Kate Brown will become America's first
openly bisexual governor when she takes over the reigns in Oregon.
Brown, the Oregon secretary of state,
will be sworn in as governor on Wednesday after the state's current
governor, John Kitzhaber, resigned on Friday amid a growing scandal.
Kitzhaber, 67, a former emergency room
doctor who was elected to an unprecedented fourth term as governor in
November, was pushed out by allegations that his fiancee, Cylvia
Hayes, used her position to influence clean energy issues while
serving as a consultant on the issue.
In stepping down, Kitzhaber denied any
wrongdoing: “I am confident that I have not broken any laws nor
taken any actions that were dishonest or dishonorable in their intent
or outcome.”
The 54-year-old Brown, who is married
to a man, discussed coming out in an OutHistory.org
survey.
“I believe it was during my early
30's that I figured out who, or what, I am,” she wrote. “But it
wasn't until it was written in the Oregonian newspaper that I
was bisexual that I had to face the inevitable and let those around
me know. Thus began my very public coming out as a bisexual.”