"I have learned that there is a price to be paid for doing the right thing.
To fight for the interest of ordinary people, a leader must always
work harder, think faster, and be more determined..."

Biography

I have been working to protect the natural beauty of Oregon since my years as a college student in Coos Bay. As a student, I helped in successfully protecting the French Pete (no relation) wilderness, which is part of the Three Sisters wilderness area. I assisted in the formation of OSPIRG as well, and had a fine time doing it.

When I was 23, I ran Jim Weaver's (D-Oregon) successful Congressional campaign. After he was elected, substantially on environmental issues, I went with him to Washington DC as his Legislative Assistant. We banned mining in national parks, expanded the wilderness system, and helped pass the Endangered American Wilderness Act of 1976. I helped stop the Elk Creek dam in southern Oregon.

From my years as a legislative assistant in Rep. Weaver’s office in Washington DC, 1974-77, I learned that there is a price to be paid for doing the right thing. To fight for the interests of ordinary people, a leader must always work harder, think faster and be more determined than those on the side of entrenched power and the status quo.
As an official in the Agriculture Department in the Carter Administration, I learned valuable lessons about how Oregon fits into a diverse nation. I saw the extremes of poverty and wealth in many states, and I learned that the task of government is to bring divergent interests together.

After 5 years in Washington DC, I came home and went to our state law school. Graduating from law school in 1982, I hung out my shingle in the depths of the biggest recession since the Great Depression. I represented people whose business growing tree seedlings was damaged by railroad right of way spraying. I represented people trying to protect Portland’s Bull Run Reserve and the drinking water for a million people. I represented people who successfully forced the Environmental Protection Agency to limit the amount of lead in our nation's drinking water. I made a living, and I learned to make a difference. Eventually, I received the "Award for Vision" from the Oregon Natural Resources Council.

During those early years, I volunteered to serve on the budget committee of Lane Community College, and then was elected to the LCC board, my first elected office. We managed a budget of almost $60 million and we had hundreds of dedicated employees. I learned the importance of Oregon’s open meeting laws, and I learned about the difficult choices elected officials face. I also led the effort to get the voters of Lane County to authorize bonds so that LCC would be able to help others pull themselves up as I had done.

In 1993, I was appointed to the State Senate, and I won election in 1994. The next year was a turning point for Oregon: the Newt Gingrich faction of the Republican Party had captured both houses in Salem. As Assistant Minority Leader during the 1995 session, I worked with Governor Kitzhaber to blunt their attacks on Oregon’s historic legacy of sound, compassionate government.

If you want to understand me, look at my record in Salem: pro-environment, pro-education, pro-senior, pro-regular taxpayer, pro-child, pro-civil rights, pro-civil liberties, and pro-people. I also learned that the legislature seems to be only for the rich and for people whose employers will pay them. When I was in the Senate, I had the lowest income of any senator of either party.

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