Former Oregon Governor stumps in Coos Bay
By Erica Rush, KCBY NewsCOOS BAY, Ore. -He's one of two men battling for the State's top political post, as Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate John Kitzhaber pays a visit to the South Coast and meets with over a dozen of community leaders to discuss the issues facing our area. MultimediaPlanes, trains, and ports were just some of the topics thrown at the former Governor Tuesday afternoon, as he heard from an over-flowing crowd at the Port of Coos Bay's conference room.. He touched on a number of topics including Connect Oregon Grants, rail and air service and other coastal issues, as well as better ways to grow businesses and cut down on the regulatory process. "We have to revisit the relationship between the states and cities and local governments and see if we can find better venues for cooperation and collaboration and public safety and infrastructure of financing," said Kitzhaber. Addressing the State's $2 million deficit, many educators took heed with the constant boom and bust plaguing school funding. Agreeably, Kitzhaber says the State needs to take a larger look at the budget, rather than just two-year lulls, and portion their dollars accordingly. "It's not enough to just dump more money in when the times are good, you have to have some reliable amount of money you can budget to. that's true of a business or anybody." Kitzhaber added, "If you know how much you have, you can make some choices and that will also give us the ability to see what we're not able to do and create partnerships with MGO's and with the private sector to actually help fill in the gaps." Despite the downward economic spiral Kitzhaber says the State is currently in, he remains optimistic about Oregon's recovery. Kitzhaber will face Republican nominee Chris Dudley in the General Election in November. |
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