For State Representative
As your next State Representative I will be committed to making House District 39, and
A Fresh Approach: The only way for our community to prosper is to move away from our conventional ways of running government. We need a more innovative approach to running our State, one that will help us move ahead of the curve, one that will keep us from playing catch up. It’s time for a new and fresh approach so we can move beyond business as usual in Salem.
A Bipartisan Approach: There is too much partisan bickering in Salem. I have heard politicians say time and time again that they will work across party lines, yet rarely does it happen. I am committed to working with all sides, listening to all ideas and bringing my business and community experience working with diverse parties to solve the problems we face so we can achieve our goals. I have learned that the way to get things moving forward is to incorporate all ideas, come to a common ground and make tough decisions with the best interests of the community as a whole, in mind.
Create Jobs: I have served countless hours bringing new ideas to create new jobs for Oregonians. As the former Chairman of the Board for the Oregon City Chamber of Commerce, and as a member of the Clackamas County Economic Development Commission, I have rolled up my sleeves and worked to create more good-paying jobs for our community.
I will work on ensuring our businesses have the opportunity to realize their full potential by doing away with outdated regulations and policies that don’t apply in today’s economic environment. We need to invest in research and development and private investment in green-collar jobs. We can create an entire industry based upon sustainability and pioneer the country’s desire to meet the demands of an ever-growing population expected to double in
We need to keep business in
Government Accountability and Transparency: Every Oregonian has a stake in our government, whether they vote or not. If you ask most Oregonians what they know about our government, they will likely mention the lack of accountability. As your next State Representative, I will be committed to making our state government more accountable. I will work to prioritize consistent review of our current programs to determine what works well and what is not operating efficiently. Times are tough and we must make prudent decisions when deciding where to spend tax-payer money and where to cut waste. We need to treat the government like we treat our household or business finances. We need to be smarter and allow on the spot independent audits that ensure we don’t end up over budget.
Smart Investments in Education: A great state deserves a great education system. I am a father and know first hand the struggles that our schools face. I will be a strong advocate for Oregon’s schools, ensuring that our tax dollars are spent in the classroom where they belong. Our global economy has created a new dynamic in our school of thought around education. We must learn to adapt to these challenges and incorporate a curriculum that addresses this new global environment. One that will require a different kind of workforce that competes in a transparent and technological world that is fiercely competitive.
We need to make sure we invest in this new economy and provide educational opportunities at every level. Whether it is at the K-12 level, a skilled workforce with technical expertise, or re-training of our current workforce, we cannot afford to NOT invest in our future. Math and science need to again become a priority and educators need to be given support and empowered with the flexibility and creativity to teach at their highest capacity.
Every child should have the choice and opportunity to attend college if they wish. Educational investments from the federal level have been reduced and are causing tuition to sky-rocket. We need to fight for our fair share at the state and federal levels. For every dollar invested in education, three dollars is returned in the form of reduced health and public safety expenditures, and increased productivity in our economy. We owe it to Oregon.
Health Care: The fact that 566,000 Oregonians are without heath care is a travesty. Our State has turned their back on our health care needs for too long. As your next State Representative, I will be committed to making health care more affordable, and more accessible. No child or senior should ever be denied healthcare. Whether you agree the system is broken or not, no one can deny that we cannot sustain the current rate of healthcare inflation. Our wages have only risen 1% adjusted to inflation since 1955, yet health insurance costs have doubled within the past 10 years. The market alone cannot fix this problem immediately. We can however, start in two primary areas:
1.) By mandating automation and electronic updates to medical records systems. Did you know over 400 billion dollars in administrative waste is attributed to the time it takes to update and process medical records?
2.) Invest in preventative medicine. Did you know that over 40% of health related costs are preventable? We cannot prevent all illnesses from occurring, but we can certainly mitigate some. It is estimated that for every dollar a business invests in its employees in the form or health and wellness education, two dollars are returned in the form of productivity, retention and reduced sick leave.
Keep our Neighborhoods Safe: As a father and husband, I want to make sure that our neighborhoods are safe. I will be an advocate for keeping our streets healthy by supporting legislation that will provide tougher penalties against hard criminals, and concurrently pinpointing opportunities to reduce our prison population by targeting those in need of addiction and mental health treatment. I will also insist that we put an end to the methamphetamine epidemic that is plaguing our streets. I will be committed to returning our state trooper levels to what they were before 1993 and investing in programs that are systemic and long-term solutions based models that help keep people off the streets through outreach, education and treatment.
Protect our natural resources: I moved back to Oregon after college in Southern California for several reasons. One of the primary reasons was due to Oregon’s natural beauty. I remembered the clean air and water, the forests, rivers and mountains. With forecasts of exponential population increases and more demands on our lands and natural resources, we have to immediately adopt sustainable practices that protect the regions assets.
We can do this by promoting green development by fast-tracking permitting and reducing costs of development that diminish their impact on our natural and built infrastructures. We can create more efficient means of transportation by re-invigorating rail and increasing gas mileage in our vehicles. We can create incentives for businesses and individuals to adopt policies into their daily practices that help have minimal impact on the world we live in.
Bottom-line: I want Oregon’s future to be bright and filled with inspiration and success. I want to be YOUR citizen legislator that uses common-sense solutions to build bridges and get past the partisan gridlock that has held Oregon back for too long. I want to bring my fresh, business-based perspective to the table to get past politics as usual and create the Oregon of our dreams.