Jerry's Vision Statement
Let’s Bring Oregon Forward Together!
The day after Donald Trump’s historic Electoral College and Popular Vote victory I woke up a little sleepy from the ORP Victory Party. I had a sleepless night as I contemplated the significance of what had happened. Donald Trump worked very hard and so did Republicans like us across America. Along the way, new coalitions were formed as we built bridges in the Latino community, the Black community, the Arab community, and the Jewish community. Record numbers of Republicans and independents, including many first-time voters turned out in the Rust Belt to say: “We want to Make America Great Again!!!”.
As an American, I’m grateful to have been able to be here in the Grand Old Party as we move out the stakes of our big tent to make room for a whole bunch of new Republicans. But as an Oregonian, I’m also confused. Vice President Harris won by over ten points in Oregon. We offered Oregon better candidates with better ideas who ran better campaigns for Attorney General, Secretary of State, and State Treasurer, and we didn't win those elections.
When I first moved to Oregon almost twenty-three years ago, I was often struck by the natural beauty in every corner of the state. Oregon is a place that drew trains of wagons across the fruited plains under harsh conditions. And those intrepid early Oregonians built a life for their families and prosperity for their communities with an agriculturally focused economy. Today, agriculture is still the largest economic engine that moves Oregon forward. Our forests, rivers, pastures, farms, ranches, and the world’s largest and most beautiful ocean are all resources that helped build the Oregon Dream into the Oregon we know and love. I used to love walking in downtown Portland with my kids, who like my wife are native Oregonians, because Portland was like a giant park with buildings in it. Not far from my office in Beaverton is the Nike campus. Nike, Intel, Columbia, and other manufacturers had much to like about doing business in Oregon. But that has changed. Today, Oregon, according to US News and World Report, is ranked 18th of 50 states for Natural Environment. Even though over half of our population has a college degree, Oregon today is ranked #40 in education. For opportunity, only twelve states rank lower than Oregon and for crime and corrections, Oregon is rated in the bottom four.
So how can we invite our neighbors to join us in Bringing Oregon Forward when it seems that the voters of Oregon keep rejecting our better ideas and better candidates? We need to get better at communicating a more effective message to the voters who are persuadable. How did the Republican party capture the White House and the Senate this week? According to the answers given by Americans from sea to shining sea, it is precisely because the voters by and large trusted our party’s vision for their family’s safety, the security of our nation, and their economic stability and prosperity. For too long we’ve allowed the opposition party in Oregon to define our message for us.
We must continue the efforts statewide in every county to register more Republican voters. We desperately need a more effective fundraising program that connects us to our community. We must do better at turning out the vote in every precinct in every county of Oregon. This is especially true in the urban areas of our state where we must reduce the Democrat margins to allow us to become competitive in state elections. I submit none of those things are going to Bring Back Oregon.
We. Have. A. Messaging. Problem.
We need more than a “plan”. We need a vision. A vision we can share with our neighbors to inspire them to leave the party of division, misery, and poverty and come join the party of unity, opportunity, and prosperity. This task will not be completed in a two-year election cycle. Our work is cut out for us, and it will take patience, perseverance, hard work, and strategic planning with coordination between the ORP Leadership, Legislative Caucus Leadership, conservative voices, and industry leaders around the state.
I’m running to be your chairman, because I believe that together, we can Bring Oregon Forward!
