Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Oregon is blessed with hard working people who care about their communities, incredible
natural beauty and abundant natural resources. But for too long, Oregon’s political leaders
have made job creation and economic growth an afterthought rather than the central focus of
protecting and improving our quality of life. Without jobs, our families are worse off and
government lacks the tax revenues to fund schools and other essential government services
upon which we all rely. This is Oregon’s greatest challenge: saving our quality of life by
creating economic opportunities for all Oregonians.
It’s no secret we’re in tough times. Our unemployment rate remains at 10.6 percent with
208,696 Oregonians out of work as of August 2010.1 That’s a full point higher than the national
unemployment rate, and the 8th highest in the nation. Washington State’s unemployment rate
is 8.9 percent. Idaho’s is 8.8 percent.2 From September 2008 to June 2010, Oregon has lost a
net 85,425 private sector jobs.3 As a result, one out of five (20 percent) Oregonians is today
receiving food stamps.4 News stories tell the same tale. In mid-June, The Oregonian reported
that “Oregon's economy is stuck in neutral, with employment and unemployment both stalled
and no big industry poised to give the state a shove.”5 In August, the Portland Business
Journal reported that a mid-year review of trends shows that Oregon has the “11th weakest
economy in the country.”6
But our current economic problems didn’t begin two years ago. Previous governors and
legislatures planted the seeds of our current economic troubles by spending too much and
failing to modernize and reform government when they had the chance. Worst of all, private
sector job creation was taken for-granted. Indeed, Oregon’s unemployment rate went above
the national average in May of 1996 and it’s been stuck there ever since – fourteen straight
years.7
Recently, the passage of the Ballot Measures 66 and 67 tax increases have made matters
worse. Economic development officers, mayors, legislators and governors from other states
have begun recruiting Oregon businesses to come to their states and Oregon business owners
talk of leaving the state. Regardless of whether businesses are actually leaving the state or
whether entrepreneurs are taking fewer risks in Oregon, it’s clear that our economic
development reputation is tarnished and that too many job creators have lost confidence in
Oregon as a place to invest and grow.
In the aftermath of the ballot measures, even the campaign’s chief spokesman conceded that
1
Labor Force Data, Qualityinfo.org; Oregon Employment Situation: August 2010, September 14, 2010
2
http://www.qualityinfo.org/olmisj/uranker
3
Oregon Employment Department, Qualityinfo.org database
4
“More Oregonians than ever are receiving food stamps,” The Oregonian, May 15, 2010
5
“Oregon unemployment stuck in neutral, report suggests,” The Oregonian, June 15, 2010
6
“Oregon economy ranks near the bottom,” Portland Business Journal, July 30, 2010
7
Bureau of Labor Statistics – Oregon vs. U.S. unemployment rates 1996-2010
Oregon’s Comeback: A Plan to Create Private Sector Jobs and Stimulate the Economy 2
the outcome “soured some investors on Oregon” and made some businesses feel that they
were no longer valued, especially considering the permanent nature of the tax increases. His
solution? He suggested a capital gains tax break.8 Sadly, this frustration with policy-makers
and a lack of confidence in Oregon as a place to maintain and build a business is a message
Chris Dudley has heard again and again across Oregon.
The financial impact of years of failed economic policies is dramatic. Oregon’s per capita
wealth has fallen to 91 percent of the U.S. average. Washington State’s, by contrast, stands at
106 percent of the U.S. average. This decline results in fewer tax revenues for schools and
government services. For example, if Oregon had kept pace economically with Washington
State from 1996 to 2008, Oregonians would have $25.1 billion more in total wealth today.9 If
Oregon’s per capita incomes had kept pace with the United States during 1996-2008, in 2007
alone, state and local governments would have had an additional $1.5 billion in revenue.10 In
short, a 16-year failure to promote a vibrant private sector economy has cost too many
Oregonians their jobs, eroded our tax base and damaged our quality of life.
8
Steve Novick, “Reaching Out to Investors (Really) In the Wake of Measure 66,” BlueOregon.com, March 8, 2010
9
Breaking Out of a Circle of Scarcity: Oregon Business Plans’ Challenges for the 2010s and Beyond,
ECONorthwest for the Oregon Business Council, Spring 2010, slide 25
10
Breaking Out of a Circle of Scarcity: Oregon Business Plans’ Challenges for the 2010s and Beyond,
ECONorthwest for the Oregon Business Council, Spring 2010, slide 47
Oregon’s Comeback: A Plan to Create Private Sector Jobs and Stimulate the Economy 3
JOHN KITZHABER: A LEGACY OF FAILED LEADERSHIP
John Kitzhaber was Governor for eight of the past sixteen years. Twenty-five years ago, John
Kitzhaber became President of the Oregon Senate – one of the top policy-making positions in
state government. There are few elected officials who have impacted Oregon’s political and
financial landscape for as many years. If John Kitzhaber wants to take credit for his successes
as Governor, he must also accept responsibility for his failures. Simply stated, we are living in
the future John Kitzhaber created. In 1998, Kitzhaber told The Oregonian, “If I had the power,
I’d turn off the spigot and keep Oregon as it is today,”11 revealing an aloof attitude toward
private sector job growth and adequately preparing Oregon for its economic future.
Despite inheriting an economy that “grabbed the spotlight for its growth in per-capita personal
income in 1995 as its high-tech boom made it the only state in the region to exceed the
national average,”12 just sixteen months into office as governor, Oregon’s unemployment rate
went above the national average where it’s remained stuck the past fourteen years. Under
Kitzhaber, unemployment rose and state spending went up 57 percent, but personal incomes
went down compared to the rest of the country. In 1996, Oregon’s per capita income stood at
97 percent of the U.S. average, by the end of his term it had fallen to 94 percent of the U.S.
average. Today it is 91 percent of the U.S average.
11
The Oregonian, April 7, 1998
12
“Oregon’s per-capita income shows rise, Washington’s gain trails national average,” The Seattle Times,
September, 1996
Oregon’s Comeback: A Plan to Create Private Sector Jobs and Stimulate the Economy 4
After eight years as Governor, The Oregonian said it best:
“Kitzhaber seldom brought the same sharp focus, passion and energy to
higher education, the economy or transportation that he applied to health
care, natural resources and children.”13
When it came to tackling major economic issues, Kitzhaber consistently came up short,
demonstrating a fundamental inability to create bipartisan solutions to pressing issues:
• He promised tax reform and gave up: “Kitzhaber said early on that he would push for
reforming the state’s tax system in order to create more stable funding for public
services. The electorate and Legislature weren’t especially receptive to the concept. But
one measure of gubernatorial leadership is the ability to create big ideas, push them
and persuade people to support them. In this key area, Kitzhaber didn’t do that.”14
• He promised land use reform and failed: Despite a decade or more of cries to
modernize Oregon’s land use system, Kitzhaber failed to address the issue resulting in
three statewide ballot measures15 in the last decade that have left the system neither
better off nor ready to adequately promote and manage future growth.
And when it comes to promoting private sector job creation, Kitzhaber’s actions as Governor
speak louder than his words:
• In 2001, as a recession was overtaking the state, Kitzhaber vetoed a cut of Oregon’s
capital gains rate from 9 percent to 4 percent. The measure was approved with
bipartisan support because the legislature recognized its potential to spur investment
and create jobs when it was needed most.16
• In 1999, he vetoed a training wage for employees under 18-years for their first 45 days
of employment17 that would have created an incentive for employers to hire young
workers looking for both experience and income.
Too often, rather than forge bipartisan compromises to advance job-creating policies,
Kitzhaber simply withdrew from the debate. In the 2010 primary election, a comment from a
leading Democrat underscored the problem:
"I feel strongly that John's had his chance. It's time now for new
leadership," Sen. Jackie Dingfelder (D-Portland). 18
13
“In promise kept, a legacy,” The Oregonian, December 29, 2002
14
“Kitzhaber’s mixed legacy,”The Oregonian, January 15, 2003
15
Ballot Measure 7 (2000), Ballot Measure 37 (2004), Ballot Measure 49 (2007)
16
SB 67 (2001 Session), vetoed August 17, 2001
17
HB 2793 (1999 Session), vetoed September 3, 1999
18
“It’s middle of the road or bust for Kitzhaber,” The Oregonian, April 10, 2010
Oregon’s Comeback: A Plan to Create Private Sector Jobs and Stimulate the Economy 5
Even the former Governor acknowledges his shortcomings:
“I guess what I should have done differently is to be more visible from the
bully pulpit on a statewide basis. I say I should have done that, but I’m
not sure I could have done that because that’s just not the piece of cloth
I’m cut from.”19
Despite his failed record, John Kitzhaber now says he’s focused on creating jobs. But, during
the last recession he said:
“There’s not a lot the state can do. We are part of a national recession,
and it’s very difficult for the State of Oregon to have an impact on the
nation.”20
19
“John Kitzhaber: an uncertain legacy,” Register Guard, January 1, 2003
20
“Oregon seeks economic jump-start,” The Oregonian, October 17, 2001
Oregon’s Comeback: A Plan to Create Private Sector Jobs and Stimulate the Economy 6
CHRIS DUDLEY: READY TO LEAD OREGON’S COMEBACK
Chris Dudley believes Oregon needs a new direction and he’s ready to lead our comeback. He
understands that without significant changes in state economic policies and government,
Oregon’s quality of life is at risk. Our current economic problems began under John Kitzhaber,
but they are neither insurmountable nor is the state ungovernable if we have the courage to
implement new ideas and leadership.
Restore Confidence, Capital and Competitiveness: To save our quality of life, Oregon must
combine its natural assets with an attractive business climate that fosters job creation and
economic growth. To make Oregon more attractive to business owners, entrepreneurs,
workers and investors, Chris Dudley will reform the tax code to restore economic confidence,
capital formation and competitiveness in our state. In addition, he will re-focus state policies to
support sustainable natural resource industries across Oregon and take full advantage of our
Pacific Rim export economy. Chris Dudley knows how to compete, and as Governor, he will
make sure Oregon effectively competes with other states for jobs, workers and investment.
Prepare Oregon for its Economic Future: A global economy demands a globally competitive
education system – from kindergarten through college. Chris Dudley understands that
Oregon’s economic future depends on preparing the next generation for college, work and the
world. As Governor, he will ensure Oregon has the quality K-12 schools essential for a positive
business climate and will transform our higher education system to ensure that our colleges
and universities are the job and idea factories of tomorrow. He wants our higher education
system to be able to attract and keep the best and brightest students from Oregon and around
the world. Chris Dudley believes our local schools, colleges and universities should not only
seek to create great citizens but also be a source of future innovation and economic growth.
Ensure Oregon is Open for Business: Chris Dudley will restore entrepreneur, business-
owner, investor, and worker confidence in Oregon as a place to build a business with a long
overdue commitment to jobs-focused governing. As Governor, Chris will ensure that every
aspect of state policy-making, rule-making and government management is focused on
declaring Oregon open for business. Chris Dudley will refresh state government with people
who share his jobs-focused philosophy and will sell Oregon to the nation and the world as a
place where existing business can grow and new businesses can thrive.
Oregon’s Comeback: A Plan to Create Private Sector Jobs and Stimulate the Economy 7
Restore Economic Confidence, Capital and Competitiveness
Chris Dudley understands that in today’s economy, states compete for businesses, employers
and workers. He also believes that Oregon has fallen behind in our efforts to encourage
existing businesses to grow here and new businesses and entrepreneurs to come here. Some
of Oregon’s current economic problems are the result of the national recession. But others are
the result of decades of indifference by Oregon’s elected officials toward policies that
encourage private sector job growth. More recently, new taxes on individuals and businesses
have created investor uncertainty, reduced business owner confidence and have further
tarnished Oregon’s reputation as a place to do business. To restore confidence and make
Oregon more competitive, Chris Dudley will propose a package of tax relief designed to restore
Oregon’s competitiveness and help boost private sector job growth.
As President John F. Kennedy said, “Tax reduction thus sets off a process
that can bring gains for everyone, gains won by marshaling resources that
would otherwise stand idle—workers without jobs and farm and factory
capacity without markets. Yet many taxpayers seemed prepared to deny
the nation the fruits of tax reduction because they question the financial
soundness of reducing taxes when the federal budget is already in deficit.
Let me make clear why, in today’s economy, fiscal prudence and
responsibility call for tax reduction even if it temporarily enlarged the
federal deficit—why reducing taxes is the best way open to us to increase
revenues.”21
1. Reduce Capital Gains Taxes by 73 Percent – With Oregon businesses facing the
highest capital gains taxes in the nation, Chris Dudley will propose jump starting our
economy by reducing Oregon’s capital gains rate from 11 percent to 3 percent (a 73
percent reduction) for two years and then resetting the rate to 5 percent in the years
thereafter. This change will enable Oregon to have a competitive rate with neighboring
states, making it more attractive to existing and new businesses.
2. Promote Local Job Recruitment – Chris Dudley wants to give cities and counties an
incentive to recruit new businesses to Oregon by providing them half the additional state
income tax revenues generated from the employees and businesses they recruit.
Currently, Oregon’s recruitment strategy is based on property tax abatements under the
state’s Strategic Investment Program. Forfeiting property tax revenues can act as a
disincentive to local governments that depend on them to fund vital services. The
remittance would be for the duration of the property tax abatement.
21
President John F. Kennedy, Economic Report of the President, January 1963
Oregon’s Comeback: A Plan to Create Private Sector Jobs and Stimulate the Economy 8
3. Align State and Federal Taxes – The 2009 Legislature rushed to disconnect Oregon
from the federal tax code and denied Oregon businesses the tax relief contained in the
2009 Federal Stimulus Package, including proven strategies such as accelerated
depreciation to stimulate the economy and create jobs. This move complicated tax
compliance and exposed small businesses to increased errors and liabilities in their tax
filings requiring Oregon businesses to keep “two sets of books” for federal and state
taxes. A rolling reconnect to the federal code will provide certainty for Oregon’s small
business, simplify tax filings with the state and the IRS, and lower accounting costs.
Oregon should only disconnect from the federal code if doing so will give the state a
competitive advantage and create jobs.
4. End Double Taxation – Chris Dudley will end the double taxation on agricultural co-ops
and other Oregon businesses. Currently, many Oregon businesses, such as agricultural
co-ops, are taxed two times: once on the co-op before revenue is shared with members
and again when members receive their share of earnings. Chris Dudley believes double
taxation is wrong and will end it.
5. Create Tax Relief for Emerging Businesses – Chris Dudley will allow qualifying small
and emerging businesses the option to defer the majority of their income or excise taxes
for two years, then pay back the deferred tax with interest, over a four year period.
While small businesses are struggling to find adequate working capital through
traditional bank financing, this will provide a way for businesses to help make ends meet
during difficult times.
6. Implement the “Oregon Works” Initiative – Chris Dudley believes the state
government should be providing a hand-up rather than a handout. To accomplish this,
he will propose two new tax credits for small and emerging businesses that will phase
out when Oregon’s unemployment rate dips below the national unemployment rate for
two months:
Welfare-to-Work Tax Credit – Chris will propose a tax credit to employers who
add workers who are currently on public assistance. The cost of the credits will
be offset by reduced public assistance expenditures.
Back-to-Work Tax Credit – Chris Dudley will propose a one-time tax credit to
small, emerging businesses that add workers who are currently receiving
unemployment benefits.
Chris Dudley will re-focus state policies to support, not stand in the way of, sustainable natural
resource industries in agriculture and ranching, timber and forest products, fishing and seafood
and will be a champion for federal policies that properly balance jobs and conservation. To
accomplish this, Oregon must:
7. Listen to Resource Communities – Chris Dudley will select a natural resources policy
advisor, agency directors, natural resources agency staff and citizen appointees who
understand Oregon's natural resource industries and who will balance the need for jobs
Oregon’s Comeback: A Plan to Create Private Sector Jobs and Stimulate the Economy 9
and conservation. As Governor, he will work with resource-based communities to
promote and advance Oregon’s natural resource products around the world.
8. Better Utilize State Forest Lands – Oregon’s six large state forests are an
underutilized asset that should be a greater source of jobs for Oregonians and revenues
for state schools. For example, more active management of just the 93,000-acre Elliot
State Forest could create between 165 and 195 jobs and would generate additional
revenue for the state’s Common School Fund.22 Chris Dudley will balance the desire for
conservation and recreation on state lands with the need and demand for forest
products from state lands – products that create jobs and revenue for the Common
School Fund. Taxes on timber harvests are a major source of revenue for Oregon public
schools.
9. Water for our Future – Oregon is facing critical water levels across the state (not just in
the Klamath and Umatilla basins) and has never had a strategic vision for water
management. Chris Dudley will work to remove unnecessary barriers and allocate
funding to water projects that focus on conservation, reuse and storage. Investments in
these projects will assist struggling communities, enhance environmental stewardship,
provide needed resources to grow our agricultural sector, and create jobs.
10. Support Oregon State University (OSU) Statewide Services – Chris Dudley
understands the unique relationship between OSU and our natural resource sector.
OSU's statewide public services (extension service, experiment stations and forest
research lab) embody the intersection of commerce, natural resource management and
research. Chris Dudley will work to prioritize and restore funding in order to provide
economic development opportunities for our natural resource employers.
11. Promote the Use of Forest Biomass – Chris Dudley believes that environmentally
responsible stewardship of state forests and job creation are not mutually exclusive.
Chris will promote the expansion of biomass cogeneration to achieve both of these
goals. These projects provide economic stability for businesses and communities; hold
broad community support; provide for forest health; and reduce the risk of
uncharacteristic wildfire, all while meeting the test of employing science-based
management.
22
2009-2011 Backgrounder – Elliot State Forest, Oregon Department of Forestry and Oregon Department of
State Lands
Oregon’s Comeback: A Plan to Create Private Sector Jobs and Stimulate the Economy 10
“Race to the Top” reform initiative. Oregon’s plans and strategies are fragmented and
disconnected. In seeking needed reforms, we’ve allowed dysfunction among adults to deprive
children and students. The result is that Oregon has no comprehensive approach to ensuring
that every child leaves the public school system ready for college, work and the world. While
the graduation rate for all students in Oregon is 84 percent, for Hispanic students it stands at
70.5 percent and for African-American students, the rate is 68.5 percent.23
As Governor, Chris Dudley will make education reform a top priority, challenging the status
quo and demanding that education policy and quality be put ahead of education politics. To
achieve reform, Chris Dudley will shake-up the administration of schools, put an emphasis on
teacher quality and preparedness and shine a light on programs and policies that are working
in local communities to better educate our kids.
12. Prepare Every Child for College, Work and the World – Chris Dudley has released a
comprehensive education reform plan available at www.chrisdudley.com. The focus of
the plan can be summarized with the following words: accountability, performance,
professionalism, choice and an end to business as usual.
Chris Dudley will see that Oregon’s youngsters arrive in kindergarten ready to learn,
with disadvantaged students having access to a preschool or pre-kindergarten program.
Our children should leave the third grade proficient in reading, with struggling readers
having access to reading tutors. Parents should have the choice of where they send
their children, and state education dollars should follow the child to a school in another
district, a charter school, virtual school or alternative learning environment that meets
the child’s need. He will push for a grading system for schools that is as simple as A-F
and schools that are “full time learning” centers or so-called Community Schools where
education continues after school and through the summer (the “third semester”),
especially for children of low-income parents who cannot afford the enrichment activities
other parents can. He’ll push for schools where meaningful professional development,
peer-mentoring and teacher collaboration are rewarded. To graduate more students
ready for advanced training and college, Chris Dudley will focus attention on the true
proficiency of students (knowledge and skills) rather than just course credits or passing
grades, allowing students to move at their own pace toward Advanced Placement
classes, dual-credit opportunities and advanced career/technical training with state
funding following the student. He’ll also reconstitute effective drop-out prevention
programs and cost-saving measures to move dollars into our classrooms.
Chris Dudley believes our overall goal should be to end a K-12 system that produces
too many drop-outs – particularly among our disadvantaged students – and “graduates”
too many students unprepared for college or the work world. That system is not fair to
the students or to the taxpayers, and it hurts Oregon’s economy. Oregon’s schools need
greater accountability, higher performance standards, increased choice, and new ways
to achieve savings in the classroom. Chris Dudley believes a wholesale transformation
of our state’s education enterprise is critical to Oregon’s long-term economic health. We
23
Oregon Department of Education Statewide Report Card 2008-09
Oregon’s Comeback: A Plan to Create Private Sector Jobs and Stimulate the Economy 11
must ensure that our children arrive in kindergarten ready to learn and leave high school
ready for a professional/technical career or college. We must keep our best and
brightest in Oregon. In all this, we must see that our educational enterprise meets the
needs of Oregon employers for innovative workers, now and into the future.
13. Transform Oregon Higher Education – Chris Dudley believes it’s never been more
important for Oregon to have an accessible and high quality system of higher education.
Higher education is essential to producing the innovators and leaders of tomorrow and
to strengthening Oregon’s climate for job creation and economic growth. Regrettably,
Oregon’s current system of higher education is falling behind due to an outdated
governance and management model that limits autonomy, accountability and
innovation.
For example, higher education budgets approved by the legislature include more than
6,000 categories compared with just a few for K-12 education and community colleges,
despite the fact that 14 percent of university funding comes from the state compared
with 72 percent of K-12 funding and 59 percent of community college funding.24 Former
University of Oregon President Dave Frohnmayer said, “I am more and more convinced
that our present system has just reached the outer limits of its utility.” The presidents of
Oregon State University and Portland State University and the chancellor of the
university system have expressed similar sentiments. In addition to political micro-
management, the past 20 years have seen steady erosion in state financial support for
higher education. Adjusting for inflation, state funding for the university system has
decreased 16 percent the past 20 years while enrollment has increased 27 percent. And
20 years ago, students paid approximately 30 percent of the cost of their education.
Now, tuition covers closer to 70 percent.25
In December 2009, Chris Dudley was the first gubernatorial candidate to publicly
embrace major reforms being advanced by state higher education leaders to reform the
relationship between state universities and state government. For too long, Oregon has
increased its regulation of higher education while decreasing funding – resulting in less
autonomy, accountability and innovation. As Governor, Chris Dudley will champion
reforms that will allow each institution the opportunity and responsibility to govern itself.
In exchange, Dudley will demand a specific commitment to ensuring greater
accessibility for Oregon students, improvements in efficiency and management, greater
accountability and transparency and a robust commitment to innovation and
partnerships with the private sector to strengthen the state economy.
14. Expand Research and Development (R&D) – Chris will support the extension of
Oregon’s research and development tax credit, which is currently set to sunset.
Oregon’s credit is modeled on the federal R&D credit. It provides a credit when a
qualifying business increases its expenditures over a base year. The credit is not an
entitlement for doing the same thing year after year. It is an incentive to increase R&D
expenditures and make investments in emerging economic opportunities. Without action
next session, Oregon’s R&D tax credit will be eliminated.
24
“Frohnmayer urges higher ed overhaul,” The Register-Guard, November 19, 2009
25
“Higher-education leaders want independence for Oregon University System,” The Oregonian, May 31, 2010
Oregon’s Comeback: A Plan to Create Private Sector Jobs and Stimulate the Economy 12
To help attract entrepreneurs and venture capital to the state, Chris Dudley will also
urge the Legislature to expand Oregon’s R&D tax credit by making it refundable for
small, emerging businesses. Research and development is something Oregon is doing
right and must not abandon. In 2007, according to data from the National Science
Foundation, Oregon business spending on R&D was ranked 9th nationally. The high
wage jobs created by R&D businesses provide an opportunity to grow the foundation for
more taxpayers in Oregon.
Job-Focused Governing
Over the past 16 years (and recently due to government policies such as Ballot Measures 66
and 67) Oregon’s business reputation has been further tarnished and confidence in Oregon as
a place to invest has declined. As Governor, Chris Dudley will lead Oregon’s economic
comeback by declaring that Oregon is indeed open for business and will pursue policy and
personnel changes to demonstrate that state government is eager for both existing and new
businesses to invest here and grow here.
15. Implement Operation “Second Look” – As he detailed in his 26 Point Plan to Control
Spending and Reform Government, Chris Dudley will ask his budget manager and
agency heads to re-examine all programs and positions added in the 2009 Legislature.
Chris Dudley believes that state government should have put its fiscal house in order
before building additions. As governor, he will take a second look at these 2009 add-ons
and recommend not moving forward on these new enterprises or eliminating older ones
to offset the costs.
16. Promote Oregon’s Comeback at Home and Around the World – While Oregon has
many natural assets and is known for many positive things, a friendly business
environment, regrettably, isn’t generally one of them. As Governor, Chris Dudley will
combine his unique professional background with Oregon’s many natural assets to
promote Oregon across the nation, and around the world as a desirable investment and
tourist destination. Chris Dudley will promote Oregon’s deep water ports as import and
export hubs and include the ports in the development of his trade agenda. Following
legislative approval of his comeback agenda, Chris Dudley will recruit people from
across the nation and around the world to visit, invest and stay in Oregon.
17. Require Economic Impact Analysis On Legislation – As Chris Dudley outlined in his
26 Point Plan to Control Spending and Reform Government, he will require that all final
bills requiring his signature include an economic impact statement, detailing potential
private-sector job impacts and increased compliance costs for business. The Legislative
Fiscal Office estimates what bills will cost the state, and the Legislative Revenue Office
estimates what tax changes will mean for state revenues. These estimates provide
important information to policy makers, but they rarely mention the legislation’s potential
impact on Oregon’s private sector.
Oregon’s Comeback: A Plan to Create Private Sector Jobs and Stimulate the Economy 13
18. Refresh State Government with New People, New Attitudes – As Governor, Chris
Dudley will change Oregon’s job creation policies by changing the people who help
shape them. Chris Dudley will breathe new life into state government by hiring and
appointing a new generation of people from diverse and balanced backgrounds without
regard to partisan politics and from every corner of the state. Special attention will be
given to ensuring that women and minorities are represented in a Dudley
Administration. Mostly, Chris Dudley will seek quality people who share a commitment
to restoring private sector job growth as the foundation to saving our quality of life.
19. Build the Columbia River Crossing; End the Gridlock – Chris Dudley believes it’s
critical for the regional economy to end the bureaucratic grid-lock that has already cost
taxpayers $100 million (and counting) only to discuss a new I-5 Interstate Crossing. As
Governor, Chris Dudley will support a bi-state authority (appointed by the governors of
Oregon and Washington) to oversee the project and its management; removing the
many layers of competing governments that have failed to agree on a plan for the
project. The management authority will have a single director and will remain in place
for the life of the project to oversee eventual design, construction and funding
implementation.
20. Implement a Balanced State Energy Plan – Chris Dudley believes access to reliable,
affordable energy is essential to creating a positive environment for job growth. He also
believes that innovation in energy production can and should be a source of future jobs
and economic growth in our state.
As Governor, Chris Dudley will support an energy policy that balances the need for
necessary infrastructure with our existing efficiency and conservation programs. He will
maintain a strong commitment to the development of renewable energy sources such
as wind, wave, solar and geothermal while also supporting an affordable, safe and
reliable energy infrastructure necessary during the transition to more supplies of
renewable and sustainable sources of energy. He will vigorously defend the region’s
hydroelectric power system that is an abundant source of reliable, affordable, carbon-
free energy. He also supports a collaborative, science-based approach to saving
salmon in the Columbia River.
Oregon’s Comeback: A Plan to Create Private Sector Jobs and Stimulate the Economy 14