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Kulongoski pledges his
support for ag
Dan Zinkand
Freelance Writer
Capital Press
November 10, 2006
Salem - Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski will continue to support value-added agricultural processing, promote Oregon ag products through global trade missions, push for the state to become the renewable and alternative fuel center of the nation and stress sustainability.
Those were the most explicit commitments he made to agriculture in a press conference at the state Capitol the morning after winning re-election by a 51-to-43 percent margin over Republican challenger Ron Saxton.
He said he "would actually like to grow" valued-added food processing in the state. Kulongoski said he has actively promoted all sectors of Oregon's ag industry. And, he said, he and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will hold a summit on Klamath Basin water, fish, farming and other issues in December.
Kulongoski said he would do a better job of telling Oregonians what his priorities are, while once again saying that "self-promotion" is not something he has stressed as a politician.
"That was my fault," he said, saying voters want to know more about what his priorities are. "It's something (you) have to do and we will do more of."
His top priorities in the coming legislative session will be stabilizing funding for education, providing health insurance for children and promoting tax fairness, in addition to his promoting renewable energy in Oregon.
"The next four years are going to be for very good years for Oregon," he said.
"I think these are good times (economically). It's a lot better than 2003 when I came in. I think this is a time of great opportunity and hope," Kulongoski said.
"I think the mantra should be 'Don't miss the opportunity.'"
Kulongoski noted that the governor's race was the most expensive in state history. Saxton spent more money and got most of the media endorsements.
"He got them all," Kulongoski said.
Opponents will come to one of two conclusions why he won, Kulongoski said: "This guy either had body armor" or the public believes what he says.
His re-election also proves to him that Oregonians are concerned about global warming.
"It's real to them," he said.
While he agrees with Saxton about the need for making government more efficient and doing things better, this is "always a challenge. I think we have pushed the limits of doing more with less."
On a national level, the Democrats winning control of the U.S. House of Representatives and picking up Senate seats "is a repudiation" for President George Bush, Kulongoski said. In Europe, politicians regard the Democrat gains and Republican losses as a "vote of no confidence."
In the parliamentary system, when a party loses its majority, then the prime minister loses and the government changes hands, he noted.
"I don't think the president ever expected this would be the way things will go," Kulongoski said.
Even so, Democrats in the U.S. House and Senate will work with Bush on some issues.
"From everything I read the Democrats are actually closer to the president on immigration."
Salem - Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski will continue to support value-added agricultural processing, promote Oregon ag products through global trade missions, push for the state to become the renewable and alternative fuel center of the nation and stress sustainability.
Those were the most explicit commitments he made to agriculture in a press conference at the state Capitol the morning after winning re-election by a 51-to-43 percent margin over Republican challenger Ron Saxton.
He said he "would actually like to grow" valued-added food processing in the state. Kulongoski said he has actively promoted all sectors of Oregon's ag industry. And, he said, he and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will hold a summit on Klamath Basin water, fish, farming and other issues in December.
Kulongoski said he would do a better job of telling Oregonians what his priorities are, while once again saying that "self-promotion" is not something he has stressed as a politician.
"That was my fault," he said, saying voters want to know more about what his priorities are. "It's something (you) have to do and we will do more of."
His top priorities in the coming legislative session will be stabilizing funding for education, providing health insurance for children and promoting tax fairness, in addition to his promoting renewable energy in Oregon.
"The next four years are going to be for very good years for Oregon," he said.
"I think these are good times (economically). It's a lot better than 2003 when I came in. I think this is a time of great opportunity and hope," Kulongoski said.
"I think the mantra should be 'Don't miss the opportunity.'"
Kulongoski noted that the governor's race was the most expensive in state history. Saxton spent more money and got most of the media endorsements.
"He got them all," Kulongoski said.
Opponents will come to one of two conclusions why he won, Kulongoski said: "This guy either had body armor" or the public believes what he says.
His re-election also proves to him that Oregonians are concerned about global warming.
"It's real to them," he said.
While he agrees with Saxton about the need for making government more efficient and doing things better, this is "always a challenge. I think we have pushed the limits of doing more with less."
On a national level, the Democrats winning control of the U.S. House of Representatives and picking up Senate seats "is a repudiation" for President George Bush, Kulongoski said. In Europe, politicians regard the Democrat gains and Republican losses as a "vote of no confidence."
In the parliamentary system, when a party loses its majority, then the prime minister loses and the government changes hands, he noted.
"I don't think the president ever expected this would be the way things will go," Kulongoski said.
Even so, Democrats in the U.S. House and Senate will work with Bush on some issues.
"From everything I read the Democrats are actually closer to the president on immigration."
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