PORTLAND — When he takes office next month, Gov.-elect John Kitzhaber plans to spend most of his time in Portland, he says, rather than take up permanent residence in Mahonia Hall, the Salem mansion provided for Oregon governors.

That’s a historic change that reflects not only Kitzhaber’s “I Did It My Way” style but also a recent trend of Oregon leaders who seem to prefer Portland’s bustling culture to the sleepier neighborhoods of Salem.

And, in another first, when the twice-divorced Kitzhaber does stay in Mahonia, so will his girlfriend, Cylvia Hayes, at times — making them the only unmarried pair to share the house since it was donated for public use in 1988. Gov. Neil Goldschmidt and his first wife, Margie, were the first official couple to live there.

“Cylvia will continue to keep her home in Bend, but she will also stay at Mahonia Hall when in Salem,” said Amy Wojcicki, spokeswoman for the team that is working on Kitzhaber’s transition back into the job he held from 1995 to 2003.

Wojcicki said there are “no plans” for Hayes to receive protection from the Oregon State Police, who provide bodyguards to governors and their family members. But there may be other instances in which Hayes, who runs a green energy consulting company, benefits from taxpayer-provided services.

“She is the governor-elect’s partner and as such will be involved in public activities and events supported by state funds,” Wojcicki said.

In an interview with The Oregonian, Kitzhaber said he plans to keep his house in Portland, rather than selling and moving to Salem as current Gov. Ted Kulongoski did.

“I’m probably going to be in Portland when the Legislature is not in session,” said Kitzhaber, whose 13-year-old son, Logan, goes to school in the city. “There’s no reason to hang out down there (in Salem)” when lawmakers aren’t meeting.

Kulongoski plans to move out Dec. 10, according to his spokeswoman, Anna Richter Taylor. He and his wife, Mary Oberst, have bought a house in their old Laurelhurst neighborhood in Portland.

Wojcicki said Kitzhaber has no plans to rent an office or have permanent staff in Portland. When necessary, he’ll use conference rooms in the state offices at the World Trade Center, as Kulongoski does, she said.

Salem is the seat of government, headquarters of most state agencies and the place where the governor’s staff spends nearly all its working hours. But Portland could be considered the center of financial and political power in the state.

In some ways, Kitzhaber is picking up where he left off. Midway through his second term as governor, he and his then-wife Sharon Kitzhaber bought a home in Portland, and he commuted frequently to Salem.

In that, he joins a growing group of state government leaders who live in Portland and spend parts of their weeks in Salem. Secretary of State Kate Brown averages four days a week in Salem, according to her spokeswoman. Attorney General John Kroger, who has an office in Portland, spends a majority of his time in Salem when the Legislature is in session, but more time in Portland and traveling around the state the rest of the year.

Reaction to Kitzhaber’s gubernatorial lifestyle choices was muted.

“I’m not going to comment on the governor’s personal life,” said Gerry Frank, a Salem businessman and political insider who helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy and renovate the gated Tudor-style home overlooking the Willamette River. “He’s free to use the mansion as he wants.”

Chuck Bennett, a longtime schools lobbyist and member of the Salem City Council, said he doesn’t think locals will feel slighted by Kitzhaber’s decision.

“He’s very well-liked here,” Bennett said. “I hope as he puts himself through the drive on a regular basis, he’ll decide to make it a little closer. Fairmount Hill (Mahonia’s neighborhood) is a little closer than the hills of Portland.”