Wallowa County Chieftain: ENDORSES SAXTON

Wallowa County Chieftain

http://www.wallowacountychieftain.info/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=11465&SectionID=6&SubSectionID=6&S=1

Editorial: Oregon is ready for a new governor

Agriculture groups are joining Ron Saxton's gubernatorial parade in droves - and with good reasion.

They believe he will do more for agriculture interests than the current governor, whose treatment of Oregon's multi-billion agriculture and resource businesses has been one of tender loving neglect - and that's the most generous term we can use.

Early in his tenancy, Governor Ted Kulongoski moved his resource adviser out of the Capitol building and, with this clear signal, has proceeded to ignore agriculture and resource concerns ever since, while leaving delegations waiting for a governor who would not show up.

Agriculture is by no means his only shortcoming. Oregon is among the highest spending states on education, yet it continues to lag behind most.

Little to nothing has been done to prevent Oregon from becoming an illegal alien magnet state and, under Kulongoski's guidance, illegal aliens are even allowed to have driver's licenses.

During editorial board interviews, earlier this month, the Chieftain and its sister papers in the East Oregonian Publishing Company interviewed Kulongoski and Saxton. Clear differences quickly began to appear - and became most pronounced, when the candidates were interviewed on their plans and positions on agriculture and resource management.

While Kulongoski sank down in his chair like an errant schoolboy, Saxton became excited by questions about ag issues. He had a plan for getting a larger allotment of Columbia River wateer for Northeastern Oregon. He had a plan for protecting the credibility of the Oregon driver's license, while promoting a guest worker program for farmers.

A former school adminstrator, Saxton even had answers to Oregon's education dilemma, the root of which, he opined, begins with a failure to handle such services as buses and administration so as to take advantage of economies of scale.

Saxton also characterized himself as the product of a rural community and said he grew up in Albany as member of a farming family.

Kulongoski is a known element - but he's had his shot and was considerably less than expected.

Saxton is a relatively unknown element, but he walks the walk and talks the talk. Let's give him the shot this time.