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League of Oregon Cities Conference 2008
REMARKS BY GOVERNOR TED KULONGOSKI
Friday, October 3, 2008
Thank you Tom for your very generous introduction. I’m very pleased to once again have the opportunity to address the members of the League of Oregon Cities.
It is a privilege for me to be here this morning with Senator Wyden to welcome you to Salem – and to thank you for your dedicated service to the people of Oregon.
I also want to thank you for the wonderful hospitality I always receive when I travel around the state. I enjoy walking your through your downtown business districts; talking to your citizens; and hearing directly from you your ideas, concerns – and frustrations.
Today you’ve brought your voices to Salem. But as long as I am Governor, I want to make sure that all of us who work in Salem bring our attention – and best listening skills – to you.
With that in mind, I’d like to recognize Ray Naff, my director of Intergovernmental Relations – because as much as I like getting out of Salem, I often need Ray to do my traveling for me.
He is my eyes and ears – and I promise you, he is not shy about bringing your issues to the table.
So I will continue to send Ray out on the road, continue to make sure that our Economic Revitalization Teams are moving your local projects forward, and continue to build strong and lasting partnerships with all members of the League of Oregon Cities.
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Even when I was on the Oregon Supreme Court, I didn’t make a habit of quoting ancient Greek poets. I thought if anyone should do that – the Chief should.
But one of those poets famously said: “The Fox know many things but the Hedgehog knows one big thing.”
I found myself thinking about this because both political parties are in this room. All regions of the state are in this room. Communities of every size are in this room. And policy differences are in this room.
But these are the many small things that define us in small ways.
The one big thing that defines us is our love for Oregon. That is who we are as a people – and why you have chosen the always honorable – but not always easy – path of public service.
Yes, there are some things only the state can do. And yes, there will always be a need to find the right balance between home rule and pre-emption.
But the fact remains: For the critical services that Oregon’s citizens depend on – they turn first to you: Our mayors. Our city managers. Our town councilors. Our local agency directors.
The great quality of life Oregonians expect – you, with skill and professionalism, always provide.
Today – as I look around this room – I see people I’ve known for most of my three decades of government service, that I have worked with closely as Governor, and that I know will remain friends and colleagues long after my two terms in office are over.
We’ve been through good times – and we’ve been through some tough times.
But just as I know that the League of Oregon Cities is a voice for our communities – and a partner for me, . . .
. . . I also know that after every economic downturn – Oregon emerges stronger, more diversified, and in a better position to lead America into the future.
Let me give you a little history to prove my point.
The last time I gave a major speech at this conference – you were meeting in Eugene, the year was 2003, major cuts had been made in critical services, and the Legislature didn’t leave the Capitol – a mere few blocks from here – until after Labor Day.
It was the longest – and certainly one of the most painful – sessions ever.
And yet in that speech I was able to talk about significant accomplishments. We fixed PERS and saved Oregon taxpayers – and cities – billions of dollars.
We passed the largest transportation package since Oregon built its share of the Interstate Highway System – investing billions in local communities and putting thousands of Oregonians across the state to work.
We cut government red tape, greatly increased the availability of industrial land, and passed a K through 12 budget that assured a full school year, reasonable class size, and adequate programs.
I’m a big believer in not looking in the rearview mirror. For me – Oregon’s best days are always in front of us.
But I have a particular reason for bringing up what happened in 2003. That was a grim year for the Oregon economy. Perhaps the worst since the Great Depression.
But even then we continued to invest. We continued to look forward. And we continued to choose hope over fear.
So the lesson was: If we want to move Oregon forward in good times – we have to stay optimistic and make the right choices during bad times.
Fast forward to 2008. Once again the national economy is faltering – and the troubles on Wall Street are certain to hit Main Street.
For most of this year, Oregon had been holding up pretty well compared with other states. That’s especially true of our budget.
It is also true that because we’ve built a diversified, knowledge-based, sustainable, and job-creating economy – we are well positioned to get out of the starting blocks quickly when the national economy recovers.
Nevertheless, there is no denying that Oregon is now falling in line with other states – and feeling the impact of the recession.
And make no mistake – we are in a recession!
I could spend a lot of time today rattling off statistics and describing the scope of our economic troubles. But the public does not need to be told that times are tough. They know that already.
Families are sitting around the kitchen table trying to balance their own budgets – at the same time they’re paying more at the pump. More at the grocery store. And more to heat their homes..
Parents are worried they won’t have money to send their children to college.
And as they watch banks fail and the stock market sink – families are wondering who is going to bailout their mortgages and retirement savings.
Oregonians are literally changing lifestyles to accommodate their falling incomes – and the shrinking value of their homes.
So our citizens know there is a problem. What they don’t know is whether government has the ability to fix the problem.
One thing the U.S. House of Representatives must do – if they haven’t already – is pass the Economic Rescue Bill.
The bill reauthorizes county payments for several years – repairing a broken promise and giving cities and towns in rural Oregon some breathing room to find new sources of revenue.
As for me – I intend to work with you – and the Legislature – to give the people of Oregon a vision of hope about the future. To tell them: Yes, there really is a pathway to prosperity.
I recently told the Oregonian newspaper that I don’t know where the bottom is. But I do know where the pathway to prosperity is.
First and foremost it is in creating the best educated, best skilled, best trained workforce in America.
But we also need to attract and retain high-tech and renewable energy companies. Take the lead in fighting climate change. Invest in public transportation. Find new energy sources and new ways to store water. And build strong state-local partnerships – for projects like OWIN, which will allow first responders at all levels of government to talk with each other during emergencies like last winter’s flooding.
At the same time – we must never forget to invest in our human capital. I’m talking about the citizens of our state – especially the people who need us the most, . . .
. . . and are most vulnerable in hard times like this: Children, seniors, the disabled, and people living on the economic margins.
The bottom line is: You and I have a shared mission that I define as: . . .
. . . Maintaining the services Oregonians depend on. Investing in the things that our economy grows on. And communicating to the public that there is no challenge we cannot take on.
I’ll be the first to admit that preparing a budget when revenues are trending down is not easy. That’s true for me – but it is equally true for mayors, city managers, city councilors, and finance directors.
So in recessionary times like this – we have no choice except to tighten our belts, set priorities, and make tough decisions.
As I mentioned, in 2003 we made some smart investments – and wise policy choices – even while we were losing more than 2-billion in revenue.
But we did not do a good enough job setting priorities.
We tended to demand cuts from every agency – instead of distinguishing between services that are important and services that are absolutely critical for the long term economic health of the state.
Which brings me to the 2009-2011 session that begins in January.
As I said, I know there is anxiety out there. You hear it talking to Legislators and city officials. You see it on the faces of Oregonians. And you read it on the editorial pages.
But the only thing that will stop us from coming out of this downturn in the strongest way possible is refusing to look past it.
That’s why we must not fall into the trap of thinking only about the next year or two. Instead, we need to double and even triple down on the lessons we’ve learned from past recessions.
That means investing in the engines of our economy: . . .
. . . Education from pre-school to graduate school. Green and sustainable transportation systems. Health care – especially for every Oregon child up to age 19. Making Oregon a world leader in renewable energy – and the use of electric cars. And preserving our quality of life.
This is how we will keep Oregon moving forward. Bring jobs to all communities in this state. And prove once again that Oregon understands how to turn big challenges into bigger opportunities.
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One of those great opportunities is Oregon’s 150th birthday – which we will start celebrating on February 14th.
In difficult times like these, a birthday party honoring Oregon’s statehood – the first of its kind in 50 years – will be a time for all Oregonians to pull together, to lift up our heads, and to recognize how blessed we are to live in this state.
Throughout 2009, every Oregonian will have the chance to appreciate the past, celebrate the present, and look with joy and pride toward the future.
The volunteer Board of Oregon 150 – which includes two outstanding members of the League of Oregon Cities – Alice Norris and Jim Fairchild – are working with Oregon 150’s great staff on six statewide signature events.
You’ll learn more about these events – as well as how to celebrate this great milestone in ways that work best for your cities and towns – in the Community Took Kit you received when you registered.
But my vision has always been that the diversity of our state should be reflected in the diversity of our celebration.
In other words, this should be a community-based birthday party – with local leaders, schools, civic and cultural organizations, working together to decide how to mark our 150 years of statehood.
This is not about cities and towns spending a lot of money. And it is not about coming up with something entirely new for 2009.
You’re already doing great things. From parades to music festivals to local fairs.
Use our Sesquicentennial to help promote these events. In other words – celebrate our birthday by celebrating what’s great about the communities you represent.
This will attract new visitors to your cities – and instill new pride.
Oregon 150 – our statewide organization – will be your partner. But my request is: Help them help you.
The place to start is by emailing them the name of a “go-to” person that they can work with – to spread the word on their website about what you’re doing, to help you plan for Take Care of Oregon Days, to post your community’s Oregon Story, and to answer any questions you have about our big birthday party.
The email address is: info@oregon150.org. And the Oregon 150 website – where you can find out about staff, projects, upcoming events, and much more is: www.oregon150,org
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It is especially appropriate that Oregon will be having a major celebration in a year that many expect to be hard on our economy, hard on working families – and hard on local government.
But 150 years of statehood have brought 150 years of opportunity, progress, diversity, protection of our natural environment, and optimism about the future.
That’s our legacy – our story – and it was written in large cities and small communities all across Oregon.
That means it was written with the leadership and wisdom of you – and your many predecessors at the League of Oregon Cities.
And I have no doubt that as long as we continue to work together –the best chapters in the story of Oregon are still to come.
Thank you. And God bless Oregon.
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