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Roberts launches gubernatorial campaign By DANI DODGE Despite tough questioning in Medford on Friday, Labor Commissioner Jack Roberts said he's the GOP's best chance of taking back the governor's office in 2002. "One of the reasons this race is so important is because it's been 20 years since a Republican has won," Roberts said Friday. "In that time, only two Republicans have won statewide office - me and (Sen.) Gordon Smith." Roberts said state finances would be his first priority. "There is no more important issue facing us than getting our state budget under control," he said. "Since (Gov. John) Kitzhaber has been in office the state budget has grown by 70 percent. in the same period of time, my budget has grown by 7 percent." Roberts began an eight-day, 15-city swing campaign swing through Southern and Eastern Oregon on Aug. 9. Friday morning, he met with 16 people at Elmer's Pancake and Steak House in Medford. Roberts is one of many candidates seeking the governor's post in 2002 when Kitzhaber, a Democrat, is term-limited out of office. On the Republican side is former Portland School Board member Ron Saxton as well as former state Rep. Kevin Mannix, who has expressed interest in joining the race for governor but has not made a formal declaration. The declared Democrats are former state treasurer Jim Hill, former state Supreme Court Justice Ted Kulongoski and former Multnomah County Chairwoman Beverly Stein. U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio of Springfield has expressed an interest. Former Port of Portland Executive Director Mike Thorne dropped out of the race last week. Roberts was elected as commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries in November 1994. He was re-elected in 1998, winning all 36 Oregon counties. He was an attorney before serving as Lane County commissioner from 1989 until his statewide election. He and his wife Tammy, who accompanied him to Medford on Friday, have three sons. During the breakfast meeting, a union leader asked Roberts how he could justify lowering the prevailing wage paid by government contractors. Roberts agreed with the union leader that some wages hadn't yet been properly set, especially wages for truck drivers in the Southern Oregon area. He said it was an issue he planned to address before he finished out his term as labor commissioner. "Our system isn't perfect, but we are trying to make it work," he said. "We'd be real interested in getting better data and working with you." A woman asked why Roberts didn't keep a previous campaign pledge. "When I voted for you over seven years ago, you were the only one running to eliminate your department," said Jane Hunts. "But now you are proud you grew it at a lower rate." Roberts said he's tried to both eliminate the elected position of labor commissioner as well as move some of the duties of his department to other departments, but hasn't gotten the support of the Legislature. "As long as we have term limits in the Legislature, there's a lot of people who don't want to eliminate a job they may run for," Roberts said. "As governor, we would have to look at a lot of things - I don't think we should have an elected labor commissioner or superintendent of education." Roberts emphasized his "pet project" would be getting the state's budget under control. He said he would look at the Oregon Health Plan - the fastest growing item in the state budget - and make sure the coverage isn't a Cadillac plan. "It is important that the working poor have some basic coverage, but it needs to be basic," he said. "We are covering so many things it is threatening to break the bank." He said when he went into the labor bureau he cut the work force by 25 percent and stopped providing unnecessary services, like licensing court reporters and radio repairmen. "We just have to apply those principles to all state agencies," he said. Reach reporter Dani Dodge at 776-4471, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.