June 29, 2023 4:00 a.m.

On Wednesday, Governor Tina Kotek announced that she is appointing LaVonne Griffin-Valade to serve as Oregon Secretary of State.

A release from the Governor’s office said Griffin-Valade worked as a government performance auditor for over sixteen years, including eight as an elected auditor.

Kotek said, “I told Oregonians in May that the primary objective of our next Secretary of State was to restore confidence in the office. LaVonne Griffin-Valade has the professional background and ethical judgement to rise above politics and lead the important work of the agency forward”. Kotek said, “This role demands accountability and transparency, especially at this moment, and I am eager to see her leadership restore faith in the Secretary of State’s office”.

Griffin-Valade was hired as a Senior Management Auditor at the Multnomah County Auditor’s Office in 1998 and later went on to serve as the elected Multnomah County Auditor. In 2009, she was elected the Portland City Auditor.

Griffin-Valade said, “I have the experience to bring back credibility, accountability, transparency, and trust to the Secretary of State’s office”. She said, “It’s never been more important to have a leader who will focus on rebuilding the public’s trust in the Secretary of State’s office and that is exactly what I will aim to do every day”.

After leaving office, Griffin-Valade went on to earn a Master of Fine Arts in writing from Portland State University and has since pursued a successful writing career.

Griffin-Valade will serve the remaining eighteen months of the current term. She will be sworn in on Friday, June 30th in Salem.