Robinhold and Reeves did warn Hayes against using public employees to schedule meetings for her business, and they reminded her not to use her public position for private gain.
How Hayes used or traded on her title is important.Kitzhaber has faced far stricter guidelines from the Oregon Government Ethics Commission over the issue of paid speeches.In December 2012, Kitzhaber sought advice from the commission about accepting speaking fees while serving as governor. “The commission would caution the governor against advertising the governor’s current public position while obtaining or attempting to obtain paid speaking engagements,” the commission advised Kitzhaber in January 2013.
Kitzhaber sought the advice before seeking speaking engagements. (Records show he’s made one paid speech since then.) Hayes didn’t declare her potential conflicts until after signing the contracts and using her first lady title in her consulting business.Robinhold and Reeves told Hayes she could continue to use the first lady title only with her current clients. They also wrote her title “may not be used to market the work you are doing on behalf of the private company” and added “you may not do your outreach work as first lady.”