SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Long-time Democratic Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber has announced his resignation amid allegations his fiancee used her relationship with him to enrich herself.

Kitzhaber said his resignation would be effective on Wednesday. In a statement on Friday, he apologized to the people who helped him get re-elected in November and supported him for the past three decades.

He said it was not in his nature to "walk away from a job I have undertaken."

The announcement is a stunning fall from grace for the state's longest-serving chief executive.

Kitzhaber has consistently maintained that he and his fiancee, Cylvia Hayes, worked hard to avoid conflicts between her public and private roles.

 

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