Less than an hour ago, Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber announced his resignation from office amid an ongoing ethics scandal. His presumed successor, Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown, will soon take over the office, becoming the first openly bisexual governor in U.S. history.
Though we currently have several LGBTQ elected officials, "she is already arguably the highest-ranking bisexual elected official in America," according to The Washington Post, which cites Representative Kyrsten Sinema as the only other official who's out as bi.
Gov. Kitzhaber's troubles began in November, when it was revealed that his fiancée had leveraged her relationship with him in order to secure lucrative consulting contracts. Until today, Kitzhaber denied all reports alleging that he would step down, though many speculated otherwise.
Yesterday, at the Governor's request, Secretary Brown flew back to Oregon from Washington, D.C. She then released a statement saying, "I am ready, and my staff will be ready, should he resign." After this afternoon's announcement, she will likely step into this historic role as acting governor immediately before running for re-election in 2016. (The Washington Post)
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