willstrickland Posted May 7, 2004 Posted May 7, 2004 From CNN.com: PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) -- A former Oregon governor and transportation secretary under President Carter has admitted to a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl in the 1970s, when he was mayor of Portland. Neil Goldschmidt, 63, who was elected mayor at age 32 and served one term as governor from 1987-1991, told The Oregonian about the relationship for a story in Friday editions, shortly after resigning from two chairmanships Thursday. According to Oregon laws in 1975, sex with a girl under 16 constituted third-degree rape, but the statute of limitations expired in 1979. Citing only health problems, Goldschmidt on Thursday relinquished his posts from the Oregon Board of Higher Education and a company that has been trying to acquire Portland General Electric. He has been diagnosed with heart arrhythmia and blocked arteries that put him at risk of a heart attack. Following his resignations, Goldschmidt told the newspaper he came forward after learning a weekly paper was on the verge of reporting the relationship. 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. In a statement to The Oregonian, Goldschmidt said he has lived with "enormous guilt and shame" in the 30 years since the nine-month affair, which started in 1975 when he was 35. He was married at the time. Goldschmidt said he agreed to a financial settlement with the woman in 1994, "believing I was partly responsible for her difficulties coping with her life." He did not identify her; the story on the Willamette Week's Web site said she was the daughter of a Goldschmidt aide and sometimes babysat for Goldschmidt's children. "How can such behavior be erased when the damage to others and to myself lives on?" he said. "I have sat in places of worship each year at Yom Kippur, the day of atonement in my religious tradition (Judaism), reading in silence, searching for personal peace. And I have found that the answer to that question is that it cannot be erased. "The pain and damage that I have caused have been with me constantly. I have known all along that my private apologies and actions, deep and true though they were, would never be enough. I apologize now, publicly and completely." Goldschmidt and his lawyer did not return several phone calls from The Associated Press. 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. Besides serving as governor and Portland mayor, Goldschmidt was transportation secretary for the Carter administration, an executive with Nike and an international trade consultant Quote
assmonkey Posted May 7, 2004 Posted May 7, 2004 Yeah, that's pretty fucked up. Goldschidmt is really putting a stain on Oregon politics with this one. Between him and "lady groper" Packwood, and freakazoid Lon Mabon (2004 Presidential candidate) you Oregonians should be embarrassed. Pretty amazing that he actually came out with the news though. I guess thats worth something. - a s s m * n k e y Quote
b-rock Posted May 7, 2004 Posted May 7, 2004 Pretty amazing that he actually came out with the news though. I guess thats worth something. Yeah, blackmail's a bitch. Quote
bunglehead Posted May 7, 2004 Posted May 7, 2004 Yeah, that's pretty fucked up. Goldschidmt is really putting a stain on Oregon politics with this one. Between him and "lady groper" Packwood, and freakazoid Lon Mabon (2004 Presidential candidate) you Oregonians should be embarrassed. Pretty amazing that he actually came out with the news though. I guess thats worth something. - a s s m * n k e y And in the Private Sector we have Tonya Harding. Quote
rbw1966 Posted May 7, 2004 Posted May 7, 2004 I can't believe the asshat was diddling a teenager whilst in public office. Better than Clinton and his cigar tricks but still. . you cannot possibly think you could walk away from that unscathed. An aide's daughter too! WIth friends like that. . . What a legacy. Quote
Ratboy Posted May 7, 2004 Posted May 7, 2004 So getting oral sex from an adult is "better" morally than sexual intercoruse with a 14 year old? Quote
rbw1966 Posted May 7, 2004 Posted May 7, 2004 consensual sex between adults is by far better than statutory rape. Absolutely. By the way, I was being facetious. Quote
ryland_moore Posted May 7, 2004 Posted May 7, 2004 Think if this had actually come out prior to the governor's race! We could have had Norma Paulus as the governor. Not that that would have been bad either. How something like this can have such a huge affect in one's life! I find it ironic that a lot of people who praise him in the past for all the wonderful things he's done are turning their heads on him and are against him. Yes, what he did was bad and wrong, but that still does not change all of the amazing things he brought to Oregon. Wonder what Portland's downtown, mass transit system, and cleaning up of neighborhoods would be like now if he had not been mayor and/or governor? Quote
bunglehead Posted May 7, 2004 Posted May 7, 2004 That reminds me. What do Michael Jackson and Pepsi have in common? Quote
assmonkey Posted May 7, 2004 Posted May 7, 2004 That reminds me. What do Michael Jackson and Pepsi have in common? They both suck? Quote
badvoodoo Posted May 7, 2004 Posted May 7, 2004 They both keep trying to reinvent themselves, but all they end up with is something fruity and unnaturally translucent? Quote
Winter Posted May 8, 2004 Posted May 8, 2004 He's no better and no worse than any other pervert. He should be treated the exact same as any other person would be that committed the same nasty acts. The fact he's a public figure shouldn't mean a thing. Oregon rules BTW. You all are forgetting about the salmonella poisoning incident. I love this state. Hippies look normal here. Quote
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