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Rookie legislator and governor find common ground SALEM -- How long the relationship lasts is anyone's guess, but their shared respect for a Republican president from the turn of the century has brought together Democratic Gov. John Kitzhaber and Republican state Rep. Jason Atkinson of Jacksonville. It was not promising at first. Atkinson chided one of Kitzhaber's aides, who was paying a courtesy call to the House's youngest Republican, for the Democratic governor's participation in radio commercials for Atkinson's Democratic opponent last fall (Lon Holston of Central Point, now the Jackson County Democratic Central Committee chairman, also is a lobbyist for the Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers). The aide then saw a picture of Theodore Roosevelt in Atkinson's office and said that Kitzhaber also is an admirer of the 26th president, a champion of conservation who was in the White House from 1901 to 1909. "I said great, the governor has decided to become a Republican," Atkinson said later. "So I wrote him a note -- `from one T.R. fan to another' -- tied some (fishing) flies, and added a postscript, `I'll show you what to do with these.' " The aide delivered the note and flies to Kitzhaber, an avid fly fisherman himself. "I suggested that we ought to get together to compare rod-building techniques and some other really important things," Kitzhaber said while on a visit to the Rogue Valley last week. Although they are likely to differ on issues, Atkinson said last week he supports Kitzhaber's general approach toward the recovery of threatened salmon species through voluntary efforts to restore watersheds. Fresh from the largest majority of votes cast for a governor in half a century, Kitzhaber continued to offer the olive branch when he invited Atkinson and two other state representatives to join him on his plane for a three-day trip to Southern Oregon. The others were Republican Rep. Rob Patridge of Medford, also a first-term member, and Democratic Rep. Judy Uherbelau of Ashland, for whose third-term campaign Kitzhaber appeared in television commercials. Though both Atkinson and Patridge criticized Kitzhaber during the campaign, Kitzhaber said he does not take it personally. "I'm heartened by the fact that these individuals seem committed to restore the civility and collegiality that I think has left our public debate to some extent," he said about the delegation at a joint appearance at Southern Oregon University. "It's the capacity to disagree with each other on matters of policy without having those disagreements spill over into personalities." Kitzhaber's olive branch even extended to his second-term inaugural "hoedown" Jan. 16 at a former Kmart in Salem. Among the thousands of guests were Senate President Brady Adams, R-Grants Pass, and his wife Pat. "He is Oregon's Senate president, my Senate president, and your Senate president," said Kitzhaber, who held the job himself from 1985 to 1993. But Kitzhaber said later he made the remarks without knowing whether Adams was in the crowd. Adams indeed was in the crowd, and though he was invited, he said he paid the $55 per couple charged by the inaugural committee. "It was for an egalitarian cause," Kitzhaber said later. Kitzhaber, who dabbles in the guitar, joined one of the bands in playing Jimmy Buffett's "Margaritaville." Atkinson described as "the emotional highlight of the trip" his return to Southern Oregon University, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in history and political science in 1992, and Ashland High School, where he graduated in 1988. "I am the only one who is a graduate of this fine institution," he said at SOU. "As you look at me, you probably realize that it wasn't very long ago." As a student, he attended a 1990 campaign appearance by then U.S. Sen. Mark Hatfield in the same Rogue River Room, where someone stood up, screamed at the senator and stalked out of the room. "I remember thinking that I might end up in politics someday and could be in this very room," he said. "So I look out here just a little bit afraid that someone is going to do that again -- and now would be a good time." But nobody did. It was acknowledged at Ashland High School last week that Atkinson and Patridge are former high school debaters, but overlooked that Judy Uherbelau is the mother of Angela Uherbelau, herself part of Ashland High's 1989 state champion speech team. Kitzhaber was on campus briefly last week to acknowledge Ashland's third Class 4A football championship in a decade -- but also that most of the championship banners hanging in the gym were earned by its speech program. Before he asked a question at last week's public forum at SOU, Bob Luther, a retired Medford physician and former treasurer of the Jackson County Republican Central Committee, said he voted for Kitzhaber over Republican Bill Sizemore in the Nov. 3 election. "That rash lasts only two or three days," Kitzhaber said as the audience laughed. Peter Wong covers the Oregon Legislature for the Mail Tribune. During session, you can reach the him at (503) 588-8826 or can leave a message for him via e-mail at [email protected] Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA