Kotek fires addiction director over social media post

By Taxpayers Association of Oregon
OregonWatchdog.com

Gov. Tina Kotek kicked the director of Oregon Recovers off a task force addressing alcohol pricing and addiction after complaints from the Oregon Brewers Guild over a Facebook post.

Oregon Recovers Director Mike Marshall posted links on his personal Facebook page to the health dangers of drinking after the sudden death of Don Andersen, cofounder of Wilsonville’s Vanguard Brewing.

In a letter to Kotek, the guild said the post denigrated the deceased brewer with false and unsupported assumptions.

When asked to resign and recommend someone else from Oregon Recovers, Marshall responded with a three-page letter, blaming the Brewers Guild for one-sided and disrespectful actions and contending their opposition to him stemmed from his five years of public education on the harm caused by alcohol.

He refused to step down, so the governor booted him off the task force.