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Throughout his 30 years of public service, Ted has won admiration for his ability to bring people together to solve difficult issues. He has fought to protect older citizens from fraud and abuse, raise the minimum wage and strengthen safety laws for workers. He has led an aggressive effort to provide a first-rate education for every child in Oregon, and has championed health care for everyone, both old and young. And he has signed into law the toughest measures in America to fight meth crimes.
When he became Governor in January 2003, Ted Kulongoski took the reins of a state government burdened with a budget deficit of $3 billion, and the loss of more than a fifth of its revenue, thanks to a national recession that ravaged Oregon's high-tech economy and reduced both personal and corporate income.
Knowing that strong management measures were needed if Oregon could ever again aspire to prosperity, the new Governor changed the way the state handles its budget. He cut expenses and reformed state purchasing to save tax dollars. And most important, he made creating jobs his first priority, and aggressively promoted business opportunities in rural and urban areas while protecting the environment. He opened the doors to college for more Oregonians by nearly doubling the availability of state help to low-income students. He brought new jobs by the tens of thousands into the state, and made Oregon's economy the sixth-fastest growing economy in the nation.
Ted Kulongoski's vision for Oregon includes an education system that produces the world's best-trained and most reliable workers; a health care system that covers every child under 19 and provides affordable health care for all; and a commitment to renewable, clean energy that helps achieve energy independence while creating jobs in the exciting new industries of the 21st Century.
Town Hall speaker
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