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Q and A with Knute Buehler, Republican Nominee for Oregon Governor
A Republican hasn't been elected governor in Oregon since Gov Vic Atiyeh was reelected in 1982. The losing streak runs nine consecutive elections, the longest losing streak by a single political party in the nation. Many political pundits predict a national "blue wave" in the 2018 midterm elections as a counterforce to President Trump. Meanwhile, Gov. Brown's approval numbers remain stubbornly and dangerously below 50 percent. In Oregon, what will prove to be the more important force in the gubernatorial election: the president's unpopularity or Gov. Brown's own unpopularity?
Governor Brown is unpopular because she's been a failed leader. Her record and failed leadership will be the issue because she is on the ballot. Our budget has never been bigger, but she's supported $13 billion in new taxes. She hasn't fixed PERS, one in four kids aren't graduating high school, our foster care system is in crisis, millions have been wasted in health care; she's had a revolving door of agency heads. Salem is a mess. Oregonian's from all political parties know it, and they're eager and open for change.
In 2017, CNBC ranked Oregon 41st in the nation for "business friendliness." At the end of May, Gov. Brown called a one-day special legislative session to push for a narrowly targeted income tax cut for sole proprietorships. First, Brown signed Senate Bill 1528, which eliminated the federal income tax cut on Oregon income, and then she called a one-day special session claiming that helping small businesses is an issue that "can't wait any longer." Was their any economic philosophy behind the governor's call for a one-day session, or was this just a crass politics attempt to shore up her political vulnerabilities?
The special session was political theater designed to boost her reelection, not help small business owners. She created the crisis when she signed a bill to deny 250,000-plus Oregonians tax relief they were set to receive under federal law. I will repeal the entire tax when elected.
You stated, "Perhaps there is no worse example of the consequences of one-party dominance than the failures of Oregon's education system. For nearly a decade, Oregon schools have ranked near the bottom in education quality despite increased spending by the state. Our graduation rates and drop-out rates are a disgrace. Yet, Kate Brown and Democrat leaders just shrug their shoulders in resignation."
Are the problems in our public education impossible to solve? Will voters allow the Democrats to once again shrug their shoulders and continue their status quo failures, or have they finally had enough of rock bottom education results? How would you bring a new era to education reform that doesn't resemble the tired, failed policies of past Democrat administrations?
We can and must rescue these kids from our failing schools. There are lots of good things happening in schools across Oregon every day. But our graduation crisis is just that -- a crisis. I won't be beholden to status quo politics that paralyze Governor Brown. I will combine the best outside education policy talent with the best inside talent to drive change. I will be personally engaged. We need to tackle PERS so that we can drive dollars back into classrooms learning. We need to fully fund the career and technical education because those programs help keep kids in school. And we need to experiment with innovative ideas for teacher certification, training and compensation. We can do this. If we don't -- our kids are the worse off.
An April front page New York Times headline read, "A $76,000 Monthly Pension: Why States and Cities Are Short on Cash. Governments are struggling as mounting pension obligations crowd out the rest of their budgets. Oregon faces a severe, self-inflicted crisis."
In the August Oregon Transformation Newsletter you said, "Oregon schools aren't underfunded because Oregonians are undertaxed. They're underfunded because rising pension (and health care) costs are cannibalizing dollars for classroom learning." Last spring Phil Knight told the newsletter, "Left unchecked, PERS would simply sink the state." Why did it take a front page headline in the New York Times to get Democrats in this state to finally acknowledge the damage PERS has been doing? And is that acknowledgement enough to finally change voting behavior so that a Republican can get elected governor?
A front page New York Times story always gets attention, but the truth is policy makers across Oregon have known about this problem for many years. Anyone serving on a school board, city council, county commission or serving in the legislature knows that pension costs are eating up budgets faster than taxes can keep up. Governor Brown's own appointees to the Oregon Investment Council have raised the alarm. What is lacking is the political leadership from a governor -- this governor -- to fix the problem. I will lead on pension reforms and have outlined my approach in detail throughout the primary election.
Last summer a CNN/Money headline detailed Illinois' massively underfunded public employee pension system, "How Illinois became America's most messed up state." Even though Illinois has become the poster child for public employee state indebtedness, Allen Alley estimates that the Oregon public employee pension exposure is greater per capita than that of Illinois, and that the exposure is as much as $200 billion. Is that true? And if so, what can we possibly do about it? As the first Republican governor in Oregon in more than three decades, how would you shape a consensus for change?
A governor sets the table -- and the expectations. I will do that. We need to honor our obligations -- we will do that. But we need to put a lid on big payouts. We need to have employees contribute a portion of their retirement accounts. We need to design a new system, like a 401k, that employees own. We need to not pass another state budget that doesn't make progress on PERS. If Democrats in the legislature need me to blame for approving pension reforms, I am happy to play that role. This isn't a partisan matter any longer, it's a math matter. Raising taxes to bail out a broken system is a recipe for fiscal catastrophe.
In 2011, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker signed legislation that limited collective bargaining in Wisconsin. In 2012, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder signed legislation prohibiting public employee unions from automatically deducting union dues from members' paychecks. In the 2016 presidential election, both Wisconsin and Michigan voted Republican, even though Wisconsin had voted Democrat in seven previous presidential elections, and Michigan in the last six. If Oregon becomes a "right to work state" in 2018, due to the pending Janus decision expected in June, do you think politics could change here the way it has in Wisconsin and Michigan?
The government unions have been very aggressive in Oregon pushing for higher taxes -- like Ballot Measure 97 -- to solve the fiscal problems of the state. But higher taxes into a broken budget, pension and health benefit system is a Band-Aid and a bailout. It won't solve the problem and will lead to slower economic growth, higher taxes and no changes in cost structure. How the Supreme Court decision will impact how unions operate is hard to calculate. What's critical is that we restore fiscal responsibility to the state budget and our pension system so that the tax dollars people expect to pay for services are indeed paying for services.
Last August you told the Oregon Transformation Newsletter, "When elected governor, I'll need the talents of thousands of people to bring change and reform to state government. I look forward to opening the doors of state government leadership to many Oregonians who have been shut out for decades due to Democrat dominance of state politics."
What creative, innovative minds are on your short list of Oregonians who have been shut out of state government leadership? Who would you choose to help rebuild Oregon's entrepreneurial spirit? What qualities and skill sets will you look for?
I think it's premature to name names -- sorry. I won't have any partisan litmus tests. I will look for people who want to make Oregon better, no matter their party registration. I am a data person, so I like people who follow the numbers and facts more than ideology.
John Burns, CEO of the Port of Coos Bay and a strong advocate of Jordan Cove (the $10 billion LNG export terminal and pipeline), described the economic plight of many Coos Bay residents and why they need Jordan Cove this way. "There are too many people in this area just standing by the road with nothing to do, with no hope, no opportunity."
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is expected to approve the application to build Jordan Cove this year. Last year local residents in Coos Country voted 76-24 in favor of the project. Sen. Merkley came out against Jordan Cove in December. Gov. Brown remains neutral about an investment in Coos County, even though it's twice as big as the $5 billion investment that Amazon is making in its second headquarters.
What is your position on Jordan Cove? Do you expect your campaign for governor to be, in part, a statewide referendum on the very high poverty rates of rural Oregon?
I strongly support Jordan Cove. Governor Brown has refused to support it -- denying jobs, tax revenues and hope to southern Oregon. A governor needs to be a voice for all of the state -- not just a single region, party or ideology. I will push hard to advance the necessary state approvals and will lobby hard for federal approvals.
You describe your political experience this way: "I've now run three competitive campaigns -- one statewide and two in Democrat-leaning Bend. Each time I've had the Democrat-government union-environmentalist machine working hard to defeat me. I've won twice and lost once."
In November, that machine, with its record of nine gubernatorial wins in a row, will be in full gear to defeat you. Because they can't defend their 30-year record in business, education or general prosperity, what tactics do you expect they will use to beat you? How will you counter them?
I expect Governor Brown and her allies to run a negative and misleading campaign against me. I will focus on the failed Brown record and my solutions to fix Oregon's biggest problems. I intend to focus on the local, personal impacts of the failed Brown record. I will debate her with civility, sincerity and honesty. Oregonians need this debate -- this is how we decide issues in a democracy. And Oregonians need to decide if they are satisfied with a budget they cannot afford, too many schools failing too many kids, foster children in crisis, a runaway pension system and indifference to rural communities that creates poverty and hurts families. I'm running to provide the leadership to solve the big problems Kate Brown has ignored, avoided or made worse since she became governor. I'll lead where she has failed.
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