Former State Sen. Vicki Walker’s appointment by Gov. Ted Kulongoski to head Oregon’s parole board came to an unforeseen and sudden end Friday after it came to light that the state did not have the money to pay her salary.
The Oregon Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision asked the governor’s office and the Oregon Senate to remove Walker, who represented Eugene in the state legislature for 11 years, from her intended position as the noard chairperson.
While Kulongoski has the legal ability to appoint a five-member board, state legislature budgets only possess the funds to employ three. Both the governor and the board knew about the problem before  Walker’s appointment, and it had been mutually decided that extra funding to maintain the four-person staff would be taken from the legislatures’ Emergency Board.
However, September’s revenue decline of around $180 million forced the board and governor’s office to require one of the board members to step down, postponing the board’s expansion to a more financially stable time. Walker, who resigned from her state Senate seat in July after Kulongoski offered her the Parole Board Chair position, volunteered to leave her recently acquired position on the parole board after hearing about the financial problems.
“As an agency we have the responsibility to manage the budget given to us by the Legislature,” said Walker in a Friday press release. “While it is abundantly clear this board needs a fourth member – and has for some time – in these tight fiscal times, I cannot continue to seek confirmation for a position for which there is no certainty that adequate funding will be available without jeopardizing other critical needs of the agency.”
Aaron Felton, former Polk County Deputy District Attorney, had been appointed to the Vice Chairperson of the Parole Board by Kulongoski simultaneously to Walker’s repositioning, which automatically promotes him to the Chairperson spot she leaves behind.
While disappointed about the change, Kulongoski affirmed his hope for the future on Friday. “I appreciate Vicki’s commitment to the Board and her willingness to stay with the agency at this time” said Kulongoski. “I also believe Aaron is the right person to assume the role as Chair. I hope that the Senate confirms this appointment so we can begin moving forward with a full and functioning Board.”
Walker will stay on in an administrator’s position until the end of the year, awaiting her future on the Board. She made clear her commitment to the board in her press release. “I have made a commitment to the Governor and to the hard-working staff at the Board that I will work with the Legislature to seek a stable funding base for the Board and its growing workload,” Walker said. Whether she will eventually re-join the Parole Board remains undecided.