05:25 PM PDT on Thursday, April 27, 2006

By JOSEPH B. FRAZIER, Associated Press Writer

The administrator of the Oregon Liquor Control Commission resigned Thursday, five days after being arrested and charged with drunken and reckless driving.

kgw.com photo/PPB

Teresa L. Kaiser

Teresa Kaiser, 56, e-mailed her resignation to members of the OLCC board of directors, said Lonn Hoklin, spokesman for Democratic Gov. Ted Kulongoski.

A police report said officers responded to a two-car accident on the west end of the Sellwood Bridge Saturday night and smelled "a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage" from inside the vehicle. The report said the driver, Kaiser, had "bloodshot, watery eyes" and slurred speech but was cooperative.

The report said she admitted having two glasses of wine over five hours at the home of friends. A breath test placed her blood alcohol level at 0.16 percent, twice the legal limit for driving in Oregon.

She said she did not believe she should have been driving, according to the report.

The police report said Kaiser agreed to field sobriety tests but left her shoes in the car when she got out.

There were no reported injuries from the accident. The report indicated her car, headed downtown, crossed a lane on a curve.

"Due to circumstances that I deeply regret, I am resigning as executive director of the commission," Kaiser's e-mail to the board read. "I will return on May 15th to tie up loose ends and will say my goodbyes at that time. Although my departure is abrupt, I am confident the commission will move forward."

Commission member Bob Rice said Thursday that Kaiser came highly recommended and was well-regarded by commission members.

"She had a good professional relationship with me and to my knowledge with my fellow commissioners," he said.

He said she worked hard to extend herself to the OLCC's broad constituency, which ranges from temperance organizations to liquor manufacturers seeking broader distribution.

Kaiser assumed the post Sept. 15, 2003, after several years with Maryland's child support enforcement office.

She is a graduate of Portland's Lewis & Clark Law School and worked as an attorney for seven years as well as in liquor enforcement in Colorado and Washington. She was an OLCC inspector from 1981-1982.

Oregon is one of 18 "control" states for liquor, which means the state owns the beverages at some point in the distribution process.

The OLCC director is appointed by the board, which is named by the governor. The OLCC board will meet Friday to appoint an acting executive director.

"The governor naturally is very concerned about this. But he has total confidence that the commission will handle this and do the right thing," Hoklin said.

Statewide, liquor sales are on track to reach $722 million -- $77 million more than projected a year ago -- for the two-year period ending in June 2007, according to state estimates.

During Kaiser's tenure, the OLCC began a two-year pilot program to allow sales of distilled spirits in separate areas within supermarkets instead of in traditional state-run outlets. So far, the pilot program has brought in more revenue than expected, the agency has said. But it has upset some liquor agents who say it creates unfair competition.