Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Former OR governor admits sexual relationship with 14-year-old girl in '70s
Atlanta Journal-Constitution ^ | 5.8.04 | WILLIAM McCALL

Posted on 05/08/2004 6:28:09 PM PDT by mhking

PORTLAND, Ore. — Just days before a weekly paper was going to break the story, former Gov. Neil Goldschmidt admitting having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl in the 1970s, when he was mayor of Portland.

Goldschmidt, 63, stepped down from two major jobs Thursday and issued a public apology.

It was a sudden, shocking end to the career of a man known as a political rainmaker in Oregon, a top executive at Nike and transportation secretary under President Carter.

"May a forgiving God mend my broken heart and those I have broken," he said in a statement. Goldschmidt said he has lived with "enormous guilt and shame" in the 30 years since the nine-month affair ended.

Goldschmidt had stepped back in the state's political spotlight just last fall, taking on two major jobs: serving on the state Board of Higher Education and with a company trying to acquire the largest utility in Oregon from bankrupt Enron Corp.

Before word of the affair broke late Thursday, he resigned from both positions, initially citing only heart arrhythmia and blocked arteries that put him at risk of a heart attack.

Goldschmidt, who served a single term as governor from 1987 to 1991, told The Oregonian about the relationship for a story in Friday's paper.

He told the newspaper he came forward after learning that a weekly paper was on the verge of reporting the relationship. Before The Oregonian account surfaced, 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.

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

Goldschmidt said the affair started in 1975 when he was 35. He was married at the time. Goldschmidt said he agreed in 1994 to pay the woman a financial settlement put at $250,000 by the weekly paper. He did not identify the woman, now 42.

"How can such behavior be erased when the damage to others and to myself lives on?" Goldschmidt, who is Jewish, 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, reading in silence, searching for personal peace. And I have found that the answer to that question is that it cannot be erased."

He added: "I apologize now, publicly and completely."

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

Goldschmidt, a Democrat who was widely praised for helping transform Oregon from a backwater into a national prototype for urban planning, had spent recent years working as a consultant.

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.

"There are those who will be forgiving of him, and those who won't," said former Gov. Vic Atiyeh, a Republican who served two terms just before Goldschmidt was elected. "But it's a stain that's not going to go away."

Michael Schrunk, a longtime friend and Multnomah County district attorney, said Goldschmidt's political accomplishments will endure, and outrage over the affair will fade with time.

"I think he still has something to offer," Schrunk said.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Extended News; News/Current Events; US: Oregon
KEYWORDS: dems; neilgoldschmidt
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-38 next last

1 posted on 05/08/2004 6:28:09 PM PDT by mhking
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Howlin; Ed_NYC; MonroeDNA; widgysoft; Springman; Timesink; dubyaismypresident; Grani; coug97; ...

Just damn.

If you want on the list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...

2 posted on 05/08/2004 6:28:28 PM PDT by mhking (Don't wait for the translation, ANSWER ME NOW!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: mhking
Why did we have to wait until the last third of the article to find out he was a Democrat?
3 posted on 05/08/2004 6:30:42 PM PDT by Incorrigible (immanentizing the eschaton)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Incorrigible
Why did we have to wait until the last third of the article to find out he was a Democrat?

C'mon...you know the answer to that...

4 posted on 05/08/2004 6:32:20 PM PDT by mhking (Don't wait for the translation, ANSWER ME NOW!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: mhking
Goldschmidt, a Democrat who was widely praised for helping transform Oregon from a backwater into a national prototype for urban planning

Good riddance to bad garbage. This guy was 35 at the time he was having an "affair" with a 14 year-old. But his political "contributions" were no doubt just as obscene.

5 posted on 05/08/2004 6:32:23 PM PDT by Lancey Howard
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Incorrigible
Why did we have to wait until the last third of the article to find out he was a Democrat?

Portland and Democrat are synonyms. No surprise here.

6 posted on 05/08/2004 6:33:49 PM PDT by randita
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Incorrigible
Why did we have to wait until the last third of the article to find out he was a Democrat?

Because he's a Democrat, silly!

7 posted on 05/08/2004 6:33:53 PM PDT by Slings and Arrows (The Arab world's only exports are oil and b*llsh*t, and the latter far surpasses the former.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Incorrigible
Actually, it was obvious from the headline; since if he'd been a Republican, that would have been part of the banner.
8 posted on 05/08/2004 6:35:57 PM PDT by william clark
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: mhking
"There are those who will be forgiving of him, and those who won't," said former Gov. Vic Atiyeh, a Republican who served two terms just before Goldschmidt was elected. "But it's a stain that's not going to go away."

Yeah, right. A democrat diddling underaged girls outside of his marriage. This ought to earn him a prominent role in the Kerry Administration in the unlikely event that Frankenberry can scam enough of the public to sneak into office.

Now if he had molested a boy instead of a girl, Kerry would have his running mate.

9 posted on 05/08/2004 6:36:12 PM PDT by CFC__VRWC (AIDS, abortion, euthanasia - don't liberals just kill ya?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: mhking
I am so glad he is now out of the political arena. He was one of the worst governors we ever had.
10 posted on 05/08/2004 6:36:57 PM PDT by aimhigh
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: mhking
"May a forgiving God mend my broken heart and those I have broken," he said in a statement

Now they believe in GOD.



Just like Billary.....when its convenient, use it..

11 posted on 05/08/2004 6:37:40 PM PDT by ThreePuttinDude (.19 out of 23 Swift Boat skippers can't be wrong.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

Comment #12 Removed by Moderator

To: mhking
You know what the style books say. If it is a Republican, it is the first sentence. If a Democrat, then either at the end, or not at all.
13 posted on 05/08/2004 6:45:34 PM PDT by Leisler (Don't think, unless you're told to.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Incorrigible
"Why did we have to wait until the last third of the article to find out he was a Democrat?"

Well, at least they finally get around to it. The article in today's Palm Beach Post didn't mention his party at all (that's how I knew -D).
14 posted on 05/08/2004 6:49:52 PM PDT by EnquiringMind
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Incorrigible
"Why did we have to wait until the last third of the article to find out he was a Democrat?"

Yeah. Since the victim was a girl and not a boy, you're left thinking that he must have been a 'Pubbie until they break the news that he's a 'Rat on the jump page.

15 posted on 05/08/2004 6:50:52 PM PDT by Neanderthal
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: mhking
Betcha the guy was pro-choice.
16 posted on 05/08/2004 6:52:09 PM PDT by Tribune7
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: mhking
Is it just me or does the entire article seem almost apologetic towards the perp?
17 posted on 05/08/2004 6:53:16 PM PDT by Straight Vermonter (06/07/04 - 1000 days since 09/11/01)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: mhking
Here is an early article about Janklow and a fatal traffic accident.

It does not mention that Janklow is a Republican until the last half of the article.

http://www.argusleader.com/specialsections/2003/janklowaccident/Sundayfeature.shtml
18 posted on 05/08/2004 6:55:40 PM PDT by SteveH
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Incorrigible
Why did we have to wait until the last third of the article to find out he was a Democrat?

Can't you just assume it from the title of the article?

19 posted on 05/08/2004 7:32:56 PM PDT by Redcoat LI (What Is Man That Thou Art Mindful of Him)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Redcoat LI
This guy has Presidential material written all over him. He now has the one qualification he was missing before - a sex scandal. Now he just has to confess his undying love for abortion and NOW can start doing fundraisers for his 2008 campaign.
20 posted on 05/08/2004 7:37:25 PM PDT by bpjam
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-38 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson