Oregon's Innovation Challenge
If people from other parts of the country know anything about Oregon, they know that we’re a little bit different out here.
We’re the state where everybody votes at the kitchen table. We actually give you money back for old bottles and you can go to the beach whenever and wherever you want. No ticket necessary.
The creativity, innovation, and collaboration that led to the Bottle Bill, public beaches, voting by mail, and many other progressive ideas has made a mark not just here, but throughout America.
But while our history is worth celebrating, it’s time to quit resting on yesterday’s accomplishments. Because the challenges facing our state are all about what happens tomorrow. The world has become an intensely competitive place, and this competition drives what happens in our economy.
So we need to build a government that’s responsive to changing economic realities and nimble enough to adapt when necessary.
The first step is to start focusing on what we can do rather than what we can’t. If we don’t start embracing new ideas in a hurry, we’re going to find that the rest of America, even the rest of the world, has left our state far behind.
From my work at NIKE, I’ve learned a lot about taking chances and innovation and I’m happy to report that we’ve started putting this approach to work in Salem. Now that we’ve established a Rainy Day Fund, our state will weather the next economic downturn without the usual massive cuts to education and other vital services. By 2025, a quarter of Oregon’s energy will come from renewable sources. That’s not just good for air quality and global warming, it will also help us reduce our reliance on foreign oil and create a lot of good-paying jobs in our state.
Still, these innovations are just the start. Oregon faces a variety of challenges that will require innovative thinking. We have to start upgrading our community colleges and universities in a hurry; we’ve already fallen far behind Washington and many other states. We must get a handle on escalating health care costs, which are strangling small businesses and driving families into bankruptcy. We have to invest in infrastructure, like transportation systems, and we must do more to support local, sustainable businesses.
It’s an ambitious agenda, but the state that made it easier to vote, recycle, and go to the beach should be up to the task.
As one of the youngest members of the Legislature, I’m proud to be part of a team that’s leading our return to creative, innovative, and collaborative thinking. However, the ultimate success of our Legislature, and our state, depends on you. We can’t make the changes necessary to take Oregon into the future without your input, without your ideas. I hope you’ll join us.
If you have an idea for the next big innovation that the Legislature should already be working on, let me know.
Thanks.
Tobias Read
State Representative, District 27
Posted on November 16, 2007
Tobias Read
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