staff and their contact information from the public?

Was it because of security threats? Because of curious changes in the staff makeup? Or …?”

Kotek refuses to say. That is troubling.

The Founders gave us a system of government that is messy, awkward and often uncomfortable for the politicians: a democratic republic, not a monarchy. When you become a public official, you sign on for transparency, full disclosure and public accountability even — and especially — when inconvenient.

In Oregon, it’s particularly ironic that a Democratic administration would itself be opaque while accusing the Trump administration of lack of transparency. 

The governor’s official website long included a publicly accessible directory of key staff, their roles and how to contact them. Les Ruark, an Eastern Oregon farmer and public records advocate, discovered in early March that a username and password requirement had been instituted. Soon after, the “Governor’s Office Staff” page was changed to “Under Construction.”

It’s been in that status for weeks. Ruark said he subsequently was told “the website posting of the list will not be reinstated” and “there will be no publicly disclosed reason for why it was taken down in the first place.”

What the heck?

I’d received no explanation from the governor’s staff. On Tuesday, I raised the issue during Kotek’s media availability: “Why was the governor’s staff list taken offline several weeks ago? The staff list now is only available by request. Was it a security issue? And if so, what happened? When will it be restored? Or will it be?”

Kotek responded, “All I can say right now is, I’ll confirm it is down, but that’s all I can say.”

I admire her ability to parry my inquiries, but I would prefer a straightforward answer.

On Wednesday, the head of the Oregon Capitol press corps followed up with a letter to the Kotek’s communication staff.

“It’s deeply concerning from a press perspective — and from the perspective of Oregonians who deserve transparency from their government — that it’s no longer possible to tell who advises the governor without submitting a public records request,” Julia Shumway wrote. The editor of Oregon Capital Chronicle, she is president of the Oregon Legislative Correspondents Association.

“Most of the journalists you deal with work for newsrooms with publicly available staff lists,” Shumway told Kotek’s staff. “[S]haring that information helps build trust and credibility with readers and viewers. Similarly, having the names and subject areas of the governor’s staff, at a bare minimum, allows Oregonians to confirm that the governor’s advisers are policy experts. 

“The decision to pull down the staff page runs counter to Gov. Kotek’s stated goals of building trust in government and sets a bad example for other state agencies and local governments. …”

Update: Late Friday morning, Gov. Tina Kotek’s communications staff sent this response to columnist Dick Hughes and other members of the Capitol press corps:

“Staff of the Governor’s Office have received threats of violence, which we shared with the proper authorities immediately. Out of a commitment to the safety of the employees of the Governor’s office, the staff list was taken down from the public facing website. The list is available by request. All further inquiries on this matter should be directed to the Oregon State Police.”

This is not about my being inconvenienced. Kotek’s staff sent me the staff list. But others apparently are expected to file public records requests, which the Governor’s Office takes forever to handle. As of Thursday afternoon, Ruark’s request from March 26 was listed as “under review.”

Meanwhile, here’s another example of less-than-full disclosure. Dr. Sara Walker resigned Friday night as interim superintendent and chief medical officer at Oregon State Hospital. Kudos to Ben Botkin of Lookout Eugene-Springfield for breaking the story.

Details remain murky. On Monday, the governor’s staff did confirm to me that Dr. Sejal Hathi, the Oregon Health Authority director, was on parental leave. That’s why Walker’s temporary successor at the hospital was appointed by Kristine Kautz as acting OHA director.

As of Thursday evening, OHA’s communications staff still had not answered my questions, which the governor’s office had forwarded to them Monday morning. I asked:

— For a copy of Walker’s resignation.

— Was she asked to resign? 

— What are the terms of her resignation?

— The previous superintendent resigned in March 2024. Why is it taking so long to hire a replacement, and where are we in that hiring process?

Those are reasonable inquiries.

Democracy suffers when the citizenry can’t discern what’s going on.