Posted on 05/07/2004 9:11:32 AM PDT by Atlas Sneezed
Former Gov. Neil Goldschmidt admitted Thursday that he had a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl when he was 35 and mayor of Portland, and said he is resigning all his public and private positions to "rebuild my life."
In an extraordinary and emotional 50-minute interview with The Oregonian, Goldschmidt confessed he has lived for 30 years with the "enormous guilt and shame" of what he said was a nine-month relationship.
He said deteriorating health -- heart arrhythmia and blocked arteries -- and knowledge that media accounts of the affair were about to unfold, made him come forward.
"I'm just living with this personal hell," said Goldschmidt, 63, occasionally choking back tears. "The lie has gone on too long."
Goldschmidt, who was married at the time of the affair, said he agreed to a financial settlement with the woman, who is now 42. He did so after being contacted by the woman's lawyer in 1994.
The Oregonian, as a general policy, doesn't identify victims of sex crimes. According to Oregon laws in effect in 1975, sexual intercourse with a girl under age 16 constituted third-degree rape, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison. The statute of limitations at that time was three years from the commission of the crime.
Asked whether he had thought there could be current legal implications as a result of his actions, Goldschmidt said he didn't know of any.
Goldschmidt acknowledged that his past behavior will forever blight his political legacy, as well as put at risk others associated with his work, including his longtime friend, Gov. Ted Kulongoski. Although Goldschmidt had setbacks, he has been a sought-after visionary on some of Portland's biggest projects and is considered one of Oregon's savviest political insiders.
At age 32, he became the nation's youngest big-city mayor, going on to become transportation secretary for the Carter administration and Oregon governor from 1987 to 1991. He was an executive with Nike and has been a successful international trade consultant since the early 1990s.
Throughout his political career, rumors of extramarital affairs circulated around him. Goldschmidt tacitly acknowledged Thursday that the rumors had merit.
"If people work hard enough, I think you'll find indiscretions," he said. "But nothing as ugly as this."
He chose not to run for a second term as governor after his first marriage fell apart.
His sudden withdrawal from public life, just months after being named president of the state Board of Higher Education, throws a planned overhaul of the state's university system into disarray. He has resigned from the board and taken a leave of absence from his consulting firm, Goldschmidt Imeson Carter.
It also complicates the proposed sale of Portland General Electric to Texas Pacific Group. Goldschmidt, who was in line to be chairman of a newly appointed board of PGE should the deal go through, said he will no longer be involved in the transaction.
A somber scene
On Thursday, with wife, Diana, at his side, Goldschmidt quietly disclosed the secret he has kept for three decades.
His voice quavering, his face flushed, Goldschmidt methodically and bluntly revealed details he knew could ruin him. He had an affair with an underage girl, he lied about it and ultimately was forced to disclose it.
Usually a commanding presence, he appeared dejected and defeated, his head often slumping inches from the meeting room table.
Joining him for the interview were his business partner Tom Imeson and his best friend, Jerry Bidwell, a prominent Portland area financier and a member of the Oregon Investment Council. All sat somberly as Goldschmidt answered questions about the affair. Several times, Diana Goldschmidt reached out and clasped her husband's hand or rubbed his shoulder.
Holding little back, he said the girl was a neighbor and the daughter of a woman who worked on his mayoral campaign. He said they would meet "off and on."
Interviewed at her home in Nevada, the woman said she baby-sat for Goldschmidt.
She said she had no desire to go into details about the past and declined to discuss any of the issues Goldschmidt brought up.
"I'm a good person just trying to live my life. I don't want my life screwed up any more."
The relationship began in 1975 and ended sometime in 1976, Goldschmidt said. He did not say why it ended. He said he then had little, if any, contact with her until after he became governor.
Goldschmidt said a rumor about the affair surfaced during his 1986 gubernatorial campaign, but it didn't affect the race. But after he took office, he heard that she had been talking about it.
She was "in a public establishment, and I would presume, not entirely in great shape, telling the world she had had a relationship with me," Goldschmidt said. At that point, he said, he arranged to meet with her. He continued to see or talk to her intermittently, but always either on the phone or with others in the room.
He said she never asked for money or any kind of specific help. Then, in 1994, her lawyer, Jeff Foote of Portland, contacted Goldschmidt.
"She wanted two things -- an apology and help starting her life over," Goldschmidt said.
A conservatorship was established as part of a legal settlement. He said he had to borrow money to fund it.
"A long time coming"
Foote on Thursday confirmed the sexual relations while Goldschmidt was mayor and that a financial settlement had been reached in 1994.
Goldschmidt said he never thought the settlement would end the risk of the relationship becoming public. "This day has been a long time coming," he said.
Local newspapers, including The Oregonian, have been looking into the affair. Willamette Week sent Goldschmidt questions about the affair and published a story on its Web site Thursday that describes the relationship. The Portland Tribune also was working on the story.
"The story was being spread in ways that were even more damaging than I supposed I ever could quite imagine," Goldschmidt said, his voice rarely rising above a hoarse whisper.
Goldschmidt said he is particularly distressed about letting down Kulongoski, who recruited him to lead a shake-up of Oregon's higher education system. He said he never discussed the affair with the governor.
"I owe Ted Kulongoski tremendously," Goldschmidt said, "and it's a terrible thing I've done to him."
He said he submitted his higher education board resignation letter to Kulongoski on April 26 in part because of health and in part because he was concerned about the story of the relationship becoming public. He cited health reasons for his departure.
Goldschmidt, who has suffered from heart ailments since law school, said his health has gradually worsened over the years. Last fall, he said, he suffered a "serious episode" of atrial fibrillation -- or irregular heartbeat. He visited the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota in December for a closer diagnosis and was told to change his life by losing weight, exercising and limiting stress.
Two weeks ago, he experienced another atrial fibrillation episode. That's when he concluded he had to "slow down."
"The real issue is, I'm trying to avoid a stroke," Goldschmidt said.
A large measure of the guilt he feels, he said, is because of how much he thinks this will hurt his family, friends and political associates.
Margie Goldschmidt, his wife at the time of the affair, declined on Thursday to say when or how she learned of the relationship. The Goldschmidts' 25-year marriage ended while he was still governor in 1990, their separation shattering re-election plans.
But Margie Goldschmidt said the affair was not the precipitating factor.
"He suffered for his behaviors and actions in many ways," said Margie Goldschmidt, 60. "This is not a person without a conscience. In no way would I condone this, but it happened a long time ago and certainly was not a pattern of behavior with Neil."
Kulongoski commented on Goldschmidt's resignation but did not return phone calls seeking comment on the sexual relationship.
"His health is his priority right now and I think that he has made the right decision," the governor said. "We owe him a great debt for his service."
Reporters Brent Walth and Julie Sullivan and researchers Kathleen Blythe and Lynn Palombo of The Oregonian staff contributed to this report. Harry Esteve: 503-221-8226; harryesteve@news.oregonian.com Gail Kinsey Hill: 503-221-8590; gailhill@news.oregonian.com
PLUS, the girl's MOTHER knew about it, also a DEMOCRAT!!! What's with these Democrats!!!!
Not to mention the fact that the media and sheeple give democRATs a pass on issues like this.
Conservatorship: Legalese for lawyer-assisted blackmail. She waited 18 years before going after his money.
I'd be interested to see the results of a similar search for the word Republican in the Oregonian's coverage of the sexual harassment charges against US Sen. Bob Packwood.
I'm thinking there had to be some compelling evidence, or she would have been handled Kathleen Willey style.
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