Shemia Fagan

There is little doubt that Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan made the right decision last week to resign from her position after a newspaper disclosed she signed a $10,000-per-month contract with the owners of an Oregon cannabis chain.

She inked the pact at the same time her office audited state regulations on the cannabis businesses. The cannabis entrepreneurs also were big-time Democratic party donors.

A mess? Certainly. Was it a good decision for Fagan to cut a deal with the cannabis entrepreneurs — nope.

Yet while Fagan did the right thing by resigning, there also is little doubt the episode puts a stain on our democracy, and it’s an unfortunate because Fagan was a smart, decisive official with solid long-term goals for the state.

Just recently she proclaimed in an opinion piece in this newspaper about her aim to invest more state resources into the state’s elections administration and improve security procedures.

That’s why her ill-advised decision to do the contract is, and will remain, a head-scratcher.

However, Fagan should get a little credit for at least recognizing — albeit too late — her decisions placed her office and the voter confidence in jeopardy.

She stepped down, which was really the only move she could make, but her ability to take responsibility for her actions might be a good blueprint for other lawmakers to follow.

Politicians don’t usually have a habit of taking responsibility for their actions. It is a nationwide dilemma but can be found in local hometowns or at the state level.

Often a politician will talk about “transparency” but have little understanding of what the word really means.

The episode around Fagan, though, delivers a couple of lessons. One is elected leaders can’t be sloppy and make irresponsible decisions regarding their office and questions of conflict of interest. Two, the saga is another example of why the nation needs a free press. The Willamette Week broke the story on Fagan and in a real way did exactly what the public expects a free press to do. That kind of journalism takes courage and it takes hard work but it pays off by building an unshakable confidence for readers and residents in their press.

Fagan’s resignation also should be a cautionary tale for other lawmakers. Her talent was evident but she made a very poor decision. That poor decision created consequences. Thankfully she had the fortitude to do what was right.