Liquor Chief Is Charged in Drunk Driving Case

The director of the Oregon Liquor Control Commission resigned Thursday after she was charged with drunk driving.

Police said officers responded to a two-car crash Saturday night in Portland and smelled “a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage” from inside Teresa L. Kaiser’s vehicle. There were no reported injuries in the wreck.

Kaiser admitted having two glasses of wine over five hours at the home of friends, a police report said. Kaiser’s blood-alcohol level was 0.16, twice the legal limit for driving in Oregon, said police Det. Paul Dolbey.

A spokesman for Gov. Ted Kulongoski confirmed Thursday that Kaiser had e-mailed her resignation to the commission’s board of directors.

“Due to circumstances that I deeply regret, I am resigning as executive director of the commission,” Kaiser wrote in the e-mail. “Although my departure is abrupt, I am confident the commission will move forward.”

The Oregon commission runs state liquor stores, oversees licensing and enforces liquor laws.

Kaiser had been the commission’s director since 2003. Its board planned to appoint an acting executive director today.

Spokesman Lonn Hoklin said the governor has confidence “the commission will handle this and do the right thing.”