Gov. Kate Brown wants John Kitzhaber's pick for Oregon Health Authority confirmed

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Lynne Saxton is shown in 2007 at Christie School, when she was executive director of ChristieCare, a youth residential treatment nonprofit. The organization merged with Youth Villages in 2011.

(Stephanie Yao Long)

SALEM -- The Oregon Senate will vote to confirm two high-profile state officials nominated by former Gov. John Kitzhaber, briefly lifting its embargo on nominations at the request of Oregon's new governor, Kate Brown.

Brown announced Wednesday morning that she'd asked Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, for a vote to name Lynne Saxton director of the Oregon Health Authority. The Senate Rules Committee is set to take up Saxton's nomination Thursday. Brown has also asked for a vote on John Swetnam, nominated to the Psychiatric Security Review Board.

"She asked for a hearing, and the hearing was scheduled," said Robin Maxey, Courtney's communications director.

In a statement, Brown praised Saxton's "collaborative leadership style and commitment to serving Oregonians."

"My vision for OHA is an agency that supports our successful health reform efforts in the most efficient, effective, and transparent way possible," the governor said in her statement. "I look forward to her quick confirmation and working with Lynne to produce outcomes for Oregonians."

Saxton, nominated in December, has served as acting head since Jan. 21. The OHA has been without a leader since Bruce Goldberg left in 2013 to take over Cover Oregon, the state's soon-to-be-defunct health insurance exchange. The health authority is expected to play a key role in navigating conflicts between legal recreational pot and the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program. The agency has also played a role in the unfolding debacle over Cover Oregon.

After the votes on Saxton and Swetnam, some 40 other Kitzhaber nominees will remain in limbo.

Update: But that limbo may end within a few weeks. According to a letter Brown sent Senate leaders Tuesday, obtained by the Oregonian/OregonLive, the governor's office has promised to review "previously submitted candidates" along with "newly identified nominees."

The letter says Brown expects to submit two lists of nominees for Senate consideration. She suggested sending in the first on March 17, ahead of a possible hearing April 7 or April 9, and the second on April 21, ahead of a possible hearing on May 12 or May 14. Brown's office says it wants to give Senate leaders enough time to bless or reject candidates before this year's legislative session hits its final, furious stretch of negotiations and bill-passing.

-- Denis C. Theriault

503-221-8430; @TheriaultPDX

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