ICYMI: Oregon Dem Gov Kate Brown’s Two Weeks of Terrible Headlines

With her mishandling of Oregon’s pension crisis and a growing Medicaid scandal that she’s refusing to independently investigate, embattled Democrat Governor Kate Brown is facing a torrent of bad press. Here are just some of the stories dominating the headlines.

Medicaid Scandal: 
The Oregonian: Kate Brown “has failed at basic responsible management. She kept quiet about the misspending, going public only as The Oregonian/OregonLive was preparing a story exposing the overpayments… the governor’s not interested in an independent investigation.”

The Register-Guard: “It has been a week since Rep. Knute Buehler called on Gov. Kate Brown to launch an independent investigation of $74 million in Medicaid overpayments to Oregon’s 16 coordinated care organizations. Brown should embrace the idea, as should the Legislature’s leaders.”

The Bend Bulletin“…the governor owes Oregonians a clear picture of what’s going on at the OHA and what she’s doing to fix an agency that has suffered a series of embarrassing leadership failures dating back at least to the Cover Oregon fiasco. Brown has been in office for nearly three years now, so she owns the problems.”

Albany Democrat-Herald: “Taxpayers need real answers in Medicaid mess”

The Daily Astorian: “Bad news keeps rolling out from the Oregon Health Authority. But instead of taking responsibility, Gov. Kate Brown not only ducked it but also tried to spin it as positive news.”

The Daily News: “To make the situation all that more embarrassing for Gov. Kate Brown, government officials knew about the overpayment, but failed to tell the governor.”

Pension Crisis: 
The Bend Bulletin: “Gov. Kate Brown and the Democrats that control state government dwell in their own escapist fantasy about PERS. Brown recently thanked a committee she created to look for PERS solutions for leaving ‘no idea unexamined and no rock unturned.’ That, too, was more spin than substance.”

Albany Democrat-Herald: “…it was not encouraging to see what areas Brown told her task force not to consider. For starters, Brown told the group not to consider any changes to pension benefits.”

Executive Order Overreach: 
The Bend Bulletin: “Kate Brown is governor. She is not queen. She doesn’t faithfully discharge the duties of governor when she dictates important policy changes for the state and ignores the Legislature.”