Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has done an about-face, agreeing to support the extradition of a woman charged with embezzling tens of thousands of dollars from Eugene Weekly after her office twice rejected requests to bring the suspect back from Ohio to face five felony charges.

Kotek reversed the decision — which her office had previously defended — after her staff did not explain to the Weekly or other news sources what criteria was used to deny the extradition request. The story was picked up widely by Oregon media, including The Oregonian/OregonLive, KLCC, KMTR and KEZI. 

The news sparked outcry from EW’s readers, who said they sent their protests to the governor’s office. Readers also sent dozens of messages to the Weekly, expressing outrage and offering to raise funds for the extradition. 

EW, as a newspaper reporting on law enforcement, the courts and government, was unable to accept offers to fundraise for the DA’s office. 

EW Publisher Jody Rolnick says Kotek’s original decision was a blow not just to the paper — which spent about $30,000 on conducting the forensic accounting — but to the law enforcement that worked on the case and the community. “We are gratified that the governor listened to her constituents and understood the impact this newspaper and her decision had on the community,” she says. “We are also thankful for everyone’s continuing support.”

In April, a Lane County grand jury indicted Elisha Young, 38, EW’s former bookkeeper, 16 months after the newspaper discovered the embezzlement that nearly closed it forever. She faces three counts of aggravated theft in the first degree, a class B felony, and two counts of theft in the first degree, a class C felony. The indictment alleges Young stole the money between July 2021 and December 2023.

On May 6, police in Whitehall, Ohio, arrested Young on a nationwide warrant.

Two days later, EW reported on Young’s arrest. By the next day, Ohio authorities had released Young after Kotek’s office said “no” to supporting her extradition from Oregon. EW reported Kotek’s decision on May 22.

Kotek’s office initially turned down what should have been a routine request to extradite Young, saying it was not worth the time or money to bring her back to face the charges but that the Lane County District Attorney’s office could still pursue the extradition. The DA’s office does not have a fund for extradition. The governor’s office has the power to approve or deny funding extraditions when suspects wanted for crimes in Oregon are arrested in other states. 

Lane County DA Christopher Parosa told Portland TV station KGW that his office also received offers for fundraising. He tells EW that he is “pleased with the governor’s decision to change course on this case.”

Kotek spokesperson Roxy Mayer said in a prepared statement on May 27 that “extradition requests are evaluated under the Governor’s Office’s policy guidelines, with exceptions considered on a case-by-case basis.” She adds, “This decision is not a change in the office’s extradition policy, but a decision based on the unique circumstances and community concern.”

Parosa previously told EW that Kotek’s office had been increasingly rejecting extradition requests. The Oregonian’s coverage revealed that Kotek had also denied funding the extradition from Texas of a burglary suspect accused of targeting the homes of Asian families in Eugene. 

In response to that revelation, the Asian American Council of Oregon said in a statement, “We believe that targeting victims on the basis of race should be a high priority for our state, particularly given the continuing nature of such crime and the impact on our Asian American community.” 

Eugene lawyer Jenny Jonak, who is part of the AACO, says that case should also warrant extradition. “We would like to see a reversal of the decision denying funding for the extradition of the suspect for the Asian American burglaries,” she says. “We believe that should be treated as high priority by our state given the impact on the Asian American community.”

EW made a public records request for Oregon extradition information going back to 2023, as well as the criteria used in making extradition decisions, but has not yet received the information from the Governor’s Office.

Kotek’s office has also not yet responded to a request for the average cost of an extradition, which Parosa told KGW was between $3,000 to $6,000.

Young must now be found and arrested again in order to be brought back to Oregon.