Oregon Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate’s Ties to Sex Offender-Linked Ally Raise Further Questions about Her Record

Tina Kotek, the Democratic candidate for Oregon governor — and until relatively recently, the presumptive front-runner in a state that has not had a Republican governor since 1987 — is in trouble: In the past few weeks, four consecutive polls have shown Kotek’s Republican opponent, Christine Drazan, leading the field by a narrow margin. Standard red-wave conditions, widespread dissatisfaction with a deteriorating quality of life after decades of one-party rule, an outgoing Democratic governor (and close Kotek ally) who has routinely polled as the least popular chief executive of any state in the country, and the presence of an unusually viable Democrat-turned-independent candidate have all made the Oregon governor’s race a potential Republican pickup for the first time in recent memory: “In August, the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics changed its assessment of the race from ‘Leans Democrat’ to ‘Toss-Up,’” NR’s editors wrote late last month. “In July, the Cook Political Report moved its rating from ‘Likely Democrat’ to ‘Lean Democrat’; in September, the group downgraded again, from ‘Lean Democrat’ to ‘Toss-Up.’”

Another potential liability for Kotek — and one has received less attention in the media coverage of the race — is her ties to Ramiro “R.J.” Navarro, a Democratic candidate for Oregon State House District 21 who “knowingly hired a registered sex offender, convicted of sexually abusing a child younger than 14, on his campaign,” the Oregon-based Northwest Observer reported yesterday. The controversy surrounding Navarro, who is himself a convicted felon, was first reported on Thursday by the Statesman Journal. As the Northwest Observer writes, the issue has already provoked internal turmoil within the Democrat’s campaign:

Democrat Ramiro “RJ” Navarro has made no secret of his felony drug conviction 11 years ago, going so far as to call himself “the second chance candidate.” Navarro put that philosophy into action this summer when he hired a field director with a 2007 conviction for sexually abusing a child to work on his campaign for House District 21. But several people who formerly worked or volunteered on the campaign say Navarro kept them in the dark about the nature of the conviction. 

Navarro’s reaction in response to concerns from others caused his second campaign manager to quit and at least one volunteer to leave. A contractor decided not to seek another contract with Navarro. 

“I made the decision to hire an individual who paid his debt to society and deserved a chance at meaningful employment,” Navarro said in a statement to the Statesman Journal. “I recognize that this was upsetting…” Navarro said he told his then-campaign manager about the field director’s past on her first day in the job in early August, but did not inform other staffers or volunteers of the man’s conviction. Two former staffers, however, said the former campaign manager did not know the nature of the field director’s conviction until later that month. 

According to the Observer, “Court records show the man was convicted in 2007 of one count of sexual abuse, a felony, and sentenced to six years and three months in prison, with an expected release date of 2013. The victim, who was known to the man, was younger than 14 years old when the abuse occurred, according to court records.” But as of this writing, Kotek’s endorsement is still listed on Navarro’s campaign website, and Kotek has yet to comment publicly on the former felon’s retention of a convicted pedophile. And multiple photographs show a smiling Kotek posing for photographs with Navarro.

Kotek’s legislative record on sex crimes raises further questions about the Democrat’s ties to — and silence about — Navarro. In 2013, Kotek sponsored legislation easing the penalties for some sex offenders, which was subsequently signed into law. At the time, the AP reported:

Some young offenders convicted of having sex with underage partners would be able to request the crime be removed from their records under a bill narrowly passed by the Oregon House on Wednesday. Voting 31 to 27, the House sent the bill to the Senate with little discussion.

Under the bill, in order for adult offenders to apply to have their records erased, coercion or force could not have been used in the sex act. Other conditions include completion of all required court-ordered programs and treatments.

Proponents say the current punishment for such sex offenders does not fit the crime. Opponents say people convicted of sex crimes often reoffend and should not be able to have their records expunged. “Individuals who commit sex offenses … this isn’t their first time and it won’t be their last,” said Crook County District Attorney Daina Vitolins, who opposes the bill on behalf of the Oregon District Attorneys Association. To say an act is consensual when it involves a person who is too young to give consent is indefensible and minimizes the law, Vitolins said…House Speaker Tina Kotek, a sponsor, brought the legislation forward after hearing from a constituent who was 14 when his friend’s parents reported him to the authorities for engaging in inappropriate behavior — which did not involve intercourse — with their young daughter.  “This is the difference between a life of hopelessness and a future for this individual,” the Portland Democrat told lawmakers last month.

Oregon Representative Mike McLane (R-Dist. 55), a critic of the bill, assailed the legislation on the grounds that “The bill was drafted to address a constituent of Speaker (Tina) Kotek (D-Dist. 44. I thought that if we were going to make an exception for juveniles who committed sex crimes, that we should have a more thorough analysis and have it applicable to the class or group of offenders that would merit release of registration as a sex offender.” Another critic, Senator Doug Whitsett (R-Dist. 28), “also voted against the bill, because it potentially allows removal of convictions in which the victim is only 12 years old,” the Central Oregonian reported. “‘I was supportive of that bill right up until it got down to the 12-year-old,” he said. ‘When you take that down to someone who is 12 years old, you are talking about a freshman in high school and a fifth-grader.’”

But Kotek’s bill passed with little time for debate and analysis, over the objections of her colleagues. Given her past support for more leniency toward sex offenders, it seems imperative that the Democratic gubernatorial hopeful explain her endorsement of — and public ties to — a political ally who has studiously continued to employ a convicted sex criminal, in spite of objections from his staff. Thus far, however, she has remained silent. Why?