Dennis Richardson / John Kitzhaber

PORTLAND — A debate Friday that focused on how the state’s next governor would address racial and gender equity issues turned into the most biting joint appearance yet between Democratic Gov. John Kitzhaber and his challenger, state Rep. Dennis Richardson.

The debate was the first time Kitzhaber appeared publicly since reports alleged his fiancee, Cylvia Hayes, used her relationship with the governor to further her private environmental consulting work. Hayes on Thursday also admitted taking money to marry an Ethiopian man who was seeking citizenship in 1997, which Kitzhaber said he didn’t know about until this week.

Richardson, R-Central Point, used his first remarks of the debate to call on the governor to investigate Hayes’ consulting work, which Kitzhaber said he will not do.

The “issue is about the intersection between a modern professional woman and the role of first lady,” Kitzhaber said, adding Hayes’ work from the Capitol was deemed appropriate by attorneys in the governor’s office.

Kitzhaber said a woman shouldn’t be expected to give up her professional life if she is married to the governor, which drew applause from the audience at the debate hosted by the City Club of Portland.

That didn’t quell Richardson, who said the state must investigate Hayes’ work that he said may violate state ethics rules, as Hayes is considered a public official.

“I call on the governor to ask for a special prosecutor to investigate this,” Richardson said, adding that state law might have been broken.

“The answer is no,” Kitzhaber said before asking to move onto “the real issues that the governor is going to have to deal with.”

The two sparred about the issue of Hayes for about seven minutes before Oregon Public Broadcasting host and debate moderator Dave Miller agreed the debate should turn to what policies the next governor would implement to deal with racial and gender inequality.

Richardson made clear many of his policies are in stark contrast with those of Kitzhaber, who is seeking a record fourth term as the state’s chief executive.

Richardson said he supports exporting coal from the Port of Morrow near Boardman, which he says would let the state to transport coal to Asia where it is going to be burned anyway. The state denied a key permit for a coal terminal that would ship coal from Wyoming and Montana overseas.

Richardson said shipping coal from the port would be more environmentally friendly than sending it to terminals farther away in British Columbia.

Kitzhaber said he was more concerned with science that shows unhealthy air pollution from coal burned in Asia comes across the Pacific Ocean and back into the United States.

“I want my son to be able to get a clean breath of air,” Kitzhaber said.

“I’m glad that you love your son. And I love my daughters and my son,” Richardson said. He said Kitzhaber wants residents in China to “wash their clothes on rocks” and live in an 18th century lifestyle.

Richardson also tried to keep attention on what has been a central part of his campaign to unseat Kitzhaber: pay gaps within the governor’s office.

A story this summer reported that Kitzhaber pays women in his office 79 percent what he pays men. Kitzhaber called the report “categorically untrue” because it didn’t take into account the jobs performed by employees. He says he gives “equal pay for equal work.”

“I just think it’s interesting that after 11 years in the Legislature Rep. Richardson hasn’t introduced a single bill for pay equity,” Kitzhaber said.

Richardson wouldn’t say whether he would sign a bill eliminating Oregon’s ban on inclusionary housing, which Kitzhaber promised to sign if it reached his desk.

Local governments use inclusionary housing to require a portion of new housing to be affordable. It’s seen as a way to prevent gentrification of certain areas. Richardson said he would need to know the details of such a bill before saying whether he would sign it.

The two candidates will meet again in Portland on Tuesday, the day of the voter registration deadline and the day before the state is set to mail out ballots.

— Reporter: 406-589-4347,

tanderson@bendbulletin.com