“I have been inactive for the past two years but need to become active again,” Fagan wrote from her personal email address on Friday, Feb. 3, at 2:31 p.m.

Shemia Fagan was supposed to be the next Democratic star in Oregon politics, but now she's about to be out of office due to a spectacularly fast-moving scandal in Salem. Reporters Lauren Dake and Dirk VanderHart talk about Fagan's rise to prominence and sudden resignation as Secretary of State.

“Great feedback!” Secretary of State Shemia Fagan emailed Rosa Cazares. “Thanks Rosa.”

Fagan logged five out-of-state trips in the last six months. When in Oregon, she typically logged out of work by 2:30 p.m., the calendars suggest.

Imagine you are Oregon’s Secretary of State Shemia Fagan. A campaign donor in the pot industry offers you a job moonlighting to help them with business opportunities.

Shemia Fagan didn't make just one mistake in her dealings with La Mota cannabis chain owners Rosa Cazares and Aaron Mitchell, the editorial board writes. Her acknowledged "poor judgment" occurred repeatedly and reflects her prioritizing self interest over Oregon's. She must resign.

Treasurer Tobias Read believes he could be a good fit, and former Senate President Peter Courtney says he'll fill in if asked. Informal conversations with Democratic politicos Tuesday turned up a wide range of names, including a trio of current or former Multnomah County officials: Jessica Vega Pederson, Deborah Kafoury and Susheela Jayapal.

Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan resigned her post as secretary of state just five days after a story in Willamette Week touched off an avalanche of reporting about her work as a consultant for an embattled cannabis company. It was an unlikely end for a politician who was considered a rising star and a potential future governor or U.S. senator.

“To put it bluntly, my secretary of state salary on its own is not enough for me to make ends meet.”

Court filings show the secretary of state faced debts and negative cash flow.

Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan has apologized for taking a job as a consultant for a marijuana company. The company is part of an industry that her office just audited. The Democrat is the state’s second-highest ranking official. She expressed her remorse in a Zoom conference Monday. She says she exercised poor judgment but has indicated she aims to hold onto her elected position. Republicans have called for her to resign. Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek has requested investigations by the Oregon Government Ethics Commission and the Oregon Department of Justice. Fagan says she is terminating her contract with an affiliate of marijuana retail chain La Mota.

Drama surrounding the secretary of state's role with a private cannabis company overshadowed a report about how the state is handling pot businesses.

Records obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive show the performance audit was all but finalized by the time Fagan pulled out of the audit.

Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan, a Democrat, has been consulting since February for a cannabis company with strong political ties to elected Democrats — and large sums of unpaid taxes.

The secretary of state says she made clear to staff in February that she could no longer be involved in the audit, due to an impending contract with a couple whose business practices have since come into question.