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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — There was a largely unnoticed moment during a debate at Oregon Public Broadcasting between Democratic Gov. Ted Kulongoski and his Republican challenger, Ron Saxton, when something close to extraordinary happened.
Kulongoski was talking about the need for more state funding for lawyers to go after deadbeat parents, who get behind in their child support payments. And when it was Saxton’s turn, he paused, and said, “I’ll keep this one simple: I agree with the governor on this.”
It was an almost isolated moment for the two, who have found little common ground during this year’s campaign. And when voters make their choice for Oregon’s next governor this week, they’ll be picking between two men with very different visions for the state’s future.
Kulongoski is a believer that an activist government can make a difference in the lives of its citizens. Saxton has seemed driven throughout his campaign by a desire to prune back government, in favor of market forces and a tight focus on core services. This fundamental difference underscores their policy priorities in key areas, from the environment to education to the economy.
Both say their number one priority is education. But their approaches to the topic have significant differences, in keeping with their political philosophies.
Kulongoski has a sweeping plan to stabilize school funding, dedicating 61 percent of the state budget to pre-K through university programs, and setting aside money to feed a rainy-day fund for schools. Saxton, too, has said he’d like to see more money funneled to the classroom, but his approach is different: he’d prefer to see spending cut in other areas, including from health and retirement benefits for school employees. The savings, he’s said, would go to boost starting pay for new teachers, and merit pay for extraordinary ones.
Their position on taxes, too, is entirely different. Saxton has supported a rollback in capital gains and estate taxes, and has said he’d prefer to preserve the corporate kicker — the tax rebate that’s sent to the state’s corporations if the state budget exceeds forecasts.
Kulongoski, by contrast, has mused that a perfect world would include some kind of consumption tax — radioactive in Oregon, where voters have turned down a sales tax idea nine times, but also what many economists believe could put the state’s see-sawing budget situation on much firmer ground.
The governor has spoken during the campaign about raising targeted taxes, including bringing the cigarette tax to the same level as Washington’s, to pay for health care programs, and a rise in the automobile insurance tax, to pay for expansions in the state police force.
On the environment, too, Saxton has lost no time making it clear that he thinks Kulongoski’s decisions have often crossed the line, saying he’d work to rollback the state’s tougher standards for auto emissions and would withdraw the state from several lawsuits challenging federal environmental policy.
In an area that’s emerged as one of Saxton’s signature issues — curbing the costs of the Public Employees Retirement System — he’s said there are still substantial ways to reduce the costs of benefits for current employees. Kulongoski has countered that reforms put in place after the 2003 legislative session have been effective, and that any further chipping away at the system would almost certainly fall to court challenges.
Other areas present more subtle differences. Both are pro-choice — but Saxton supports a measure on the November ballot that would require doctors to notify parents before their 15, 16 or 17-year-old daughter could get an abortion. Both think taking a top-to-bottom look at Oregon’s land-use procedures is a good idea — but Saxton wants to speed up the process.
There are a few areas where the two share common ground. Saxton has praised the governor’s transportation package, passed in the 2003 legislative session, which set aside hundreds of millions of dollars to fix the state’s roads and bridges. And he’s said that if elected, he’d continue Kulongoski’s practice of attending the funerals of Oregon soldiers who are killed in Iraq.
Differences between the two could be magnified by the make-up of the Oregon Legislature. Democratic and Republican activists alike have said privately in recent days that Democrats have the momentum going into the election and could emerge in control of the Oregon House.
If, as expected, Democrats hang onto control in the Oregon Senate, they’d have total control over the legislature. That could give Kulongoski his first opportunity to work with a legislature headed entirely by members of his own party — or set Saxton up for a potentially gridlocked legislative session.
Kulongoski was talking about the need for more state funding for lawyers to go after deadbeat parents, who get behind in their child support payments. And when it was Saxton’s turn, he paused, and said, “I’ll keep this one simple: I agree with the governor on this.”
It was an almost isolated moment for the two, who have found little common ground during this year’s campaign. And when voters make their choice for Oregon’s next governor this week, they’ll be picking between two men with very different visions for the state’s future.
Kulongoski is a believer that an activist government can make a difference in the lives of its citizens. Saxton has seemed driven throughout his campaign by a desire to prune back government, in favor of market forces and a tight focus on core services. This fundamental difference underscores their policy priorities in key areas, from the environment to education to the economy.
Both say their number one priority is education. But their approaches to the topic have significant differences, in keeping with their political philosophies.
Kulongoski has a sweeping plan to stabilize school funding, dedicating 61 percent of the state budget to pre-K through university programs, and setting aside money to feed a rainy-day fund for schools. Saxton, too, has said he’d like to see more money funneled to the classroom, but his approach is different: he’d prefer to see spending cut in other areas, including from health and retirement benefits for school employees. The savings, he’s said, would go to boost starting pay for new teachers, and merit pay for extraordinary ones.
Their position on taxes, too, is entirely different. Saxton has supported a rollback in capital gains and estate taxes, and has said he’d prefer to preserve the corporate kicker — the tax rebate that’s sent to the state’s corporations if the state budget exceeds forecasts.
Kulongoski, by contrast, has mused that a perfect world would include some kind of consumption tax — radioactive in Oregon, where voters have turned down a sales tax idea nine times, but also what many economists believe could put the state’s see-sawing budget situation on much firmer ground.
The governor has spoken during the campaign about raising targeted taxes, including bringing the cigarette tax to the same level as Washington’s, to pay for health care programs, and a rise in the automobile insurance tax, to pay for expansions in the state police force.
On the environment, too, Saxton has lost no time making it clear that he thinks Kulongoski’s decisions have often crossed the line, saying he’d work to rollback the state’s tougher standards for auto emissions and would withdraw the state from several lawsuits challenging federal environmental policy.
In an area that’s emerged as one of Saxton’s signature issues — curbing the costs of the Public Employees Retirement System — he’s said there are still substantial ways to reduce the costs of benefits for current employees. Kulongoski has countered that reforms put in place after the 2003 legislative session have been effective, and that any further chipping away at the system would almost certainly fall to court challenges.
Other areas present more subtle differences. Both are pro-choice — but Saxton supports a measure on the November ballot that would require doctors to notify parents before their 15, 16 or 17-year-old daughter could get an abortion. Both think taking a top-to-bottom look at Oregon’s land-use procedures is a good idea — but Saxton wants to speed up the process.
There are a few areas where the two share common ground. Saxton has praised the governor’s transportation package, passed in the 2003 legislative session, which set aside hundreds of millions of dollars to fix the state’s roads and bridges. And he’s said that if elected, he’d continue Kulongoski’s practice of attending the funerals of Oregon soldiers who are killed in Iraq.
Differences between the two could be magnified by the make-up of the Oregon Legislature. Democratic and Republican activists alike have said privately in recent days that Democrats have the momentum going into the election and could emerge in control of the Oregon House.
If, as expected, Democrats hang onto control in the Oregon Senate, they’d have total control over the legislature. That could give Kulongoski his first opportunity to work with a legislature headed entirely by members of his own party — or set Saxton up for a potentially gridlocked legislative session.
