Nominee's Background:
http://law.lclark.edu/org/kcenter/mission.html mission statement of the Kitzhaber Center, of which Kitzhaber is President
Kitzhaber first ran for public office in 1978 and was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives. In 1980 he was elected to the first of three terms in the Oregon Senate representing Douglas County and parts of Jackson County. He was elected Senate President in 1985 and served in that position until 1993. Kitzhaber was elected governor November 8, 1994, and was sworn into office January 9, 1995. He was re-elected on November 3, 1998 and inaugurated for a second term on January 11, 1999.
As Senate President, Kitzhaber was recognized nationally for authoring the ground-breaking Oregon Health Plan. He is credited both with crafting the plan itself and for bringing together diverse interest groups to pass the law, which took effect in February 1994. Kitzhaber also received recognition for his many accomplishments in the field of environmental stewardship, including the prestigious Neuberger Award given by the Oregon Environmental Council.
During his first term as governor, Kitzhaber oversaw the expansion of the Oregon Health Plan, which reduced the rate of uninsured Oregon children from 21 percent to eight percent. In addition, Kitzhaber's welfare reform plan, known as the Oregon Option, has reduced the number of welfare caseloads more than 50 percent, saved more than $200 million in the state budget, and helped nearly 20,000 Oregonians find work.
Preserving Oregon's environment remains a priority for Kitzhaber, and during his first term he developed and implemented the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds. This is a collaborative plan that encourages federal, state and local government agencies to work with private landowners to restore watershed health and recover endangered salmon species.
Education and opportunity for Oregon's children also has been a centerpiece of Kitzhaber's administration. He has fought for stable education funding, implementing the Education Act for the 21st Century, increasing investment in Oregon's colleges and universities, including freezing tuition, and juvenile crime prevention.
Nominating Speech:
A progressive of the first order; fair amount of agriculture and logging in Oregon.
To research this nominee, please look for them on the
Wikipedia website or at
Google.
|
Progressive Criteria:
The Department of Agriculture will: Support sustainable agriculture;
Work to ensure the American people a safe, varied and plentiful food supply;
Put public health and environmental safety above corporate, political or regional interests;
Support family farming and encourage healthy economic development of rural communities;
Work to protect the Commons: public lands, air and water, biodiversity, unpatented seed stock;
Promote humane farming;
Work to avoid hurting poor farmers in poor countries with unfair competition from subsidized US crops.
|
