Download a PDF “Why Steve? Why Now?”

As I talk with people about running for governor, there is an ever-present question of viability. It’s a legitimate question. The analogy for me is an interview process. When filling a job, the employer wants to know your qualifications. But more to the point, the employer seeks to know your capabilities to do the job that needs doing. There are two parts to this: One is agreement on what job needs to be done, and the other is determining whether the candidate has what it takes to do it.

Let’s start by identifying the job to be done in Oregon at this time.

I contend that Oregon has reached a tipping point, where incremental fixes to serious issues no longer suffice and our collective future is threatened in profound ways. We must address many issues simultaneously and strategically over the next few years. These include:

Our education system—We must agree upon the fundamental importance of our education system and then commit ourselves to furthering that system. Nothing affects Oregon’s future more than the quality of education we provide our youngest citizens.

Economic vitality—We must increase our ability to create jobs that leverage our strengths and diversify our capabilities across the entire state. There is no better way to protect this special place than to make sure we have broad prosperity to care for it.

State fiscal management—We need to face the challenge of putting our fiscal house in order. We must admit we no longer have a manageable state financial system. The current state of affairs favors narrow interests above citizens at large.

Citizen voice—We need to re-examine what being a populist state means in the 21st century. It’s time we re-invent how to maintain a powerful citizen voice without creating more problems than we solve.

Conservation as an imperative—We must embrace that our well-being as individuals and as a society is inextricably tied to the natural resources of this great state. We need forward-thinking leadership to address the challenge and complexities of managing our natural resources.

We can agree that Oregon faces these and other challenges, but we might differ on how to proceed. Difference of opinion is not our fundamental problem. The real problem is that we have lost the ability to come to together and generate breakthroughs in the face of disagreement.

Progress has been far too limited for far too long. In short, Oregon is stuck.

What does stuck look like?

It’s when we become comfortable touting effort over results.

It occurs when unsuccessful attempts to tackle big issues are cited as reasons not to try again.

It shows up when we focus on what divides us rather than what binds us together.

It underlies the motivation to value symbolism over substance.

It creates a pervasive sense of mistrust.

It perversely allows complexity to become a justification for incremental solutions, which in turn adds more complexity to the system.

And finally, being stuck is when we tell ourselves that who leads us doesn’t matter—that things will work out about the same no matter who we elect to public office.

This is simply not true. Who leads us does matter.

More than anything, what we need today is extraordinary leadership. The combination of challenges Oregon faces requires clarity of vision, the skills to collaborate rather than dictate or merely compromise, the ability and desire to communicate well and often, and—perhaps most important—an unwavering belief that significant progress is possible in the face of legitimate disagreement.

If we agree this is the job to be done, the next obvious question is whether or not I am the right candidate for the job.

Conventional wisdom argues against a first-time candidate running for statewide office, so by definition, I am not a conventional candidate. This fact is not lost on anyone, least of all me.

When is being unconventional an asset? When bold ideas, fresh approaches and new confidence are needed, and convention has lost its power to move a system forward; that is, when a system is stuck, as Oregon is today.

I have significant leadership experience in both stuck systems and vigorous ones. If all of one’s experience is only in systems that are stuck, a person may become limited by a lack of imagination about how things could be different. If all of one’s experience resides only in vigorous systems, leaders are likely unfamiliar with the resolve, collaboration and cultural change required to inspire and sustain progress.

I know the power and possibility of a vigorous system. I’ve taken systems from stuck to vigorous, and I know what’s necessary to effect that transformation. I know how to build the trust and synergy required to leverage disagreement.

My experience uniquely prepares me for the role of Oregon’s next governor.

I am a business-experienced Democrat. I bring an approach to problem solving that benefits from many years of operating at all levels—from individual small business owner to start-up entrepreneur to executive leader with global responsibilities within Fortune 100 corporate America.

I believe business is the key driver of economic value creation for society. We risk our economic well-being if we don’t have a climate that allows businesses to succeed.

But I have also been a civil servant, educated by the Oregon public school system and who has served on nonprofit boards. I know not everything of value flows from business or can be quantified in economic terms. I understand that business is not positioned to care for the most vulnerable among us or to conserve the common resources the entire planet ultimately relies on.

So, while I am an experienced businessperson, I believe there is a crucial role for government, for regulation, for oversight, for partnership, for public funding of the common good.

I do not subscribe to the notion that government is inherently bad or inefficient any more than I believe businesses are interested in profits above all else. Although both can sometimes be true, neither is always true.

I have repeatedly been a catalyst for strategic change in my career. Strategic change creates an inflection point in the direction an organization is headed. I enjoy tackling these situations, and I am good at it. I am particularly attracted to challenges that many say cannot be solved.

Experience has taught me that meaningful change is the artful blending of outside insights and inside collaboration. Change seldom originates from the inside, and it seldom gets implemented from the outside.

The most critical element to success is people, and people respond best to the presence of an objective, trusted leader. The most effective leaders take a holistic approach after listening to all sides, integrate competing positions and clarify what matters most, so that energies and decisions can be focused on making progress toward an agreed-upon goal.

I am a passionate, transparent and communicative leader. I can be provocative in my questions, yet I am thoughtful in my answers. I am committed to generating robust discussions that include disparate points of view, and I am skilled at integrating input from varied constituencies to provide the basis for a common future.

I’m comfortable leading a conversation in which I don’t know the answer and working with a group to uncover new solutions and directions, making sure everyone has an opportunity to see themselves and their concerns accounted for.

My ability to quickly grasp the value of a promising idea is both high and grounded. And I am willing to work with anyone on any idea regardless of source or ideology, as ideas are the currency of possibility.

I know how to allow for creative exploration at one point in the process and also when the time is right to drive to conclusions and action. I champion and foster trust, excellence and accountability.

I am a product of Oregon with a global view. I was raised in rural east Lane County, went to Oregon public schools, attended OSU as a first-generation college graduate, worked in timber both for the private and public sector, received my MBA from UW, and worked in Washington State for most of a decade, but came back to Oregon to raise my family in Corvallis.

I have worked side by side with Oregonians of all persuasions and with people of many cultures across the country and around the world. This provides me with a unique view of Oregon, its possibilities and its handicaps. Oregon really is a special place with uncommon natural gifts. I have traveled the world, and Oregon feels special to me every time I come home.

Oregonians are still pioneers at heart. We cherish the freedom and independence of that lifestyle, and we don’t want to be reined in. We need open space—both physically and politically. We don’t like to feel trapped. This pioneering culture creates a self-reliant strength of character and ingenuity that fosters innovation. But it can also allow us to be too comfortable with just getting by.

Oregonians want to be different, but we don’t always tie that desire to be different in a way that serves us best. I understand all of this at my core; I understand how it can serve us well and how it holds us back.

It is this combination of Oregon inside coupled with experience outside that positions me to help Oregon both be different and make a difference.

Impacting Oregon’s future requires changing how Oregon thinks about its future. The reason my exploratory effort is called Oregon Aspirations is because it is about Oregon and Oregonians, not about me. I believe our combined aspirations for Oregon already bind us together. The challenge lies in making it happen.

My hope is that we can reach a new level of involvement focusing on what we want to build together.

I have heard some political leaders say the problem with Oregon is really Oregonians. I actually think the opposite is true. The promise of Oregon is Oregonians.

I hope you’ll join the effort to build a more valuable future for us all.