Liquor Chief Charged With Drunken Driving Thu Apr 27, 4:47 PM ET



PORTLAND, Ore. - The director of the Oregon Liquor Control Commission abruptly resigned Thursday after she was charged with drunken driving.


Teresa Kaiser was stopped Saturday night in Portland and was found to have a blood-alcohol level of 0.16 percent, twice the legal limit for driving in Oregon, said police Detective Paul Dolbey.

Governor's spokesman Lonn Hoklin confirmed Thursday that Kaiser had e-mailed her resignation to the commission's board of directors that day.

"Due to circumstances that I deeply regret, I am resigning as executive director of the commission," Kaiser wrote in the e-mail. "Although my departure is abrupt, I am confident the commission will move forward."

Oregon is one of 18 "control" states for liquor, which means the state owns it at some point in the distribution process. The Oregon commission runs state stores, oversees licensing and enforces liquor laws.

Kaiser had been the commission's administrator since 2003. Its board planned to meet Friday to appoint an acting executive director.

"The governor naturally is very concerned about this. But he has total confidence that the commission will handle this and do the right thing," Hoklin said.

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On the Net:

http://www.olcc.state.or.us