Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan will resign next week and officially step down on May 8, the secretary announced on Tuesday.
The resignation comes after it was revealed that Fagan had accepted a lucrative side job as a consultant to a cannabis company.
Her deputy, Cheryl Myers, will step into the position until Gov. Tina Kotek appoints a successor.
“While I am confident that the ethics investigation will show that I followed the state’s legal and ethical guidelines in trying to make ends meet for my family, it is clear that my actions have become a distraction from the important and critical work of the Secretary of State’s Office,” Fagan said in a statement on Tuesday. “Protecting our state’s democracy and ensuring faith in our elected leaders—these are the reasons I ran for this office. They are also the reasons I will be submitting my resignation today. I want to thank the incredible staff in the Secretary of State’s Office for their hard work and Oregonians for the opportunity to serve them. It has been a true honor to serve the people of Oregon.”
