SALEM, Oregon — LaVonne Griffin-Valade was sworn in Friday and became Oregon's 29th Secretary of State in a ceremony held on the second floor of the old state library building in Salem.
After applause from supporters and a hug from her husband, Griffin-Valade spoke about her new position, assuring Oregonians that she would provide a steady, controversy-free hand in running the secretary of state's office. But she also made it clear that she would use her experience as a local government auditor to put her own stamp on how the office operates.
"I am deeply honored by this profound and unexpected opportunity to serve Oregonians as their secretary of state," said Griffin-Valade.
Griffin-Valade takes over about two months after the resignation of former Secretary of State Shemia Fagan, who faced mounting calls to step down after Willamette Week revealed that she'd taken high paying side job as a consultant for a chain of troubled marijuana dispensaries, all while overseeing an audit of Oregon's cannabis industry regulations.
The new secretary of state said she was surprised when Gov. Tina Kotek called her to talk about the possibility of serving out the remainder of Fagan's term, but discussions with the governor led her to say yes to the appointment when she was asked.
Griffin-Valade avoided speaking directly about the circumstances of her predecessor's departure, but offered this: "I can say that I will deliver decisions that uphold the law, that best serve Oregonians and rebuild faith in the office."
Griffin-Valade has been a novelist for the past decade following her retirement from public service. She previously spent 16 years as a government performance auditor, first for Multnomah County and then for the city of Portland.
She described auditing the city of Portland as very difficult during Friday's ceremony. When asked why, she chose her words carefully.
"That is because, not just the different bureaus, but the sort of holes people go down to avoid transparency, and that is a real problem in that organization," she said.
She said her focus now will be on leading as Oregon Secretary of State, with a clear top priority.
"Moving forward, I hope to be able to reassure the public that this office is doing the work and doing it well," she said.
Griffin-Valade said she will take some time settling in and getting to know the people and evaluating the processes in her office, and work on time-sensitive issues in the elections division.
The new Secretary of State said she does not plan to run for the office when her 18-month appointment is up. She also thanked her family, whose roots are in the John Day area of eastern Oregon, and her husband of 41 years, for their support.
Of her parents, Griffin-Valade said, "They passed away a number of years ago but I just have to say this: thank you mom and dad for teaching me the values of working hard and being honest fair and open to new challenges."