John Kitzhaber

John Kitzhaber
35th and 37th Governor of Oregon
Incumbent
Assumed office January 10, 2011
Preceded by	Ted Kulongoski
In office January 9, 1995 – January 13, 2003
Preceded by	Barbara Roberts
Succeeded by	Ted Kulongoski
50th President of the Oregon Senate
In office January 3, 1985 – January 3, 1993
Preceded by	Edward Fadeley
Succeeded by	Bill Bradbury
Personal details
Born	John Albert Kitzhaber (1947-03-05) March 5, 1947 Colfax, Washington, United States
Political party	Democratic Party
Spouse	Sharon LaCroix (1995–2003)
Residence(s)	Mahonia Hall and Portland
Alma mater	Dartmouth College Oregon Health and Science University
Profession	Physician

John Albert Kitzhaber (born March 5, 1947) is the 37th and current Governor of Oregon. He served as the 35th Governor of Oregon from 1995 to 2003 and became the first person to be elected to the office three times when he was re-elected to a non-consecutive third term in 2010. Prior to becoming a politician in Oregon, he was a practicing physician.

First elected to the Oregon House of Representatives, Kitzhaber served in the Oregon State Senate for twelve years, eight of them as Senate President. In 1994, Kitzhaber ran for Governor, winning comfortably. He was re-elected in 1998 by a wide margin. After completing his second term, Kitzhaber returned to medicine and campaigned for better public access to health care. Kitzhaber ran for a third term in 2010, narrowly defeating the Republican nominee, former NBA player Chris Dudley.

Early life and career

He graduated from South Eugene High School in 1965, Dartmouth College in 1969 and Oregon Health & Science University with a medical degree in 1973. Kitzhaber practiced medicine from 1973 to 1986 in Roseburg, Oregon as an emergency room physician.

Legislative career

Kitzhaber began his political career in 1978 when he won election to the Oregon House of Representatives, where he served for one term. In 1980, he was elected to the Oregon State Senate, where he served three terms from 1981 to 1993 and was the president of the Senate from 1985 to 1993. As Oregon Senate President, he was the chief author of the state's government-funded health care plan, the Oregon Health Plan.

Governorship

First term, 1995–1999

See also: Oregon gubernatorial election, 1994

In 1994, Kitzhaber won the Democratic nomination for governor when the sitting Governor, Barbara Roberts (also a Democrat), withdrew from the race in January of that year. Roberts opted against a second term after voters refused to pass a sales tax to fund the Oregon Health Plan and she was forced to break her campaign promise not to cut spending. Kitzhaber won the general election in November 1994 with 51% of the vote, defeating the Republican candidate Denny Smith who received 42%. During his first term, Kitzhaber introduced the Oregon Children's Plan, which was designed to identify and assist at-risk children and their families. Despite being personally opposed to the death penalty, Kitzhaber allowed two executions to be carried out in his first term: Douglas Franklin Wright in 1996 and Harry Charles Moore in 1997. In a statement in 2011, Kitzhaber said "They were the most agonizing and difficult decisions I have made as Governor... I have regretted those choices ever since."

Second term, 1999–2003

See also: Oregon gubernatorial election, 1998

Republican anti-tax activist Bill Sizemore challenged Kitzhaber in 1998. Sizemore had founded Oregon Taxpayers United, a political action committee that lobbied against tax increases and promoted ballot measures limiting the use of union dues in political campaigns, in 1993. During the general election, The Oregonian newspaper reported Sizemore's controversial business practices in his personal life, as well as in the operation of his political action committees and non-profit educational foundation. In the end, Sizemore provided only a token challenge and received 30% of the vote to Kitzhaber's 64%.

Kitzhaber developed policy initiatives related to natural resources during his two terms as governor, including The Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds aimed at restoring dwindling runs of endangered salmon species to Oregon's rivers and streams. The plan was a collaborative effort that encouraged federal, state and local government agencies to work with private landowners to restore watershed health and recover endangered salmon runs. Kitzhaber also took a high profile and controversial stand in favor of breaching several Northwest dams to help restore salmon populations.

Managing growth, particularly in the Willamette Valley, was a priority of Kitzhaber and he was a staunch supporter of Oregon's comprehensive land use system. He opposed attempts to weaken protection of farmland and enforcement of urban growth boundaries. Kitzhaber also created the Governor's Growth Task Force and the Willamette Valley Livability Forum to help gather accurate information and outline integrated approaches for developing sustainable communities. His related Community Solutions program attempted to focus the efforts of numerous state agencies, other governments and interested groups in collaborative problem solving and coordination to manage various community development projects across Oregon.

Under Oregon's constitution, Kitzhaber could not seek a third consecutive term in 2002.

Third term, 2011–present

See also: Oregon gubernatorial election, 2010

In September 2009, Kitzhaber announced that he would run for a third term as governor, and in May 2010, won the Democratic primary, defeating Roger Obrist and former Secretary of State of Oregon, Bill Bradbury. In the general election, he ran against Republican Chris Dudley and several minor-party candidates, winning in an extremely close election. Their vote percentages were reported as 49.29% and 47.77%. Kitzhaber was sworn in to his third term as Governor of Oregon on January 10, 2011 succeeding fellow Democrat Ted Kulongoski.

On November 22, 2011, Kitzhaber announced that he would act in his official capacity as governor to commute an upcoming death sentence scheduled to occur in the month ahead. Kitzhaber went on to announce that he would allow no death penalties to occur in Oregon while he is governor, calling the issuing of death sentences "compromised and inequitable".

Activities outside governorship

Dr. Kitzhaber (right) speaking with Dr. David Schleich at the National College of Natural Medicine promoting the Archimedes Movement, a health care reform movement.

Kitzhaber serves as the director of the Center for Evidence Based Policy at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon. He holds an endowed chair on health care policy at The Foundation for Medical Excellence, an educational foundation that produces continuing-education programs for physicians. Kitzhaber also serves as the president of the Estes Park Institute, a continuing-education organization for community health care leaders and hospital executives.

On January 13, 2006, Kitzhaber launched the Archimedes Movement, an organization seeking to maximize the health of the population by creating a sustainable system which uses the public resources spent on health care to ensure that everyone has access to a defined set of effective health services. The goal is to create a vision for a more equitable and sustainable system as well as the political tension necessary for its realization. A legislative proposal that took input from many Oregon residents was introduced in the 2007 Oregon legislative session.

The Oregon Better Health Act failed to pass the 2007 Legislature after Kitzhaber was unable to overcome concerns raised by AARP about his inclusion of Medicare in his plan. Another health reform bill, a Senate proposal which was amended to include portions of the Archimedes Movement bill, passed instead.

With the withdrawal of Tom Daschle's candidacy for United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, there was speculation Kitzhaber could be tapped for the position. However, Kitzhaber denied interest in the position and said that he was not being vetted.

Personal

Kitzhaber married Sharon LaCroix in 1995. They have one son, Logan, who was born in October 1997. The couple sought a divorce in 2003, soon after the end of his second term as governor. He currently lives with Cylvia Hayes, founder of 3EStrategies, an environmental consulting firm.

During his political career, Kitzhaber became famous for often wearing blue jeans instead of more formal slacks or suit pants. He created a minor stir when he wore jeans to his inauguration in 1994, with popular weekly magazine Newsweek commenting on his attire. During his 2010 campaign for a third term as governor, Kitzhaber frequently eschewed the necktie as well, preferring a button-down shirt and suit jacket with no tie.

See also

• List of Governors of Oregon

External links

• Governor John Kitzhaber official Oregon government site
• John Kitzhaber for Governor official campaign site
• Template:GovLinks
• 1998 Oregon Gubernatorial Results
• The Archimedes Movement
  • John Kitzhaber's blog (last updated October 2009)
• Collected news at The Oregonian