Vicki Walker won't lead Parole Board

Vicki Walker won't lead Oregon Parole Board

By Susan Goldsmith, The Oregonian
September 25, 2009, 12:52PM

Former state Sen. Vicki Walker, handpicked by the governor to chair the parole board in July, will not take the helm of the agency and instead will accept a limited position at the agency through the end of the year, the Gov.'s office said Friday.

Walker was slated to be confirmed to the board as chair next month along with a former Polk County prosecutor selected by the governor to be vice-chair. The two appointees were part of Gov. Kulongoski's plan to expand the Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision from three to four members.

But citing the September revenue forecast decline of $180 million, the board and the Gov.'s office agreed to only seek confirmation for a third member, which is already funded.

According to the Gov.'s office and Walker, the former state senator agreed to remove her name from consideration and accept only a limited position with the board through the end of the year at a reduced salary.

As chair of the board, Walker was slated to make $97,000 a year. In her new, temporary administrative position, she will earn $82,668 a year.

"There's a budget problem," Walker said. "It is bad and it's getting worse by the day."

 Walker said her future is up in the air.

"I'm taking one for the Gipper," she said. "As soon as the September forecast came out, that did it for me. As a legislator, I'd be asking how can we be funding (a fourth position) in this environment? I wasn't prepared to put myself in that position."

-- Susan Goldsmith