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What kind of state will our children inherit from us? What will Oregon look like in ten years?
For me, answering those questions today means that Oregon will be an even better place to live tomorrow. I try to approach my job as your State Representative by thinking about the long run, putting long-term priorities over short-term political gain. I want to choose innovation and collaboration rather than obstruction. I appreciate the support and direction you've given me and hope to be able to continue to work for you. ----------------------Legislative Update
During these tough economic times, it is tempting to take a short-term approach to the issues we face, leaving the overarching problems for later generations to solve. Despite the temptation to think in the short-term, I've remained focused on how the choices we make today will impact the state we leave to our children. I'm committed, as always, to taking a long-term approach to decision making and have used that lens to promote legislation that will not only help us today and tomorrow, but several decades down the road. In spite of a record budget deficit and unprecedented economic downturn, we passed legislation to expand affordable health care to hundreds of thousands of Oregonians, protected K-12 education from significant cuts, and enacted a measure to create a permanent revenue stream dedicated to the Oregon Rainy Day Fund.
I've recorded a brief video reflecting on some of our accomplishments from this session including the passage of the Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Technology act (EEAST)and invite you to watch below. As always I'm eager to hear from you.
----------------------End of Session Wrap Up
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I'm happy to report that the 75th Session of the Oregon Legislature adjourned Sine Die (this means that our work is done and session concluded) on June 29th. As you surely know, the 2009 session was largely characterized by the difficult decisions we made to shape our state budget, but we've also made many great advance that will benefit our state for the long-run. I'm proud of what we've achieved and I look forward to completing what we were unable to finish this time around. 