Liveblog: Gubernatorial Candidate Forum

Kari Chisholm

It's a beautiful Sunday morning in Sunriver, Oregon. Oregon Democrats have spent the weekend gathered to hear from legislative leaders, our members of Congress, and from activists and wonks of all sorts.

It's all led up to this point - a gubernatorial forum featuring Bill Bradbury, John Kitzhaber, and Steve Shields. Lots of anticipation - especially from the many Democrats who have never heard from Shields.

I'll be liveblogging this morning. There will be three-minute openings - and then questions (previously submitted to the DPO via Facebook and Twitter.) This is not a transcript; but rather my hastily typed notes.

Let's go!

Kitzhaber: We are entering a period of profound transformation driven by forces we cannot shape or control. Baby boomers, escalating health care and energy costs, staggering national debt. This is difficult.

We can be better and brighter if we challenge the status quo. Imagine a different world. Campaigns are not a place to find a discussion of problems. Slogans are easier. "Fully fund education". "Health care for everyone." These win elections, but do little.

The underlying structures of our system were developed in the middle of our last century.

I have faith in Oregonians. They will expect and demand an honest dicussion. Over the next month, I'll be laying out big ideas - some will be controversial and challenge the status quo.

Bradbury: I have faith in Oregon. I've seen Oregonians come together and solve really tough problems over the last 30 years. But I've also seen us ignore some major problems.

We've been ducking the problem of funding education for at least 16 years, if not a whole lot longer. The first step is passing the tax measures in January. Raising the corporate minimum from $10 is not a radical idea. I have seen what the cuts will look like.

Now, to the larger problem: In my first term, in my first week in office, I will bring together the stakeholders to really solve education funding: businesses, parents, retirees. Hammer out an agreement that finally funds education to the Quality Education Model. I will lock the doors and not anyone leave until we come up with a proposed solution that everyone can support.

I am dedicated to results, as I always have been. I led on the Oregon Ocean Plan. I implemented Oregon's vote by mail system.

I'll soon be releasing specific plans.

Shields: It's an extraordinary thing to be here and welcomed by you as a complete outsider. Let's face it: Oregon's next governor matters. Our problems threaten our future, and I won't sit on the sidelines any longer while we make insufficient progress.

I was raised in a timber town in Oregon. My father worked long hard shifts for union wages in the mills. We endured strikes and tough times. Our family situation improved each year. That idea is the heart of every working person's dream. But that goal is much harder for many Oregonians, I'll change that.

I'm running for Governor to restore Oregon as a place of real opportunity for Oregon families. I'm a conservationist and an outdoorsman, and I'll protect our natural resources.

Education is the key to success. I'm running for Governor to reverse the disinvestment in education.

I'm also running to create a new economic reality. I'm the only candidate who has created jobs. Part of a team that implemented one of the world's most successful business models.

I know how to make things work, and that's what I'll do as Governor.

Now, on to the questions.

Q: Oregon faces a huge hole in its budget. The options are to cut essential services or get the tax increase passed. Will you go on record supporting the tax measures over cutting human services?

JK: Yes, I will support the tax measures. Period, end of story. I will not support those spending cuts. For those who have concerns about taxes, we should take them up in regular session. But we will still have a problem with our budget. Much of the current budget depends on one-time stimulus money. We need to understand that our nation is awash in debt, and we cannot raise taxes high enough or fast enough with our current structures. Our great challenge and opportunity. If we spend all of energy trying to figure out to pay for our programs, without figuring out what we're buying. We must rethink the programs and policies in the light of our new world and new demographics, then we will have failed. We are better than that. And in my campaign, I am setting out to prove it.

SS: Yes, I will. This may be surprising from a business person. I am not the only business person that believes this. I don't agree with everything, and the measures don't end the conversation. Here's the sad reality: schools have not been able to take advantage of the funding. OSU had to make commitments on staff and faculty while the Lege was still in session. You cannot count on spending money that won't be there (because of the referral.) This is a perpetual problem in Oregon: revenue stability. In the past we haven't been able to solve this problem. We will have to work hard on this issue. We have one of the worst records for instability of any state in the union. We spend too much time on this, instead of figuring out how to become economically competitive.

BB: This really is the most important issue we face in the next four months. I strongly support measures 66 and 67. We must join together and fight for these measures. No ifs, ands, or buts. Vote yes. The ballot measure doesn't go far enough on the alternative minimum corporate tax. Right now, the minimum is capped at $100,000. So, if you're Nike or a medium-sized small business you pay the same. That's not fair. Washington has no limit on their alternate minimum tax. Microsoft is paying its fair share. Oregon was ranked as the 10th most friendly state to do business. Washington was ranked 3rd, without a limit. So, clearly, having no limit has a positive impact! Seriously, though, it's fundamental that funding our schools and basic services is not important for all of us, it's really good for business in this state.

Q: Oregon high school teachers often deal with 30+ students in multiple classes. What are you planning to make education a more personal experience.

SS: This is why I'm running for Governor. Quality education is critical for future prosperity. Having a personal experience in high school is a question of relevance. Schools are out of sync with the society we live in. On class size, clearly a function of funding. A class size of 40 can be fine for some classes, which leaves room for 10 or 12 in other classes. We need to move forward in schools on technology. It is possible today for a class in Corvallis HS to have a joint session with a class in Burns. You could study the same material at the same time. We are unable to do innovative things like that today.

BB: It's time to stop making stop excuses, and fully fund education. Oregon is 49th in class size. Only Utah has more students in a classroom. Oregon has a clear guide in the QEM. But this year, we failed to meet the QEM by $1.75 billion. In fact, we've failed to meet it every single year. My friend, John, got a measure passed that instructed the Lege to fund the QEM, but we've failed since 1999. We need to stop making excuses. We know what it takes. How do we get this done? It's going to take money. Conventional wisdom says I shouldn't talk about new funding or be specific, but Oregonians are ready. They want a leader who will actually lead. I am ready to lead. In this campaign, you will hear from me specific funding mechanisms for the QEM. You will hear a specific plan for education reform.

JK: A good question, but we need to move beyond old metrics. Class size is important, but not the most crucial. Kids need engaged families. But many kids don't have that support, and they need small class sizes. Quality teaching is also critical. We need to incent and honor that. All of our children can learn and excel. We need to rethink our schools are fundamentally designed. High school must be personalized and customized. We must have strong leadership, inentives for our teachers to innovate and use technology. Redesign the educational experience. Moving away from silo mentality of K-12, CC, higher ed. Must be integrated enterprise.

Q: As an emergency physician, I see people who fall through the cracks in the safety net. How do we provide an integrated system that doesn't provide health insurance in name only, but actual integrated services.

BB: For too long, the federal govt has been not only absentee, but criminally negligent. Congress must pass a comprehensive plan with a robust public option. The public option is not a sideshow; it's critical. We need to do more on education to meet the coming labor demands that health care reform will create. We face a shortage of personnel, as well as money. We need to start changing what people are putting into their bodies - obesity epidemic, esp among juveniles, is a crisis. Like tobacco and alcohol, it's time to look at what large multinational corporations are feeding our children. Parents are responsible, but that said, parents are no match for the marketing power of Coca-Cola. Have you tried to buy a soda without high fructose corn syrup? Just like RJR and Philip Morris, Pepsi and Coke must be held responsible! Vending machines in schools are absurd. That must stop!

JK: Ditto what Bill said about high fructose corn syrup. As a former ER doc, what we see is the medical and psychological failure of our society. Health insurance reform is not health care reform. The objective is health, not financing health care. Keep our eye on the ball, it's about health. The thing that has the biggest impact on your health is not your access to health system. We need a way to keep people healthy, and out of the health system in the first place. Most diseases are preventable. The structure of our system has financial incentives to reward acute care instead of prevention and chronic disease management. There's no hospital billing code for prevention. As Governor, I propose broad-based demonstration projects to prove this. We can do this. I am ready to get started.

SS: I agree with John on everything he said. This is incredibly complex. 1) In-home health care must be integrated into the system. 2) We are dependent on a model of employer-based health care that doesn't work. Fear of changing health care keeps people locked in jobs. Hurts us economically. 3) We must pass national health care reform. I get upset when I hear Republicans say we have the best system in the world. Simply not true. Colleagues around the world tell me that's not true; and most of all, they don't worry about it. It's an issue for economic competitiveness.

Closing statements, five minutes each:

JK: We will have a campaign that confronts difficult truths. Analogy: Most successful businesses grow along a curve, then plateau, then decline. GM is an example of a company that did this. Successful companies re-invent a new growth curve. That area between the old curve and the new curve is the area of paradox - where people get nervous.

That's where Oregon is now. We're clinging to the old ways, instead of overcoming and transcending to a new curve. It's not just about electing a new Governor. Requires an effort that everyone in Oregon stand up and be counted; and that's why we're building a campaign that's about you, not about me.

It's going to be very hard. I can't promise that I can solve the problems. But we can solve these problems if we recognize our common future.

I promise you this: If you have a stake, you will have a role. You've seen people with clipboards and shirts with lightbulbs all weekend. I wanted you to be the first people to participate in our new process - at ideas.johnkitzhaber.com. It'll be an open-source process for developing our common future.

Beyond the indidivual ideas that this process will create, we'll be looking at the big picture. This will not be a gauzy rhetorical vision of the future, but a specific sets of facts, steps, tradeoffs, and sacrificiesto get us there.

One thing I've learned is that real change doesn't come from one person getting elected. It comes from when all Oregonians have a stake. It'll take courage, creativity, and love of Oregon. But you have that in abundance. Join me today for that brighter future for our state.

SS: Oregon is struggling. The devil is in the details, and the danger is in the direction.

We must build a future where Salem can work. Our problems are not easy. Too many years of too little progress. I've seen this before. In my past, I've taken on the challenge on turning around organizations that are stuck by innovating.

Oregon is stuck. We can do what we've been doing, or we can work together. The lack of vision in our state's highest office is the problem. We are at a crossroads. One path is the status quo, band-aids, passing along problems. Easy. Been doing it for years. But if that's unacceptable, we can work together. This is hard. Taking on tough problems. Leaders that will rethink how we do education, restructure govt, and build economic opportunity.

I'm a problem solver and a proven leader. Two things that our state has lacked in recent years. My entire career has been about working toward the future. Must be about what we're for, not what we're against. Ideas don't solve problems, people solve problems. We have problems, and we can solve them.

I'm running for Gov because we must do better. Oregon must believe in itself again.

BB: We've had a great weekend of engaging together for Oregon. I am a proud Democrat because i believe in the values. Quality education. Fair tax system. Clean environment. Right to choose. Equality for all people.

Let me be clear: Those who have fought for those values are stakeholders. And I have fought alongside you for 30 years. I will personally never forget the call from newly re-elected Governor Kulongoski for raising funds for the campaign to change the legislature in 2006. I will not stop fighting for these values and the party as Governor.

I have faith in Oregonians to solve tough problems and stop ignoring problems. But they cannot do that without leadership in the Governor's office. I am ready to be that leader.

I will be specific with real plans for education, jobs, and the environment. We'll move beyond the platitudes. In my effort to walk the talk, here's what I'll accomplish in my first term: We will fully fund the QEM. Oregon will continue to be a leader in sustainable business and the economy of the future. These are my commitments to you. I look forward to earning your vote.

...and that's it folks!

Learn more about the candidates: Bill Bradbury, John Kitzhaber, and Steve Shields.

[And full disclosure: My firm built John Kitzhaber's campaign website, but I speak only for myself.]

By Kari Chisholm Oct. 18, 2009