DUMBOCRAT CORRUPTION FILE Former Oregon Gov Admits Sexual Relationship With 14-Year-Old in 1970s

Associated Press ^ | May 7, 2004

[Liz]

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A former Oregon governor and transportation secretary under President Carter has admitted to a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl in the 1970s, when he was mayor of Portland. Neil Goldschmidt, 63, who was elected mayor at age 32 and served his only term as governor from 1987-1991, told The Oregonian about the relationship for a story in Friday editions, shortly after resigning from two chairmanships Thursday.

According to Oregon laws in 1975, sex with a girl under 16 constituted third-degree rape, but the statute of limitations expired in 1979.

Citing only health problems, Goldschmidt on Thursday relinquished his posts from the Oregon Board of Higher Education and a firm that has been trying to acquire Portland General Electric. He has been diagnosed with heart arrhythmia and blocked arteries that put him at risk of a heart attack.

Following his resignations, Goldschmidt told the newspaper he came forward after learning a weekly paper was on the verge of reporting the relationship. The Willamette Week, which publishes Wednesdays, reported on its Web site that it told the governor a day earlier it was preparing a story about his affair.

Goldschmidt said he has lived with "enormous guilt and shame" in the 30 years since the nine-month affair, which started in 1975 when he was 35. He was married at the time.

Goldschmidt said he agreed to a financial settlement with the woman in 1994. He did not identify her.

"How can such behavior be erased when the damage to others and to myself lives on?" he said in a statement to The Oregonian. "I have sat in places of worship each year at Yom Kippur, the day of atonement in my religious tradition (Judaism), reading in silence, searching for personal peace. And I have found that the answer to that question is that it cannot be erased.

"The pain and damage that I have caused have been with me constantly. I have known all along that my private apologies and actions, deep and true though they were, would never be enough. I apologize now, publicly and completely."

Goldschmidt and his lawyer did not return several phone calls from The Associated Press.

Rumors of extramarital affairs were hinted at during Goldschmidt's political career, and he decided against a second term as governor after his first marriage ended.

Besides serving as governor and Portland mayor, Goldschmidt was transportation secretary for the Carter administration, an executive with Nike and an international trade consultant.

AP-ES-05-07-04 0624EDT

[Liz]

Rumors of extramarital affairs were hinted at during Goldschmidt's political career, and he decided against a second term as governor after his first marriage ended.

(Sniffle) The poor, poor man. He's a victim (sob).

[Wally_Kalbacken]

Goldschmidt was transportation secretary for the Carter administration.

I'd love to see the true story of how funding for MARTA was handled. This beast got started in 1978 and I have often described it as a museum piece signifying the fact that a former governor of Georgia was once President of the United States. What a mess!

[jwalsh07]

It wasn't a "sexual relationship", it was a crime. Can't have 35 year old scumbags preying on 14 year old kids.

[AlbertWang]

I'm Shocked!!!!













I'm Shocked it wasn't a young boy.

[OXENinFLA]

"How can such behavior be erased when the damage to others and to myself lives on?" he said in a statement

SOMEONE GET ME A BAT!!!

[tdadams]

As Edwin Edwards said, either "a dead girl or a live boy". Since it was neither, it's politics as usual.

[Shut up and take it]

If he had been a Republican there would have been an "R" next to his name. Note that the "D" is always missing in news stories about fallen Dim-ocrats.

[Lockbar]

What? Another Democrat pervert? How can this be???!!!!

[CT]

This guy's The Big He of libs in Oregon. And the only credit I will give him is having more guts than Bubba for facing up to these charges.

Obviously, there was no Arkancide involved prior to his admission.

[Liz]

Hey, probably that too.....creep just never got caught.

[Liz]

Heheh....good one.

[Liz]

The terms "pervert" and "Democrat" are synonyms.

[Condor51]

Oh the poor man, he feels bad. OK folks, let's move on, nothing there, it was only about sex.

/sarcasm off - disgust still on

[oldironsides]

They sent that pervert GOP mayor in Connecticut to jail for fooling with young girls. Once again we see a clear
view of how the GOP and Democrats are treated. Gingrich and Livingston fool around and resign. Kennedy, Studds, Franks,Condit and others tell everyone to go scratch.
We just saw a congressman get convicted because he killed a cyclist while speeding. Ted Kennedy is still shouting crap from his honorable place in the US Senate after he killed a female and ran from the scene to return with a Democrat mouthpiece lawyer. I am waiting for a Republican with some backbone to appear.

[Liz]

The Clinton Legacy lives on.

[paws_and_whiskers]

A former Oregon governor and transportation secretary under President Carter has admitted to a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl in the 1970s, when he was mayor of Portland. Neil Goldschmidt, 63, who was elected mayor at age 32 and served his only term as governor from 1987-1991...

He needs to apologize; Carter needs to apologize!

[MizSterious]

They're calling this "an affair"???? Sounds like child molestation to me. What a piece of work.

[Liz]

Guy oughta be in jail.....do authorities think this was his only incidence of child sex?

[AD from SpringBay]

Not a mention of party affiliation in the AP story, just that he served in the Carter Administration.

[macrahanish #1]

I waiting for the lamestream press to start hectoring Carter for an apology in regards to this man's actions.
After all, he had as much control over this man as Bush does over the actions of individual troops in Iraq.