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.

Oregon's Constitution gives the governor complete discretion in selecting the appointee.

Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan has resigned effective May 8, a major turn in a moonlighting scandal that broke out just last week.

Secretary of State Shemia Fagan resigned on Tuesday, a day after she apologized for accepting a moonlighting job for a cannabis company.

Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan resigned her position after revelations that she was working as a consultant for a cannabis company while her office was auditing the industry.

Fagan notified her staff on Tuesday that she is resigning.

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

The secretary of state ends press conference about her contract well before reporters’ questions are answered.

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.

Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan announced Monday that she has terminated her contract with private marijuana company Veriede Holding.

Top Republicans called for Fagan’s resignation, and leading Democrats cited major concerns in the wake of the Secretary of State’s decision to moonlight for a cannabis company amid an audit into the industry.

Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan is in hot water, with Republican lawmakers calling for her resignation and the Democratic governor seeking investigations

Oregon should prepare for the U.S. government eventually legalizing marijuana and position the state as a national leader in the industry. That's what state auditors pushed for in a new

“This appears to be an ethics violation and if it isn’t then Oregon’s ethics laws are broken," the House and Senate Republican leaders said in a joint statement.

On the campaign trail in 2020, Democratic secretary of state candidate Shemia Fagan promised voters she would bring a focus on integrity and accountability to the job.