Opinion: At Legislature, good policy begins by listening to everyone

Published 5:00 am Friday, February 7, 2025

For the 166th year running, the Oregon Legislature has gathered in Salem — 30 senators and 60 representatives, representing more than 4.2 million Oregonians. Joining us are a bevy of staffers, researchers, analysts, parliamentarians, media coordinators and information specialists, all in Salem to tackle the state’s biggest challenges over the next five months.

I am deeply honored to have been elected again as Senate president; I take the responsibility to guide the Senate seriously and I am committed to making it a place where Oregonians’ needs are always our focus.

The needs we must address are real, they are urgent, and they present us with an opportunity to improve this state that we love.

Oregon families are struggling with daily expenses from rent, to groceries, to prescription medications, and there is great economic uncertainty with the possibility of a trade war on the horizon. We must uplift Oregonians by strengthening our economy so both workers and businesses have opportunities to thrive.

Communities across our state are facing an ongoing crisis of homelessness, which is particularly dangerous for the people on the streets. We must build more housing and support homeless shelters and social safety net programs so all Oregonians have a safe, affordable place to call home.

Oregon’s school kids need our help and attention. They deserve a school system that provides them a quality education and onramps to a wide variety of educational and career pathways.

We must create a stable transportation system with a 21st century funding structure so we can fully maintain our roads, bridges and transit options all across Oregon.

And we must continue to push back upon those who would act to undermine Oregon’s security, economy or values.

These are the issues that we have heard directly from our constituents are most important for us to make progress on this session. Legislators in both chambers and from all political stripes agree on the issues and are going to work this session to find the common solutions for solving them.

I’m encouraging senators to center three values as we go about our work on behalf of the people of Oregon this year.

First, remember that good ideas can come from anywhere, and we must work to fully respect ideas that are not our own. Secondly, having an open door to conversation is not enough — we must strive for active engagement, always. Finally, to build a better politics, we must start with kindness.

I believe in the power of relationships as the foundation for good policy-making, and that extends to how we talk to our neighbors whose opinions on how to solve these challenges might differ.

I couldn’t be more excited that the 83rd Oregon Legislative Assembly is finally together and meeting in the capitol, with new and returning public servants here to do their best to represent their constituents and make Oregon a better place.

Stay engaged, make your voices heard, and welcome, all, to the 2025 legislative session.