A Progressive Vision for Oregon

A Progressive Vision for Oregon
by Salvador Peralta

As our good friend Jefferson Smith likes to say, "Oregon is a place where progressive ideas are born".

One of the better progressive ideas that I've heard lately, is the notion that progressivism is really just an alternative to the partisanship and status quo politics of Salem and DC.

This is not a new idea. Jefferson would be the first to tell you that some of the best public servants we have elected in Oregon have embodied the progressive ideal.

Consider Mark O. Hatfield, a deeply devout evangelical Christian who served as Oregon's Governor and Senator for more than two decades.

Hatfield believed in the sanctity of life, and knew that America, by spending greater resources to build a more just and equitable future, would become more secure than by building a future of mounting debt and continual warfare.

That's not liberal thinking, it's progressive thinking.

Hatfield spoke to the conscience of an evangelical movement that is, these days, all-too-often consumed with power and partisanship instead of fellowship.

Oregon elected Tom McCall, a conservationist Republican Governor who protected Oregon's beaches, stood up for working people against big corporations and wealthy interests, and preserved Oregon farms by adopting land-use laws that encourage high urban density.

The result today, is an Oregon population that is less harmed by rising gas prices than any other state in the nation because we have the shortest commutes in the nation. The result is that the number of family farms has grown in Oregon while family farms have disappeared at a rate of 40,000 per year in the rest of the country.

In 2003, Oregon was the only state in the union to have an increase in the number of small farms, which grew at a rate of 12 percent.

Governors Hatfield and McCall are the embodiment of the idea that "progressive" does not necessarily mean liberal, and that there is a third-way in politics.

At Democracy for Oregon, we support economic policy that promotes local entrepreneurship such as small businesses and family farms. We believe in setting high standards for the quality of our air and water. We believe that land use policy should promote greater densities of urban populations, and that it's important to protect the water and property rights of farmers.

Our opposition to war is rooted in our faith. We value life, but we respect the rights of our fellow citizens to make their own decisions in life's most difficult circumstances.

We reject political cronyism and blind partisanship, and believe that all people should be held to an equal standard justice, and treated with respect.

We believe that citizens should be secure that their right to vote is intact, we support exporting Oregon's vote-by-mail system, and fair election reforms that will promote grassroots democracy and reward public participation in the political process.

We ask that you join us in restoring, to the People, ownership of Democracy in Oregon and America.