Harsh Spotlight on Old Secret

For more than a decade, Oregonians wondered why former Gov. Neil Goldschmidt abruptly removed himself from public life at a time when his political career appeared to be on the rise.

Part of the answer came last week, when Goldschmidt revealed that he had had a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl in the mid-1970s, while he was mayor of Portland.

The admission, in advance of Willamette Week newspaper’s publication of an investigation, stunned Oregonians -- allies and rivals, Democrats and Republicans.

And it has been the talk of the town ever since. The debate centers on whether Goldschmidt, 63, has paid enough of a price in public humiliation, or has gotten away with committing a felony.

“For almost 30 years, I have lived with enormous guilt and shame,” Goldschmidt said in a statement May 6, the day he announced his resignation as head of the state Board of Higher Education. He also stepped down from his leadership post in a business group, and began a leave of absence from his consulting firm.

The fear of being exposed, he said, was one reason he decided in 1990 not to seek a second term as governor, choosing to live out of the spotlight.

“I’m sad for the victim; I’m sad for Neil; I’m sad for Oregonians,” said Donna Zajonc, a former state representative from Salem who once managed a campaign for one of Goldschmidt’s rivals.

Like many people in Oregon political circles in the 1970s and 1980s, Zajonc heard rumors of Goldschmidt’s extramarital affairs. “But never in my wildest imagination did I think there would be an underaged girl.”

Michelle Winningham, a civic activist and business consultant who met Goldschmidt on a number of occasions, said that in Oregon politics, “he wasn’t just one of the players, he was the player ... the benchmark, the one you compared other leaders to.”

“I always thought of him as one of the good guys,” Winningham said. “But that’s all changed.”

Winningham, like many Oregonians, thinks Goldschmidt is underplaying the gravity of his abuse by calling the relationship an affair. “Let’s call it what it is: A crime. A felony. He had sex with a child.”

According to Goldschmidt and the Willamette Week report, the sexual encounters began in 1975 while Goldschmidt was three years into his first term as mayor of Portland. He was 35, married with two children. She was the daughter of a well-to-do family friend who once worked as an aide for Goldschmidt. The family lived nearby, and the girl baby-sat for the Goldschmidt family. Her identity has not been disclosed.

Goldschmidt, in his confession, said the “affair” lasted nine months. The victim, according to court documents found by Willamette Week, said it lasted three years.

After the relationship ended, their lives took radically divergent paths. She went on to a life of low-paying jobs and drug abuse. Goldschmidt’s political career flourished.

In 1994, he agreed in a legal settlement to pay the victim $250,000 stretched out until 2015. The settlement was contingent on her remaining silent about the relationship. When contacted by Oregon reporters this year, the woman -- now 43 and living in Nevada -- denied she had ever been abused by Goldschmidt. She praised him as a good man and great leader.

In the 1970s, Goldschmidt was the youngest big-city mayor in the nation. In two terms, he transformed Portland into an attractive city with one of the country’s best public transportation systems. He had a major hand in building Pioneer Square, Tom McCall Waterfront Park, and the downtown transit mall -- which featured a then-revolutionary light rail system.

He became U.S. Transportation secretary under President Carter and served one term as governor, passing up a second term and several chances to run for the U.S. Senate. Since 1990, he’s been a behind-the-scenes player in numerous public and private projects.

Critics and supporters agree that Goldschmidt’s image and legacy have been permanently tarnished by the scandal, and that the true victim was the girl.

According to Oregon law at the time, sex with someone under 16 constituted third-degree rape, punishable by up to five years in prison. The statute of limitations ran out after three years.

“The saddest part,” Winningham said, “is that the girl who was too young to know, who didn’t deserve it, now bears the consequences, and the man who knew it was wrong gets away with it.

“He’s lived quite a life.”

Pam Hogeweide, a Portland mother who has been following the story, referred to the “so-called settlement” as nothing more than “political hush money.” Hogeweide said she was sorry Goldschmidt would not face any legal consequences. “It just seems he should get something: be required to take a sex-offender class, something, anything,”

Goldschmidt’s friends and supporters said they were appalled by his actions. But some think the former governor has redeemed himself by more than 30 years of public service. And they contend he has paid a steep enough price in guilt and public humiliation.

“It never should have happened. It’s inexcusable,” said Bob Burtchaell, a longtime friend and one of the founders of Willamette Week. “But it did happen, and this man made his amends to this woman the best way he could, and he went on to live his life in a way that benefited society.”

Burtchaell reportedly knew about the relationship for years. According to Willamette Week, Burtchaell acted as a mediator between Goldschmidt and the woman, something he had denied. Burtchaell said the newspaper’s investigation and expose served no good purpose.

Others are not as understanding.

One Oregon legislator, Tim Knopp of Bend, has asked that Goldschmidt’s portrait, hanging in a marble-tiled corridor in the state Capitol, be taken down. The Oregon State Bar is considering a public reprimand or disbarment of Goldschmidt.

“His life will never be the same,” said Lee Weinstein, who served as press secretary for the governor. He said Goldschmidt would feel a different kind of punishment from now on.

“He loves our state. He’s crazy about Oregon, and he loves the people of Oregon,” Weinstein said. “Now wherever he goes in this state, people will associate this with him, and he’ll know it, and this will cause him great pain.”