Water boy Ben Cannon moves up the gravy train

by NW Spotlight

The Statesman Journal is reporting that Gov. Kitzhaber announced the appointment of Ben Cannon as the executive director of the Higher Education Coordinating Commission. Cannon will be taking over “responsibilities previously held by the State Board of Education for community colleges, the State Board of Higher Education for public universities, and the Oregon Student Access Commission.”

Back in 2011, Ben Cannon took Governor Kitzhaber’s job offer to become Education Policy Advisor – at $105,000 a year – a significant increase from his 21,612 pay as a part-time legislator.

When he took the job, he was going against his own vote as a state representative for an ethics reform bill to set a “waiting period” on legislators before they could seek and obtain non-elected positions in the state’s executive branch.

Capitol insiders at the time speculated that Cannon was being rewarded for reliably “carrying water” for the Governor’s 2011 education package.