By Bud Pierce
It's been about a year since Kate Brown became governor by virtue of the John Kitzhaber-Cylvia Hayes scandal. She was suddenly thrust into a difficult position. It's now clear that Gov. Brown is not up to the job of putting Oregon back on track. Consider her record over the past year and watch her recent news conference announcing her "2016 Agenda."
Gov. Brown talked about improving education, but her "fresh" ideas were a new "education innovation officer" and yet another commission on education. She offered no plan to address the looming PERS crisis that will force schools to cut teachers.
Nor was there a word about fixing Oregon's deteriorating roads. It's easy to see why, considering Gov. Brown's failures on transportation in 2015 - failures that will result in ordinary Oregonians paying higher gas prices and spending more time in traffic. By signing the low-carbon fuel standard bill into law, Gov. Brown sided with extreme environmentalists and against working Oregonians who could end up paying an additional 19 cents per gallon for gasoline as a result of the law. Not only will the hidden gas tax in her low carbon fuel law not go to fix one road or bridge - or reduce global warming - it doomed a legislative transportation package desperately needed to fight growing traffic gridlock. This is the worst kind of crony capitalism and corporate welfare -- and a toxic byproduct of the Kitzhaber-Hayes scandal.
In her statement, Brown refused to take a position on the $5 billion-per-biennium tax increase that her political allies in Oregon's government employees unions are pushing. This sales tax on businesses will be passed on to Oregonians who are still struggling to make ends meet and will make Oregon a less attractive place to create and grow jobs. All Gov. Brown said is that the state needs more money.
That's not the leadership or change we need.
Brown talked about transparency in government, but The Oregonian and others have criticized her for conspiring to keep public records from the public. Her staff recently directed the Public Utilities Commission not to divulge their concerns about a backroom deal between the big investor-owned utilities and environmentalists that will boost electric costs for working Oregonians.
That's not the transparency we need.
All of Gov. Brown's new commissions, work groups, task forces and education officials won't get Oregon back on track. Neither will her call for new regulations on small businesses in the form of a minimum wage increase.
We've been there and done all that over the last 30 years of one-party Democratic rule in the governor's office.
Oregonians deserve better.
Here is my 2016 agenda for real change in Oregon.
* Tax cuts and credits for lower- and middle-income Oregonians, not a backdoor sales tax on all Oregonians.
* Tax breaks for working Oregonians paying off college debt.
* Energize and invest in rural Oregon so their economies thrive.
* An end to crony capitalism and corporate welfare by ending special tax credits for the wealthy and well-connected.
* Cuts in the cost of government and replacing Brown's rubber stamp with my veto pen.
* Reducing class sizes and increasing the number of school days across Oregon.
* Fixing PERS once and for all.
* Real transparency and accountability in Salem.
Like most Oregonians, I don't know Kate Brown, but she seems like a nice person - warm, personable. It's easy to see why she's survived for decades in Democratic politics. But "nice" and the continuation of 30 years of one-party rule in the governor's office won't cut it for our Oregon.
We need a brave and fearless governor. We need a new approach.
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Bud Pierce, Ph.D., M.D., is a Salem oncologist, business owner, veteran and Republican gubernatorial candidate.