Economic growth ‘a deliberate choice’

Springfield is open for business. From our roots in the timber industry to our rise as a hub for manufacturing and medical innovation, entrepreneurship and hard work are part of our DNA. We’ve prioritized predictable development processes, strong relationships with employers large and small, and land-use practices that support economic opportunity.

As Springfield’s mayor, I believe that economic growth and the dignity of work is the foundation of thriving communities.

Economic growth doesn’t happen by chance. It’s a deliberate choice. Oregon faces real challenges: housing shortages, capital flight, affordability, poverty. Growth doesn’t solve everything. It makes solving everything easier by attracting new business investment and creating careers, where personal incomes can grow.

If growth is a choice, land use is the blueprint. And Oregon’s current design is holding us back.

Modernize our land-use system

Oregon’s land-use framework has helped protect our state’s natural beauty and farmland. But its foundation is now more than 50 years old. It can be outdated, overly complex and increasingly a barrier to housing and employment centers. A serious, statewide conversation about the next generation of land-use policy is long overdue.

Springfield offers a model. We’ve spent two decades simplifying our development code, investing in digital mapping and making our rules easier to understand. Most importantly, our city staff operate with a clear ethos: We want you to succeed, and we want to get to “yes.”

Expand R&D tax credits

Innovation drives long-term economic strength. Oregon is home to two world-class research institutions: the University of Oregon and Oregon State University. Their work can power new industries and spark statewide growth.

To harness that potential, we must act boldly. We should create an “innovation tax zone” with robust R&D credits within 50 miles of these universities to attract investment, foster collaboration and keep intellectual capital in Oregon. Today, our high marginal tax rate drives innovation out of state.

But with smart alignment between innovation zones and enterprise programs, we can reverse that trend and ignite growth in clean energy, life sciences and advanced manufacturing.

This is more than tax reform. It’s a blueprint for Oregon’s innovation economy.

Invest in Eugene Airport

Eugene Airport is both a state and regional asset. Oregon should invest in it. It connected Lane County to markets, institutions and opportunities across the country, generating a $1.6 billion annual economic impact.

By supporting the airport expansion project, the airport could more than double that annual economic impact, unlock new markets, reduce costs for businesses, expand tourism and support growth in higher education. Expanded air service attracts investment, deepens regional partnerships and strengthens our region’s gateway to global opportunity. Eugene Airport is an engine for economic growth.

But economic growth doesn’t fly on infrastructure alone. It needs people, students, workers, dreamers charting paths toward opportunity. That’s why better career data must be part of Oregon’s growth strategy.

Better educational and career data

While we invest heavily in K-12 education, Oregon lacks critical insight to what comes next for students. What is their plan for leaving school and did they accomplish it? Are our students pursuing higher education? Entering trades? Facing barriers to employment?

We should create a statewide survey to study the aspirations and outcomes of high school seniors. Modern careers are driven by people planning and advocating for their own careers. If we understood more about what plans students are making in high school, we could more effectively develop workforce policy that helps them find high paying career paths.

With demographic and technology changes coming to the workforce, we must be more effective at helping workers in their career paths.

There is always hope

As we enter the middle of this decade, Oregonians feel a deep anxiety about our state’s future. Oregon’s economic reputation is faltering. Our regulatory environment is too complex, too expensive and too fragmented to navigate. People and businesses will leave, and have made that choice.

There is always hope. Oregononians can make the choice to lead, to compete and to believe in Oregon’s promise. To move forward, Oregonians need to know they’ve been heard. We need a statewide listening tour focused exclusively on economic competitiveness to talk to businesses, workers and students about how to grow.

Springfield shows what’s possible. It’s more than a city. It’s a belief in economic opportunity. A place where work brings pride, families grow deep roots and community is everything.

That’s the Oregon I grew up in. It’s the Oregon I believe in. And it’s the Oregon I’m building for our kids.