Recently, a high state official was called on the carpet for working with the marijuana industry. Some are looking at the low pay that is made by Oregon officials as a reason. It was found that in the one week that Oregon’s Acting Secretary of State Cheryl Myers has been on the job, she earned $4,580. This is three times the amount that the previous secretary of state (who resigned) made in her last week.
The pay has factored in the scandal that led to Shemia Fagan’s resignation. Elected state leaders in Oregon often earn much less than their staff. Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan ended her paid consulting contract with Veriede Holdings LLC. This was after people began raising concerns about a potential conflict of interest.
There was a call from the governor for an investigation of the secretary’s recusal from a state audit on the cannabis industry. Fagan stepped down on May 8 after an outcry over her moonlighting as a $10,000-per-month consultant for a cannabis company. It was money she may have used to supplement her income.
She said it herself. Announcing her resignation, Fagan said her state salary was “not enough for me to make ends meet.” In 2022, Oregon ranked 47th in salary for governor. Oregon’s attorney general is the lowest-paid in the country. By law, Oregon’s Secretary of State earns $77,000 a year, plus a $250 monthly stipend for “expenses necessarily incurred but not otherwise provided for.”
This pay has been in place since 2014. Salaries of the governor, attorney general, treasurer and labor commissioner are all set by law. The governor’s salary of $98,600 put her among the mid-range earners in her office, according to 2022 data. The attorney general’s salary of $82,200 was 2.9 times lower than the top earner in her office. Whom Gov. Tina Kotek will appoint as secretary of state to serve out the remaining 18 months of Fagan’s term.
