Kotek names new Secretary of State

By Oregon Campaign Watch,

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek has named LaVonne Griffin-Valade to be the new Secretary of State to replace the resigned Shemia Fagan.   LaVonne Griffin-Valade  is a former government auditor for Multnomah County and Portland.  OPB has reported last May that Kotek has emphasized that her choice would not commit to serving only for this term, thus leaving a run for re-election next year on the table.

Governor Press Release excerpt; “Griffin-Valade was hired as a Senior Management Auditor at the Multnomah County Auditor’s Office in 1998 and later went on to serve as the elected Multnomah County Auditor. In 2009, LaVonne was elected the Portland City Auditor. By the time she retired in 2014, The Oregonian Editorial Board credited her audits with exposing “mysteries about spending or management that would have otherwise gone unchecked and unknown – even by those in charge of the spending and management.”“I have the experience to bring back credibility, accountability, transparency, and trust to the Secretary of State’s office,” Griffin-Valade said. “It’s never been more important to have a leader who will focus on rebuilding the public’s trust in the Secretary of State’s office, and that is exactly what I will aim to do every day.”As the City of Portland Auditor, Griffin-Valade oversaw several divisions that required a high level of independence and ethical judgment from managers and staff, including government performance auditing, elections, archives, ombuds office, and additional accountability functions. Throughout her years working as a staff auditor and then as an elected auditor, she was a member of an international committee shaping the course of local government auditing throughout the U.S. and in several Canadian jurisdictions.After leaving office, Griffin-Valade went on to earn a Master of Fine Arts in writing from Portland State University and has since pursued a successful writing career.Griffin-Valade will serve the remaining 18 months of the current term.”