PORTLAND, Ore., May 7 (UPI) -- Former Oregon Gov. Neil Goldschmidt has admitted he had an affair with a 14-year-old girl when he was 35 and mayor of Portland,
"I'm just living with this personal hell," Goldschmidt, 63, told the Portland Oregonian, occasionally choking back tears. "The lie has gone on too long."
He announced Thursday he was resigning all his public and private positions to "rebuild my life."
In an extraordinary and emotional 50-minute interview, Goldschmidt said he had lived for 30 years with the "enormous guilt and shame" of what he said was a nine-month relationship.
He said deteriorating health due to heart problems and knowledge that media accounts of the affair were about to unfold, made him come forward.
Goldschmidt, who was married at the time of the affair, said he agreed to a financial settlement with the woman, who is now 42. He did so after being contacted by the woman's lawyer in 1994.
