Three top staffers who departed Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek’s office after issues tied to first lady Aimee Kotek Wilson have formed a new public affairs and political strategy firm.
Kotek’s former chief of staff Andrea Cooper, former deputy chief of staff Lindsey O’Brien and former director of public affairs An Do are launching “March Strategies.”
All three women have extensive backgrounds in the upper echelons of state government and campaign work.
In a press release announcing the launch, the women said they were “drawn to the hard problems that keep leaders awake at night. The ones where the stakes are high, the path isn’t clear, and the outcome will make a real difference in people’s lives.”
Aimee Kotek Wilson, left, and her wife, Oregon’s Governor-elect Tina Kotek, arrive at Kotek’s press conference on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022 at the Salmon Street Springs in Portland.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Before becoming chief of staff for Kotek, Cooper served in the same role for former Gov. Kate Brown. She also served as political director for SEIU 503 and chief of staff for the Oregon House majority office. O’Brien worked for Kotek both while she was governor and speaker of the house. Before Do worked for Kotek, she served as executive director for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon.
Cooper and O’Brien departed Kotek’s office in 2024, after they registered concerns about the increasingly influential role Kotek Wilson was taking in the governor’s administration. Their departures led to a flurry of others, including Do’s decision to leave. She did not cite Kotek Wilson as the reason for leaving.
After Kotek’s staffers left, scrutiny of her wife’s role in the office led the governor to apologize and abandon plans to grant her wife a more formal role in the administration, possibly by creating a first spouse office. Several of Kotek’s former top staffers pushed back on the role and expanding authority Kotek Wilson had in her wife’s administration. At the time, the governor offered little clarity about how she would create boundaries that would allow staff to raise workplace issues when it came to Kotek Wilson. The Oregon Government Ethics Commission ultimately declined to launch an investigation into the matter, and the agency’s director has said there is no sign Kotek Wilson’s involvement ran afoul of ethics laws.
The new political strategy firm will offer services in government and public affairs, coaching and organizational development as well as campaign and advocacy work, according to a press release.
“Together, we’ve developed policy, shaped public conversations, and led teams that deliver results,” the women said in a statement. “Through it all, we’ve centered the people — both those impacted by policy changes and those working to drive the change. We’re excited to continue this work at March Strategies.”
