Central Oregon voters have a tough choice in a surprisingly competitive race for governor. Republican challenger Rep. Knute Buehler is a local who would bring welcome attention to the needs of Oregonians outside the Willamette Valley. Independent candidate Patrick Starnes, the third major party candidate on the ballot—who we interviewed during the primary, lacks experience and does not merit more than cursory consideration. Democratic incumbent Gov. Kate Brown, however, has a strong track record and a chance to make progress on crucial issues facing the region and state. She deserves another term.
Recall that Brown was unexpectedly promoted to the governor’s job after Gov. John Kitzhaber resigned. She quickly got her feet under her and began to take on crucial issues for Oregon.
The Public Employees Retirement System’s unfunded liability looms as a major obstacle to the state’s fiscal health. Schools have underperformed. The foster care system has systemic problems. Affordable and workforce housing are in short supply.
Buehler and his supporters lay all of those challenges at Brown’s feet, but they were decades in the making. To expect Brown to have turned them around in three and a half years is unreasonable. The fact that so many people continue to move to Oregon indicates that the state is not doing as poorly as her critics contend.
Brown might not be flashy or boisterous, but she brings stakeholders to the table and gets things done. Nowhere was that more evident than in the $5 billion transportation plan that she shepherded through the Legislature with bipartisan support. Bend and Central Oregon will receive millions for local infrastructure and maintenance as well as funding for the Cooley Road-Highway 97 intersection improvements.
Brown might not be flashy or boisterous, but she brings stakeholders to the table and gets things done. Nowhere was that more evident than in the $5 billion transportation plan that she shepherded through the Legislature with bipartisan support.
On PERS, Brown certainly could and should more aggressively negotiate with public employee unions. But she has made progress. She worked with lawmakers this year to pass a bill that would establish funds to help schools and other public employers meet their pension obligations. That idea emerged from a PERS taskforce Brown had created.
She also has worked with the Legislature to increase funding for schools and has put forward an attainable reform plan for the next four years.
Brown’s effectiveness and collaborative approach will serve the state well, especially given that the next governor must work with a Democratic Legislature. Many of Buehler’s proposals would be nonstarters with lawmakers.
Oregonians saw this dynamic this year with foster care reform. Buehler stood up at the start of the session grandstanding. Brown skipped the limelight and convinced lawmakers to approve $14.5 million for more caseworkers and staff.
Brown also has a smarter approach to land use. She would respect Oregon’s urban growth boundaries by encouraging denser development, growing up instead of out. Buehler has his eye on farm land and sprawl.
And Brown’s position on taxes reflects Oregon’s needs. Corporations are not paying their fair share, and the state cannot cut its way to success.
Despite all that, recommending Brown was a close call for our editorial board. Buehler offers much to like.
Contrary to the narrative Brown’s supporters are pushing, Buehler is no Trumpian Republican. He is a moderate in the mold of former Central Oregon senator and secretary of state Ben Westlund. Indeed, Buehler might be a Democrat in many red states. He is pro-choice, believes in climate change and has called out Trump on several issues, including the choice of Brett Kavanaugh.
He understands the needs of Central Oregon better than Brown. When we asked Brown about differences between Central Oregon and the Willamette Valley, she said, “Generally speaking, we care about the same things.” She then fell back on talking points about statewide issues, demonstrating a shallow understanding of the region’s priorities. The fact that she wouldn’t come across the mountains for a debate also was telling.
For example, the candidates differ starkly on the future of Oregon State University’s Cascades Campus. Buehler, who has been a consistent and strong supporter of the campus, would elevate it to equal footing with the state’s other universities. Brown would keep the school a lesser branch campus.
Yet Buehler tends to try to be whatever he believes an audience wants him to be. When asked during a debate about vaccines, he noted that as a doctor he believes in their value, but he’d also let anti-vaxxer parents opt their kids out for any reason. Likewise, he supports Measure 105, which would repeal Oregon’s sanctuary state law, but then in front of other audiences he articulates a vision of protecting immigrants that sounds just like the current law. If politics is in part the art of taking principled stands, Buehler is doing the splits.
Central Oregonians might want to see one of their own in the governor’s mansion, but it’s not the right time, and Buehler isn’t the right candidate. Re-elect Brown to ensure that Oregon continues to make progress.
This article appears in Oct 17-24, 2018.
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I get the Source methodology on endorsing Kate and you were very fair in your portrayal of Knute (maybe by necessity since he’s a local). But I am disappointed that you were so dismissive of Patrick Starnes. No, he won’t win but Starnes is carrying an important message in this most expensive all time Governor’s race. Oregon has ZERO campaign limits and only Starnes is talking about that. None of our big problems get solved, mostly due to this one fact. We need to send a message to Salem and PS is that messenger. He also happens to be a pretty great guy with other interesting ideas. Too bad he was shut out of two of the three debates – another point The Source might have addressed. Deschutes County is a stronghold for the Independent Party of Oregon and non-affiliated voters. The Source should be a champion of democracy for all and not just the wealthy, rigged establishment parties.
Hi RealAndrewKaza- We met with Starnes and we maintain that he just wasn’t the viable candidate the other two are. This was an incredibly difficult choice between the two of them, and while we agree that campaign finance limits are a problem, and we know Starnes be a friendly guy, he wasn’t ready to lead at this level. Thus, we had to reserve our argument and the space we had in our paper to defending why we chose who we did, and to sharing with our local audience why we didn’t select the local guy.
I’d encourage you to read our intro to our Election issue (https://admin.bendsource.com/bend/waves-of…) as it speaks directly about non-affiliated voters in our county, and the need to think beyond party.
Thanks for your comments!
Brown has down a great job giving the time she’s been in office. Buehler expected her to solve some of the deepest problems in such a short amount of time? An easy and cheap criticism for Buehler to employ. As for Buehler himself, he is pandering to anyone and everyone to get votes. He says he is pro-choice, but his voting record says otherwise. He says he will vote to end Oregon’s sanctuary law, but made a token statement criticizing Trump’s attempt to penalize those seeking legal immigrant status for accessing health care. This guy has no backbone whatesoever. Where he isn’t evasive, he’s completely unclear. The bottom line is Buehler is a Republican will leave the door wide open in Oregon for the misogyny, xenophobia, racism, depravity and pure malevolence that is the foundation of Trump’s (and the GOP’s) vision of America.
Not a fan of Knute, but just regurgitating Kate Browns talking points word for word still does not come up with a single answer or position she actually has. Her idea of coming up with all our missing funding from more committees (with other peoples ideas) and cost cuts from programs she implemented in the first place stating they can be done cheaper is beyond ridiculous. If this is the case why was it not discussed when the committee of “experts” came up with the idea in the first place. Her only idea seems to be find other people with ideas.
“I get things done” or as she calls it “GTD” may be a good self describer and worker asset if you are a hipster pretending to be reverent to the world working for a silicone valley start with a ping pong table in the main entry as a “team builder” but it is not a strategy to fix Oregon’s finances.