In an unusual sign of tension between two of Oregon’s most powerful Democratic officeholders, U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio wrote a blistering letter to Gov. Kate Brown saying she appeared to mislead him on a controversial environmental issue.
DeFazio is a key congressional champion of recovering wolf populations that were once hunted to the point of extinction. In his June 9 letter, he criticized Brown and her staff for the way they handled a bill in the Oregon Legislature that could weaken protections for wolves.
DeFazio told Brown that a batch of newly disclosed emails from her aides “contradicts statements you made to me about your involvement with this legislation.”
DeFazio also fumed that a Brown staffer had belittled his opposition to the bill by saying the congressman was focused on the “non-farm, ranch” portions of his district.
“I do not appreciate your staffs’ misrepresentation of my district and my advocacy on behalf of my constituents,” he wrote.
A DeFazio spokeswoman, Beth Schoenbach, said the congressman wouldn’t comment on the letter, which OPB obtained from an environmental group that has been critical of Brown.
“It was a private letter,” Schoenbach said. “And we don’t have anything further to say about it.”
Source: Rep. Peter DeFazio Criticizes Gov. Kate Brown, A Fellow Democrat, Over Wolf Issue . News | OPB