Oregon's governor and wife visit Sisters

Governor Ted Kulongoski visited the Habitat for Humanity Thrift Store during an informal visit to Sisters last weekend. Photo by Shane Simonsen

Governor Ted Kulongoski and his wife Mary spent last weekend in Sisters, strolling through downtown shops and talking with members of the community.

The governor has made a practice of such informal visits to Oregon communities in an effort to learn first-hand the concerns and issues facing Oregonians and to let people know that his administration is interested in serving all Oregonians.

On Saturday, February 15, Sisters merchants from Leavitt's Western Wear to The Fly Fisher's Place enjoyed showing off their wares to the governor and his wife. Kulongoski also engaged SOAR director Tom Coffield in a long discussion about youth programs and paid a visit to the Habitat For Humanity Thrift Store on Main Avenue.

In a conversation with the editorial staff of The Nugget, the governor acknowledged that he has assumed the state's top job in extremely difficult economic times.

Yet he insisted that the same conditions that challenge the state provide opportunities to tackle some of the fundamental issues that face the state.

The governor favors a return to more local control over school curriculum and standards, a move he believes will give taxpayers a greater stake in the funding of schools.

Kulongoski sees great opportunities for economic development with high tech firms in Oregon -- if the state is able to streamline its regulatory regime.

According to the governor, business leaders do not claim that Oregon's regulatory bar is set too high; they complain that the process for compliance is confusing, contradictory and time consuming, creating unnecessary expenses that inhibit growth without adding anything to the protection of the state.

Kulongoski emphasized that the state government must increase its level of accountability to the public in order to restore the trust of taxpayers.

Those sentiments were echoed in a brief speech at a dinner at Black Butte Ranch.

"We've got to get the public to trust us," he told an assemblage of about 50 Sisters community leaders.

He believes that government plays a vital role in a healthy society, a role that requires trust from the public and accountability from public servants.

He noted that, in hard times, many people expect government to shrink just as the private sector does. Taxes should be cut, services pared back.

Yet, he said, the private sector shrinks in response to reduced demand.

In hard times, the demand for government services actually increases.

So, Kulongoski believes, Oregon must do more with the resources at hand.

He believes efficiencies brought by technology will help bridge the gap between available resources and the need for services.