John Kitzhaber

Infobox Governor
name= John Kitzhaber


caption= John Kitzhaber in 2008
order=35^th
office= Governor of Oregon
term_start= January 9, 1995
term_end= January 13, 2003
lieutenant=
predecessor= Barbara Roberts
successor= Ted Kulongoski
birth_date= birth date|1947|3|5|mf=y (age 60)
birth_place= Washington
death_date=
death_place=
spouse=
alma mater= Dartmouth College, Oregon Health & Science University
profession= Doctor
party= Democratic
footnotes=

John Albert Kitzhaber (born March 5 1947 in Colfax, Washington) is a physician, member of the Democratic Party and former two term Governor of Oregon. He graduated from South Eugene High School in 1965, Dartmouth College in 1969, and then Oregon Health & Science University with a medical degree in 1973. Kitzhaber practiced medicine from 1973 to 1986 in Roseburg, Oregon as an Emergency Room Physician.

Kitzhaber began his political career serving in the Oregon House of Representatives from 1979 to 1981. In 1980, he was elected to the Oregon State Senate, where he served three terms from 1981 to 1993, and as President of the Senate from 1985 until 1993. As Oregon Senate President he was instrumental in the creation of the state's government-funded healthcare plan, Oregon Health Plan.

Governorship

First term, 1995-1999

In 1994, Kitzhaber won the Democratic Party nomination for governor when the Democratic Incumbent, Barbara Roberts, withdrew from the race in January of that year. Roberts opted against a second term, after voters refused to pass a sales tax to fund the Oregon Health Plan and she was forced to break her campaign promise not to cut spending.

Kitzhaber won the general election in November 1994 with 51% of the vote, defeating the Republican candidate Denny Smith who received 42% of the vote. [http://www.polidata.us/pub/reports/41000vhc.pdf] Ballot Measure 11, which applied mandatory minimum sentences for certain convicted criminals, passed in the same election. Measure 11 necessitated additional prisons to house the expected influx of long-term inmates. Many communities lobbied to be chosen for a prison site; rural communities, in particular, considered it a way to boost the local economy. Kitzhaber argued that the Portland metro area should not be allowed to "export" its problems to other areas of the state. In the end, he chose a prison site in Wilsonville, on the southern fringe of the Portland area. That choice drew opposition from residents, who claimed it was too close to a school. After months of protest and attempts to negotiate, a final prison site was selected at an alternative site in Wilsonville.

During his first term, Kitzhaber undertook creation of many new policy initiatives including the expansion of the Oregon Health Plan. He also broke new ground with the Oregon Option, a cooperative approach with the federal government that attempted to increase accountability and reduce bureaucracy related to the delivery of a number of government services. As one result, the State of Oregon reduced the number of welfare caseloads more than 50 percent, saved more than $200 million in the state budget, and helped nearly 20,000 Oregonians find work. Kitzhaber also introduced the Oregon Children's Plan, which was designed to identify and assist at-risk children and their families.

Stable funding for higher education was another issue for which Kitzhaber advocated. He pushed for implementation of the Education Act for the 21st Century, and increased investment in Oregon's colleges and universities. However, due to the lack of stable funding for higher education, Kitzhaber was unable to obtain enough funding to prevent large increases in tuition in Oregon's Higher Education Institutions.

Second term, 1999-2003

Republican anti-tax activist Bill Sizemore challenged Kitzhaber in 1998. Sizemore had founded Oregon Taxpayers United, a political action committee that lobbied against tax increases and promoted ballot measures limiting the use of union dues in political campaigns, in 1993. During the general election, rumors circulated about Sizemore's allegedly shady business practices, both in his personal life, in the operation of his political action committees and non-profit educational foundation. In the end, Sizemore provided only a token challenge and received 30% of the vote to Kitzhaber's 64%. [ [http://www.sos.state.or.us/elections/nov398/other.info/gov.htm Official Results, 1998 General Election: Governor ] ]

Kitzhaber developed several policy initiatives related to natural resources during his two terms as governor. The Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds attempted to restore dwindling runs of endangered native salmon species to Oregon's rivers and streams. The plan was a collaborative effort that encouraged federal, state and local government agencies to work with private landowners to restore watershed health and recover endangered salmon runs. Kitzhaber also took a high profile and controversial stand in favor of breaching several Northwest dams to help restore salmon populations.

Managing growth, particularly in the Willamette Valley, drew Kitzhaber's attention as well. A staunch supporter of Oregon's comprehensive land use system, he fought against attempts to weaken its protection of farmland and enforcement of urban growth boundaries. Kitzhaber also created the Governor's Growth Task Force and the Willamette Valley Livability Forum to help gather accurate information and outline integrated approaches for developing sustainable communities. His related Community Solutions program attempted to focus the efforts of numerous state agencies, other governments, and interested groups in collaborative problem solving and coordination to manage various community development projects across Oregon.

In spite of his many policy initiatives, much of Kitzhaber's tenure as governor was spent on the defensive with the Republican controlled legislature. He earned the nickname "Doctor No" from critics who pointed to his record number of vetoes. Kitzhaber engaged in numerous skirmishes with anti-tax activist Bill Sizemore and with members of the Republican majority in the legislature over the appropriate role and size of state government. Despite his difficulties with opponents, his popularity with the electorate remained high through most of his two terms as governor.

Kitzhaber's popularity fell as Oregon's economy declined in the final years of his administration. It was eroded further by his bad working relationship with the Republican legislative leaders. Five contentious special legislative sessions in 2002 seemed to illustrate the futility of the stalemate. In the midst of the turmoil, Kitzhaber's supporters claimed that he was making a stand on principles. His critics lamented his perceived failure to engage legislators in a dialog about how to fix the state budget.

Life after the governorship

Ending the speculation whether he would run, Kitzhaber announced on January 13, 2006, that he would not enter the race. Instead, he stated, "At least at this point in time, I can make the greatest entrance not by entering a campaign for Governor but by launching a campaign to change the American health care system and by offering people an opportunity to engage around an idea, not just a candidate." [ [http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/opb/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=865496 Public NewsRoom ] ] Oregon's constitution prohibited Kitzhaber from seeking a third consecutive term in 2002.

Kitzhaber has been promoted as a strong potential candidate for the United States Senate in 2002 and 2008, and for Governor in 2006. He chose not to run in 2002 or 2006, and stated in early 2007 that he would not pursue Gordon Smith's Senate seat, citing the importance of grassroots work on health care policy in the Archimedes Movement (details on this below).

After leaving nearly 25 years of public service in January 2003, Kitzhaber was named President of the Estes Park Institute, a Colorado-based education organization for community hospital and healthcare leaders.

Dr. Kitzhaber serves as the Director for the Center for Evidence Based Policy at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon. He holds an endowed Chair on Health Care Policy with The Foundation for Medical Excellence, [ [http://www.tfme.org/ tfme.org - Home ] ] an Oregon based public, nonprofit educational foundation.

On September 24th, 2005, The Oregonian reported that there was a movement among Oregon Democrats to draft John Kitzhaber for the 2006 gubernatorial election. The Oregonian cited confidential sources as saying that Kitzhaber was unhappy with Incumbent Governor Ted Kulongoski's leadership, as well with his comments about the previous administration. Kitzhaber would neither confirm nor deny the report, saying only that such a run "would be hard to imagine." However, rumors of his possible candidacy were confirmed in a December 1st, 2005 article that was published in the Eugene Register-Guard, that Kitzhaber was thinking about entering the race. State Senator Vicki Walker said she was postponing making an announcement about her own candidacy, until Kitzhaber decides whether he will enter the race. [cite news |author=David Steves
url=http://www.registerguard.com/news/2005/12/01/d1.cr.walker.1201.p1.php?section=cityregion
title=Walker puts decision on hold
work=The Register-Guard
date=December 1, 2005
accessdate=2007-02-26] Kitzhaber eventually decided not to enter the race, and later decided not to challenge Gordon Smith for his Senate seat in 2008. He is mentioned as a possible successor to Kulongoski when he is term-limited in 2010.

On January 13, 2006 Dr. Kitzhaber launched the Archimedes Movement, an organization seeking to maximize the health of the population by creating a sustainable system which uses the public resources spent on health care to ensure that everyone has access to a defined set of effective health services. The goal is to create not only this vision for a more equitable and sustainable system but also the tension necessary for its realization. Throughout 2006 Oregonians participated in taking this vision and developing principles and finally a legislative proposal. That proposal was introduced in the 2007 Oregon legislative session, beginning the process of building a new health system. [ [http://www.wecandobetter.org The Archimedes Movement |We Can Do Better ] ]

The Oregon Better Health Act failed to pass the 2007 Legislature after Kitzhaber was unable to overcome concerns raised by AARP about his inclusion of Medicare in his plan. [ [http://blog.oregonlive.com/politics/2007/04/health_care_unity_frays_as_kit.html Updated: Health care unity frays, as Kitzhaber goes his own way - OregonLive.com: Politics Updates ] ] Another health reform bill, a Senate proposal which was amended to include portions of the Archimedes Movement bill, passed instead. [http://www.healthyoregonact.com]

Kitzhaber married Sharon LaCroix in 1995. They have one son, Logan, who was born in October 1997. The couple sought a divorce in 2003, soon after the end of his second term as governor.

See also

List of Governors of Oregon

References

External links

* [http://www.wecandobetter.org/Kitzhabers_Blog John Kitzhaber's blog]
* [http://www.registerguard.com/news/2005/12/01/d1.cr.walker.1201.p1.php?section=cityregion Walker puts decision on hold December 1, 2005]
* [http://www.sos.state.or.us/elections/nov398/other.info/gov.htm 1998 Oregon Gubernatorial Results]
* [http://www.joinAM.org The Archimedes Movement]