“She was a good person who suffered a great deal in her life,” said the woman’s mother, who added, “We’re glad her suffering is at an end.”


The mother declined to identify the cause of death but said her daughter had been in the hospice for about five weeks.

The Oregonian neglected to remind its readers that such acts aren’t confined to Capitol Hill or to Republicans: In 2004 it reluctantly reported that Governor Ted Kulongoski and others in Portland’s political and business circles were accused of knowing former governor Neil Goldschmidt had repeatedly raped his children’s 14-year-old babysitter while mayor of Portland in the 1970’s.
I was the accuser.
The story of Neil and the girl had circulated for years in Portland bars and boardrooms, among lawyers, judges, reporters, editors, business executives, developers, elected officials­many of whom had gained power and wealth from their association with Goldschmidt.
No one spoke up; no one confronted him.
Goldschmidt, unencumbered by conscience and sheltered by those who knew the truth, went on to a stellar career: U.S. secretary of transportation, Nike VP, and governor of Oregon, where he was touted as presidential material. As his speechwriter (and as-yet unaware of his sordid past), I proudly helped author Neil’s “Children’s Agenda,” inspiring Oregonians to protect and defend those most vulnerable to poverty, neglect and, too often, sexual predators.
Convinced by Neil’s former state police bodyguard in 1994 that the rumors were true, I told Kulongoski, my close friend and at that time Oregon’s attorney general. But the statute of limitations had expired, and Neil had obtained a confidentiality agreement from his now-adult victim in exchange for cash.