Kulongoski looks forward to all-Democrat Oregon Legislature

SALEM — Now they're all on the same page — at least in theory.

Still basking in his own re-election victory, Democratic Gov. Ted Kulongoski got another dose of favorable news Wednesday when vote returns from Tuesday's election showed that Democrats have taken control of the Oregon House from the Republicans for the first time in 16 years.

That means Kulongoski will be dealing with a Democratic-run House and Senate as he seeks approval of his top priority — a plan to dedicate 61 percent of the state's budget to education, to pay for everything from expanded pre-kindergarten programs to reducing college tuition costs.

Kulongoski, who defeated Republican Ron Saxton by a margin of 51 percent to 43 percent, said he's feeling energized about the coming four years and believes he also will be able to extend health insurance to thousands of uninsured children and expand Head Start preschool programs.

"The next four years are going to be good ones for Oregon," an ebullient Kulongoski said.

House Democratic Leader Jeff Merkley, who's in line to become the next speaker of the House, and Senate President Peter Courtney both said voters have given the Democrats a clear mandate to lead Oregon.

"The governor's agenda is very similar to ours," Merkley said Wednesday. "What I'm excited about is that there is no great philosophical divide among the Senate leadership, the governor's office and the House leadership."

Courtney said he found Tuesday's election of majorities in both the House and Senate a "sobering" experience that places a lot of responsibility on Democrats to deliver on such issues as the lack of affordable health care.

"We now are going to be allowed to govern," the Salem lawmaker said. "Oregon needs a lot of work."

The last time the Democrats held all three offices was in 1989-90, when they led efforts to create the Oregon Health Plan and revamped Oregon's workers' compensation system. There was disagreement on other issues, through, such as the trying to find a more stable school funding plan.

Still, Merkley said he believes the next Legislature will be able to get beyond the excessive partisanship of the 2005 session, when House Republicans refused to even allow a vote on a Senate-passed bill to allow civil unions for same-sex couples.

Because Democrats will control the House by a margin as narrow as 31-29, they will still need Republican votes for any revenue increases such as Kulongoski's plan to raise the cigarette tax to provide health insurance to uninsured children.

Any measure to raise revenue, which by law must originate in the House, requires more than a simple majority — 36 votes in the House and 18 in the Senate.

Still, Kulongoski said he thinks he can line up GOP votes for higher revenue. He said that's because Oregon voters made it clear that they care about education and other state services when they rejected measures that would have capped state spending and reduced taxes.

On other issues, Kulongoski said he would again support legislation to legalize civil unions for same-sax couples "because it's the right direction for the state" and that he's going to keep pushing to find a new revenue source to put more state troopers on the road.

While he enthused about prospects for the coming legislative session, a question at Wednesday's news conference served as a reminder that the governor must answer for all kinds of problems that occur in the state.

Kulongoski bristled at a reporter's question about whether the state issued too few warnings to coastal residents about this week's flooding and was slow to set up emergency shelters.

"This is nothing new. A large amount of moisture came out of the sky, the rivers came up, and the state declared an emergency in Tillamook County," the governor said. "We have been out there since this started."

Pressed further about whether the state should allow developers to build in flood plains and high erosion zones, Kulongoski said:

"If you want a view, there's always a price to be paid for it. The fact is, this is what happens to homes at the Coast."