Oregon gubernatorial candidate Ted Kulongoski told student leaders Wednesday that they must vote and stay
involved in the political process to ensure their future as Oregon citizens.
“I wish we could find more ways to get (students) involved in the process,” Kulongoski said.
He said students should vote or they could be drowned out as the aging population of baby boomers begins to blanket the ballot box with issues such as health care and retirement funds.
Kulongoski added that students should care about issues like Medicare because they’ll end up supporting it with their tax dollars.
“Who do you think will end up paying for all of this? You!” he said.
Kulongoski is one of three Democrats vying for the gubernatorial endorsement of Oregon’s Democratic Party in the May 21, 2002 primary. Another Democrat, Beverly Stein, visited the University this week, but Mike Linman, co-chairman of the University’s College Democrats, said that the timing of the two visits was purely coincidental.
Kulongoski spent most of the hour-long meeting focusing on
education.
“Oregon has not yet figured out a way to look at education holistically,” Kulongoski said, referring to what he called a “split between K-12 and higher education.” He said the future of Oregon is in higher education, and he admired the role community colleges have taken in being “student-focused.” But he said that Oregon has not placed a high enough priority on higher learning.
The candidate said higher education’s funding problems are due, in part, to a heavy dependence on K-12 systems as a fix to Oregon’s problems.
“When families and churches fail, we’ve asked schools to pick up the slack,” Kulongoski said. He added that Oregon isn’t able to do its job correctly right now because the political system isn’t working right.
“You cannot govern by the initiative process,” he said. “We take so much time and energy trying to defeat them, we can’t focus on the issues right now.”
Ultimately, Kulongoski concluded that increasing money for Oregon’s colleges and having a balanced budget might involve raising taxes in the long run.
“What the governor has tried to focus on is the long-term view, and $830 million may not be the bottom number,” he said.
The former lawyer, who has been a state legislator, Oregon’s attorney general and most recently an Oregon Supreme Court justice, listened as students asked questions about topics ranging from the pollution of the Willamette River to assisted suicide.
“To get people to change their conduct, you have to make them want to change,” he said, referring to the farmers and businesses who are partly responsible for the pollution of the river.
Kulongoski also voiced support for Oregon’s Death with Dignity Law.
“I believe Attorney General Ashcroft is wrong and will lose the litigation he’s involved in,” he said.
Jacob DeAngelo, a coordinator for OSPIRG, said he hopes Kulongoski will continue to fight pollution in the Willamette River.
“The issue is a problem that affects most Oregonians. It’s long overdue for a major cleanup effort,” he said.
LGBTQA co-director Maddy Melton said the candidate’s focus on rights for minorities might earn her vote.
“I’m interested in finding out what part he took in an equal rights bill in the ’70s,” Melton said, referring to legislation Kulongoski spoke about during the meeting.
Linman said that Kulongoski’s focus on colleges and universities was refreshing.
“Oregon has the perception that we’re supposed to focus on K-12. Once they graduate we forget about them,” Linman said. “To not invest in these people is utterly ridiculous.”