| Speech by Governor Kulongoski |
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| Friday, April 2, 2004 |
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Eugene City Club
REMARKS BY GOVERNOR TED KULONGOSKI
Friday, April 2, 2004
Thank you Tom for your introduction and your work on the Criminal Justice Commission. And Carolyn - thank you for giving me this chance to speak to the Eugene City Club and to spend time with friends, many of whom I´ve known for years. It´s good to be back.
When I made my long trek from Missouri to Oregon over thirty years ago - I never wanted to look back. And I never did. But I did bring two things with me: Harry Truman´s passion to help working families, and some very good advice from Mark Twain - who famously remarked: “Do the right thing all the time. This will gratify some - and astonish the rest.”
It´s a great principle to live by. But we need more than principles, we need experience. And many of my most important experiences happened right here in Eugene. I feel a very personal connection to this city. I moved to Eugene to clerk for one of your judges, Judge Douglas Spencer. I started my law firm in Eugene - and my political career. My wife, Mary, lived here for many years - and went to law school here. My children grew up here went to high school in this community. And, even though Mary and I haven´t lived in Eugene for quite a few years - we still miss Humble Bagels and runs along the Willamette River through Alton Baker Park.
I would not be where I am today without the many friends I made here - and the many opportunities I found here. That´s why my biggest goal for the last 30 years - whether I was a private citizen raising a family in Eugene or a public citizen serving in all three branches of government - has been to give back to you as much as you have given to me.
I want you to know that as long as I am Governor, I will work tirelessly on what matters most to the people of Oregon: Strengthening our economy and creating more family wage jobs. Educating our children and keeping them safe in our homes and communities. Making sure that University of Oregon and Lane Community College are financially healthy and academically first-rate. And protecting Lane County´s extraordinary environment and quality of life.
I´ve actually managed to reduce this vision to a simple formula that I sometimes call, Ted´s Theory of Prosperity. Or more simply: The Oregon Equation. The formula is: O = C + E2. It means that the way we achieve a prosperous and sustainable Oregon is by having government, business and citizens work together to strengthen the lives of children, build the economy and stand guard over the environment. I want everyone in Oregon to know this formula because it is our road to recovery and prosperity.
I´m not the first Governor to talk about children, the economy and the environment. But my message and vision is about the connections among all three - how they work together and build on each other.
When we educate Eugene´s children in quality schools with small classes, they are much more likely to grow up and use their brainpower at the University of Oregon - and for our economy. When we act as stewards for the Willamette and McKenzie rivers, families want to raise and educate their children here, and sustainable businesses are easier to recruit here. And when we grow the economy - paychecks grow, and the money we need for schools, job training, and higher education grows too. In other words, the dots connect. The sum is greater than the parts. There really is an Oregon Equation.
Let me give you two examples. The first is about our environment. I´m going to lead a major effort over the next three years to restore the crown jewel of Oregon´s river system - the Willamette. Not just part of the river. But all of it - from the Columbia to the head waters just east of here. This is my number one priority for the environment. I want our children and grandchildren to be able to see the Willamette River the way our grandparents and great grandparents saw it.
This will not be easy - and it will not be cheap. But for people who love the Willamette - as you do and I do - there can be no more delays, no more excuses, no more passing the buck. The time has come to act. That´s why I went straight to the President for 13-million dollars to complete the clean up of the McCormick and Baxter superfund site in the Portland Harbor, and why I´m leading the Willamette Cleanup Authority, which will focus on restoring the Portland Harbor.
But that´s just the beginning. I´m working with our Congressional delegation to secure millions more from the Army Corp of Engineers to get rid of old mine tailings, upgrade dams on tributaries, and restore wetlands - all to improve water quality and preserve our precious natural resources. I´m also putting together a real coalition of the willing - businesses, community organizations like SOLV, and citizens who are joining me in this fight to save the Willamette. Don´t expect a quick victory. But I promise you - I´m in this for the long haul. We´re going to get this job done!
Here´s where the Oregon Equation comes in: Cleaning up the Willamette is not just about the environment. It´s also about the economy and children. Cities and town along the river will attract more tourists. And sustainable clean-energy industries will fill the void left by unsustainable energy-inefficient industries. These economic benefits are in addition to the jobs and business opportunities that will be created as river clean up and wetland restoration moves forward.
And what about children? I believe that a clean Willamette is a legacy we owe our children. Plain and simple. And if we succeed for them - they will do the same for their children. But the work must begin with us!
My second example of how the pieces of the Oregon Equation work together is education. I could have made the Oregon Equation: O = C + E(cubed) - with the third “E” being education. But I put education under children because it is so critical to their needs. Nevertheless, when I talk about education I don´t just mean K through 12. I mean lifelong learning - which includes linking our high schools with community colleges and universities, and making career training part of the high school curriculum. Our goal is to deliver a transparent and seamless system of education from pre-school through graduate studies to foster a culture of innovation and to make Oregon competitive in the global economy.
How does lifelong learning fit in with the rest of the Oregon Equation? On the environment: The more we learn about our natural surroundings - and our unique history with the land and water - the more likely we are to want to protect those surroundings.
As for economy - education is the fuel for our prosperity. If we want to be a second tier state that can´t attract new businesses; can´t compete in the global marketplace; can´t create new jobs - and train skilled workers to fill those jobs; and can´t offer kids in Eugene a quality education that prepares them for college and gives them an incentive to put down roots here - there is no question what we should do: We should continue down the road we´ve been on for the last three years: Cutting teachers. Cutting programs. And increasing class size.
On the other hand, if we want to grow our economy, create more jobs, and be a leader in innovation - and a winner in the global marketplace, we must continue Oregon´s long tradition of supporting our public schools - and be on the absolute cutting edge of knowledge and learning. That means focusing less on the next fiscal quarter - and election cycle - and more on the Oregon of ten, twenty and even thirty years from now.
We´re doing exactly that with the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute, called ONAMI. It is located on the Oregon State University campus in partnership with the University of Oregon, Portland State University, and the national research hub in Richland, Washington. I see Oregon as the world leader in nanotechnology! And we are creating the critical mass of PhD´s necessary to be that leader. The University of Oregon is a major player in ONAMI - and ONAMI will be a major player in our economic future.
ONAMI is one example of my determination to invest in innovation - and the long term. But we won´t be truly successful without strong partnerships among government, business, and our universities, and we won´t be successful without focus and patience. We need “patience” because our investment in innovation is about long-term economic opportunity. In other words, we´re not doing this to create thousands of jobs overnight in nanoscience. We are doing this to attract and foster the talent that will create thousands of new ideas and innovations. A critical mass of talent, ideas and innovations will attract capital - and, in the long-term, spin off some of the best companies and jobs the global marketplace has to offer. We need “focus” because that is how you stay the course. As I´ve said many times, I´m committed to creating jobs and concentrating on economic fundamentals. That means investing in physical capital - and intellectual capital. When people look back on this time twenty or thirty years from now, I want them to see that we were the people who built bridges - physical bridges and bridges between lifelong learning and the economy.
Because I´m in Eugene - home to the University of Oregon, which is absolutely vital to the economic future of this state - I want to talk more about higher education. I take this very personally. I would not be where I am today if I hadn´t gone to college and law school. And I wouldn´t have gone to college and law school without the GI Bill.
I have great respect for all work. Someone once said that a society that respects its philosophers more than its plumbers, will end up without philosophies - or pipes. But that doesn´t change the fact that higher education levels the playing field - and gives former truck drivers, like me, the chance to learn new skills and build a new life.
Now I want to make sure that every qualified high school graduate in Eugene and throughout the state has an opportunity to go to college and achieve their full potential. Unfortunately, for the last ten years we´ve been heading in the opposite direction. State funding for the University of Oregon, Lane Community College and the rest of our post-secondary system has been cut dramatically. Our policy has been one of disinvestment in higher education, rather than investment. At the same time, tuition keeps going up to compensate for lost funding - forcing some students to drop out and many others to not even bother applying.
Let me be blunt: This is a self-inflicted wound. Nobody wins and everybody loses: Our colleges and universities. Our faculty. Our students. Our economy. And our future. We need a higher education system that is affordable and accessible. We need a higher education system that operates without turf battles. And we need a higher education system with a strong and effective board - a board that puts students first, and understands that higher education is part of lifelong learning that begins with pre-school.
That´s why we have embarked on the most thorough review of post-secondary education that Oregon has ever seen - starting with my appointment of seven new members to the Board of Higher Education - including former Governor Neil Goldschmidt, who is the new board chair. My charge to the Board is simple: Bigger. Better. Faster.
Because of the defeat of Measure 30 - the Legislature has mandated that 7.5-million dollars be cut from the higher education budget. But I have directed the Board to do everything possible to find those cuts without increasing tuition. I told the Board when I appointed them - I want less money spent on administration and more money spent on improving quality inside the classroom.
We´re already moving in the right direction. The Board is close to finishing its internal review of the Chancellor´s Office. I may be able to give you a preview of what I expect the Board to recommend as early as next week. There will be significant cuts to the Chancellor´s Office. Somewhere between 1-million and 4-million dollars. Many of the functions of the Chancellor´s Office will be transferred to the University of Oregon and other campuses. Academic Affairs in the Chancellor´s Office will be significantly reduced. And the Board is also looking at the Controller and Information Technology offices.
These are some of the near-term changes you can expect. But we must have a long-term strategy for higher education. Last year I proposed a plan that I called ASET - Access Scholarships for Education Trust. The trust would allow all eligible Oregon students the chance to attend a community college or university in Oregon - public or private.
The Legislature did not act on my proposal. But I have no intention of giving up. That´s why today, I´m issuing a call-to-action! I hope the Eugene City Club will join me in demanding a fund to support access to higher education for every eligible Oregonian - and to make sure that this fund is put in the Constitution where it will serve as an economic engine for generations to come.
ASET was only one of many contentious issues that came up during last year´s legislative session. I don´t have to tell you we had vigorous debates about taxes, school funding, forest health, how to pay for more state police, and even baseball. These debates were not confined to Salem. They touched every corner of this state - and played out in newspapers, on TV - and sometimes in the streets.
Debate, disagreement, compromise and negotiation are the lifeblood of our democracy. And fortunately - they´re alive and well in Oregon. But - along with debate there must also be respect for the rule of law, respect for each other, and a core belief that we are still one Oregon with one common destiny. To paraphrase Shakespeare: Our fate is not just in our economy. It is in our unity.
Let me explain what I mean. First - on the rule of law. Show me a society where there is no rule of law, and I will show you a society where the weakest have no chance - and the strongest show no restraint. The rule of law is the glue that holds together Oregon´s communal bonds, and makes a functioning government possible. What some people have lost sight of is that the rule of law demands an orderly process, and an orderly process requires a unique role for each branch of government.
I think I´m especially well qualified to talk about this since I´ve served in all three branches of government. As a legislator, I wrote the law. As a judge, I interpreted the law - and helped decide what is, and what isn´t, meant by the words in the Oregon Constitution.
But not anymore. Now I execute and enforce the law. I don´t try to step into my old shoes - or shoes that don´t belong to me. I think we´ve learned recently that everyone in government - state and local - should do the same. My message is simple: Let the process work. That means let the Attorney General do his job. And let the courts do their job.
Otherwise, we lose the rule of law. We lose the public´s confidence that the system is open and transparent. And, most important, we lose what it means to be an Oregonian. We can debate and disagree. We can vote for change. And we can go to Court when we believe that public officials are violating the law or the Oregon Constitution. What we can´t do is pick and choose which laws we want to follow - or create new ones just for ourselves. That is a recipe for disaster.
The biggest threat to Oregon´s tradition of social justice, tolerance and human rights - the very ideals that the supporters of gay marriage want to protect - is disunity. Do we really want to live in a state where fundamental rights mean one thing east of the Cascades and something else west of the Cascades? We don´t have to speak with one voice. But we do have to live with one law until a fair process changes that law.
And it´s not just our social values that thrive best when we are united. Our economy does too. Our competitors are outside our borders. It´s other states and countries that we need to worry about. Not each other. We can´t control globalization. But we can control how we work together.
I´m absolutely convinced that we have the business leadership, workforce, infrastructure, universities, and public-private partnerships we need to create an Oregon economy that is even stronger than it was in the late 1990s. All we need is a belief in our future - and each other. That´s why since the day I announced I was running for Governor I´ve talked about the need to heal our divisions: Urban and rural. Old economy and new economy. Industry and environment. Liberal and conservative.
In spite of the tough economy, we had a very successful legislative session last year. One reason is that I worked hard to reduce the partisan rancor of the previous few years. Republicans and Democrats worked together on transportation, PERS, tourism, and preserving art and culture.
But we need to do even better. There are those who believe that conflict and partisanship are part of the natural order. And that in an age of pollsters and consultants, the only way for one side to win is to make sure that the other side loses. I couldn´t disagree more. The way for all sides to win is for all sides to work together. Yes, that means compromise. But a compromise where both sides accept some of what they want is far better than the bitterness, stalemate and failure that is inevitable when both sides demand everything they want.
Again, our competitors are beyond our borders and racing every day to beat us to the victory line. The way to make sure that we beat them instead, is to put our collective imagination, energy and talent - our most powerful economic tools - to work for Oregon.
I started out talking about my personal connection to Eugene. I´d like to end the same way. This is a great city. For me - it changed Oregon from a destination to a home. I´ve always known that homes require attention and commitment. But over the years, I´ve learned that´s not quite enough. Homes also require neighbors - people who are willing to belong together, work together, and build a future together.
As Oregon moves from hard times to good times - which is exactly what we´re doing - I want the Eugene City Club to know that I need every neighbor I can find - neighbors with a long history of standing up for Oregon and Oregon values. Neighbors like you!
Thank you.
Contact:
Mary Ellen Glynn 503.378.6496
Marian Hammond 503.378.6169
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