What’s happening: Governor is trying to figure things out with our economy
Governor Tina Kotek created the Governor's Prosperity Council in January 2026 to advise her on near- and long-term strategies to achieve the goals in her Prosperity Roadmap. Their charge is to recommend actionable steps to accelerate Oregon’s economy, create good paying jobs, and recruit and grow Oregon’s businesses. More information can be found here.
They sent out a survey (closes on March 15) for feedback on three topic areas: workforce, taxes, and tool for growth.
I’ve been working on a set of essays to our state, region, and city, and used that information to complete the survey. I’m sharing it here because I’ve been doing a lot of listening, reading (as you’ll guess, Abundance), and formulating thoughts that all political sides can support and that will lead to tangible short- and long-term benefit for all Oregonians.
If you like what you read below and want to add to sharpen these thoughts and approach, please reach out to me via email!
My responses: Tools for Growth survey
What challenge would you like addressed in the Prosperity Council’s recommendations? What is the biggest barrier or friction point in this area?
The primary challenge is a crisis of scarcity, specifically regarding housing, jobs, energy, and mobility.
The biggest barrier is "Everything-bagel liberalism," where too many social goals are piled onto a single project until it collapses under the weight of its own complexity.
Other significant friction points include process-obsessed, rather than outcomes-oriented, governance, and the "cost of delay" caused by endless negotiations with various stakeholders.
What solution or specific change would you make?
Regulatory Reform: Entirely exempt clean energy production, specific job creation industries, housing, and light rail infrastructure from state regulatory and urban planning compliance systems.
Incentive Shifting: Move from "push funding" (paying for effort) to "pull funding" (paying for success), such as dangling rewards for companies that meet specific innovation targets.
Targeted Economic Development: Focus on retaining and expanding three specific industries rather than five, and provide tax incentives directly tied to job retention and expansion within those industries and their supply chains.
Housing Production: Identify the top 10 most underdeveloped sites (especially publicly owned land) and fast-track them through a common RFP and a 90-day permitting review process.
What would success look like in 2–3 years?
Tangible Results: Success is defined by what is actually built, not just what is spent.
Housing: A massive surge in housing production that mirrors the permit levels of high-growth areas like Houston, effectively reducing homelessness.
Infrastructure: Fully funded plans for a regional light rail "bike wheel" connecting Beaverton, Wilsonville, Oregon City, and Gresham, and the establishment of a physical footprint for high-speed rail.
Economic Stability: Keeping city costs (fees and taxes) at or below inflation for households making under $500k.
Who has to act for this to happen?
The Legislature: To pass deep reforms for state agencies (like ODOT and Business Oregon), increase pay for state representatives and staff to attract talent, and enact state preemption of local building laws if housing goals aren't met.
Local/Regional Governments (Metro/JPACT): To take policy and price-setting authority for initiatives like congestion pricing and to align all workforce and transportation investments with core industry priorities.
Employers & Partners: To engage in asset-based, community-driven economic development and apprenticeship programs that connect local people to life-changing wage jobs.
What existing state programs and policies does Oregon have that are most helpful to you that you want to see continue?
The Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) is valued, but it needs to be managed with a paradigm shift toward higher density and high-capacity transit to be effective.
Asset-based community-driven economic development models, such as the work being done in Coos Bay (aligning shipping with industrial rail), the 1803 Fund, OMSI with the NW Native Chamber, and Albina Vision Trust in Portland, are positive examples.
What promising models or effective best practices have you seen in other states that you’d like Oregon to emulate?
Houston, TX: for its high volume of housing permit issuance.
California’s SB 35: Specifically, the 2017 law that allowed for fast-tracking affordable housing development.
Washington State: Using the WSDOT operating system to manage back-office products more efficiently than state-delivered versions.
International Models: Emulating the rail cost-efficiencies of countries like Portugal (which pays significantly less per kilometer than the US) and the regional light-rail and housing development in Vancouver, BC.