WW: Kulongoski Throws Bombs in Final City Club Address

WILLAMETTE WEEK/News and Culture, 6/25/2010 by Nigel Jaquiss - In a somber address to Portland City Club, Gov. Ted Kulongoski today laid out a bleak vision of Oregon’s present and grabbed hold of Oregon’s political third rail with both hands. ∴ The two-term Democratic governor is completing his final year in office and could be forgiven if he took the summer off. Instead, the former labor lawyer drew on the work of his “reset cabinet” to propose a bold set of approaches to a problem he diagnosed as follows: “the current structure of government is simply not sustainable anymore,” and “the government we have is too expensive to maintain.” ∴ The parts of the speech that were most prescriptive and are likely to generate the most heartburn concern K-12 education. Deviating sharply from his party’s orthodoxy when it comes to the third rail of public employees, Kulongoski said it’s time to stop focusing on how much the Legislature spends on education and start focusing on outcomes. [Emphasis added] Read more at WW...

Shocking revelations! --bc Read More......

Kulongoski signs tax bills

PORTLAND BUSINESS JOURNAL, 7/20.2009 - By signing three new bills, Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski may have ensured that Oregon voters will face a January ballot measure that pits businesses against unions and higher-end consumers. Read more at the Business Journal... Read More......

Governor Continues to Stall on Signing Tax Bills

OREGON REPUBLICAN PARTY (ORP) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, 7/14/2009 - Fifteen days and counting that Governor Kulongoski has denied Oregonians their Constitutional rights to the referendum process ∴ PORTLAND, Ore. – Since the Legislature adjourned Sine Die on Monday June 29th, the Governor has found time to sign 52 bills, but has not signed HB 2649, the massive income tax increase or HB 3405, the job-killing permanent tax increase on Oregon businesses.

“Democrats in Salem, who were in a hurry to pass these huge, job-killing tax increases, are now ‘running out the clock’ on the 90-day period granted to Oregonians to collect the more than 55,000 signatures necessary to refer these unpopular new taxes to the voters. As of today, the Governor’s delay has taken 15 valuable days away from Oregonians who want to exercise their Constitutional rights,” Oregon Republican Party Chairman Bob Tiernan said today.

In the meantime, the Governor has taken the time to sign 52 bills since the Legislature adjourned, including House Bill 3508, signed on July 1st, which overturns the will of Oregonians and delays the implementation of Measure 57. In addition, one of the first bills Governor Kulongoski signed after adjournment was Senate Bill 519 on June 30th which limits employers’ ability to organize company-wide meetings. According to the Salem Statesman Journal, Senate Bill 519 was “a top priority for labor unions.”

“First the Democrats traded state funds for votes to pass these taxes, then they tried to make a mockery of Oregon’s referendum system by turning a NO vote into a YES vote and now the Governor is demonstrating where his real priorities lie, with liberal special interests and the labor unions and not the people of Oregon,” Chairman Tiernan continued.

“I wrote Governor Kulongoski on July 2nd and urged him to sign the tax bills and allow Oregonians their Constitutional rights to participate in the political process. I have received no response from the Governor, but now see he has been busy enacting the labor unions’ agenda and overturning the will of the Oregon voters. Governor, as you have said you would, sign the bills and grant the people of Oregon their Constitutional rights to participate in the referendum process,” Chairman Tiernan concluded.

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Gov. Kulongoski: Sign the Bills

Reject the Denial, Deceit and Delay. Let Voters Decide!
Demand that Our Elected Officials Give Oregonians the Final Say on Tax Proposals

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In 2009, our Governor and the Democratic legislative leaders were not interested in hearing what Oregon voters had to say about the decisions they made. Recently, we have seen an unprecedented pattern of:

Denying Voters the Right to Vote on Legislation and Denying Oregon Business Owners the Right to Discuss These Tax Proposals with Employees
• The legislature refused to refer two tax increase proposals to the voters, which has now forced the voters themselves to put the taxes on the ballot.
  
• The legislature passed a law that stops employers from talking to employees about these tax increase measures, or anything political in nature. (SB 519)
Trying to Deceive Voters if their Tax Increases End Up on the Ballot
• Legislative leaders tried but failed to pass a law that said a yes vote on these tax increase proposals meant no and a no vote meant yes. (HB 2414, -A16 Amendments)
Delaying the Time Citizens Have to Gather Enough Signatures to Let the Voters Decide on New Taxes
• The Governor has already delayed signing the two tax bills on his desk in an effort to shorten the time citizens have to gather signatures to put the legislatures tax proposals on the ballot.

Whether or not you support the taxes the legislature passed, every Oregon voter should be outraged that our elected officials have tried to stop us from voting on these taxes and to trick us into believing we’ve voted one way, when we meant to vote another way.

The Right to Vote is an American Value.
It’s not a Democrat or Republican Value.

Demand Protection for Your Right to Vote and Decide!

Prepared by Oregonians Against Job-Killing Taxes, July 2009

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