The trust betrayed by former Secretary of State Shemia Fagan can’t be restored with a fine. The only “closure” the public needs is a commitment from Fagan that she will never seek public office again.

But it’s still profoundly disappointing that the Oregon Government Ethics Commission would let Fagan off so easily after concluding that the longtime politician used her public office for financial gain. While commissioners increased the paltry fine initially recommended by staff, they voted 7-1 for a penalty of only $2,500 for the violation. Fagan must pay an additional $1,100 for an unrelated ethics violation.

Once a rising star in Oregon politics, Fagan was forced to resign in May 2023 after news organizations, led by Willamette Week’s Sophie Peel, revealed she was working a $10,000-a-month side gig for a cannabis company owned by campaign donors Aaron Mitchell and Rosa Cazares. For months, articles detailed the $45,000 in campaign contributions Mitchell had given Fagan; the vaguely defined consulting job that the couple offered Fagan in February 2023; and Fagan’s early involvement in her office’s audit of the cannabis industry before signing on as a consultant. While Fagan maintained – and still does – that she did not use her office for personal gain, the outrageousness of such conduct by the state’s second-highest elected official was clear to the public.

It was less clear, apparently, to the ethics commission staff and board, based on a meeting earlier this month. The commission staff took an exceedingly narrow view of which facts to include in its proposed order settling three separate ethics cases against Fagan. The narrative shared in the order does not mention the campaign donations that Mitchell made to Fagan because, as commission executive director Susan Myers said, a donation to a candidate committee is not considered a gift to the person. Rather, the candidate committee is considered a legally separate entity – even though the candidate has wide discretion on how to spend the funds.

The order also credits Fagan for calling ethics commission staff, among others, prior to accepting the contract. However, it does not mention that Fagan also disregarded specific advice from the commission ethics investigator to seek a written opinion, telling the investigator she was ” reluctant to do so due to it being a public record.”

It notes that Fagan recused herself from overseeing the audit once she accepted the consulting contract. But it does not mention that the cannabis audit conducted by her office was nearly complete by that time. Nor does it mention the stream of emails in 2021 between Fagan and Cazares about the audit, prior to work beginning, discussing its scope or that Fagan incorporated some of Cazares’ suggestions in her own input. It also does not mention that Fagan urged her auditors to interview Cazares, who was deeply critical of the state’s cannabis management.

And it paints Fagan’s contact with Connecticut lieutenant governor on behalf of the cannabis company, Veriede Holdings, in the most generous way possible. The report says the two elected officials had developed a “friendship” and that Fagan “made clear that her communication was unrelated to her role as secretary of state” and that the information shared by Connecticut Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz was public. It does not consider why Fagan, who presumably knows how to research information on the Internet, would use her connection to Bysiewicz for help finding a public website.

And Bysiewicz’s statement in 2023 doesn’t reflect such chumminess. The statement notes that “Approximately three weeks ago, the Lieutenant Governor received a phone call from Shemia Fagan inquiring about Connecticut’s cannabis license process for a client Fagan had as part of her consulting business. The Lieutenant Governor pointed Fagan to public information of the appropriate state agency contact to learn Connecticut’s lottery process. There was no further communication beyond the one phone call.”

That glossing over continued with the commissioners. While most agreed that the staff recommendation of $1,600 to settle all three cases of ethical violations against Fagan was too low, Vice Chair Shenoa Payne suggested the evidence wasn’t sufficient to find Fagan had used her office for personal gain. Commissioner Jonathan Thompson said he didn’t feel the need to “pile on.” Others thanked Fagan for appearing before the commission and apologizing.

They then had Myers negotiate a new fine with Fagan and her attorney over a 10-minute break. The result: the original $500 fine for using public office for personal gain went up to $2,500. The $1,100 fine for unallowable expense reimbursement remained the same. And for a third ethics violation case involving inaccuracies in her Statement of Economic Interest submission, she will receive a “letter of education.” It’s the second letter of education she’s received, following a 2018 incident in which she belatedly filed the mandatory submission.

Only Commissioner Dan Mason remained resolute that Fagan’s egregious behavior deserved a higher penalty, voting against the new fine. He had previously listed numerous aspects of Fagan’s conduct that were left out of the staff report that showed her culpability. He urged colleagues to hold her accountable for her actions and adopt “a top penalty for a top official.” It’s unfortunate they did not heed his advice. Even the maximum – ethics violations are capped at $5,000 apiece – is a small price to pay for the loss of trust and credibility.

Commissioners should recognize how deeply Fagan’s behavior eroded the public’s faith in government. Their failure to take such conduct seriously just makes it worse.