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Inequality the Focus of Oregon Gov. Kitzhaber's Final Annual Address

Gov. John Kitzhaber stood before a full House chamber at the Oregon State Capitol on Monday morning as he was sworn in for a historic fourth term, following the inauguration of new and veteran legislators.

By Laura Gunderson

Gov. John Kitzhaber stood before a full House chamber at the Oregon State Capitol on Monday morning as he was sworn in for a historic fourth term, following the inauguration of new and veteran legislators.

MORE: Text, highlights and video of every governor's annual address.

Kitzhaber planned no big events to celebrate his inauguration -- his last, he said -- and record-setting as he is the only Oregon governor elected to a fourth term.

"This will complete the arc of my political career," Kitzhaber said in his 20-minute speech in which he recounted how he was inspired to public service by his parents and Robert F. Kennedy's presidential campaign.

Instead of an open house, parade or gala, Kitzhaber's spokeswoman said Kitzhaber, who wore his signature jeans to his inaugural, planned a low-key evening watching the Oregon and Ohio State game at Mahonia Hall with family and friends.

The governor called out his older sisters and his son, Logan, 17, in his speech after being sworn in with his fiancée, Cylvia Hayes, at his side.

Hayes' appearance was one of the few public appearances she has made since a series of controversies and questions about her business dealings were raised during election. Though the governor's office  has begun to release large amounts of government documents requested in mid-October, Kitzhaber has failed to answer questions about Hayes' paid contracts and his office's handling of them posed by The Oregonian/OregonLive in mid-December.

In his inaugural speech, Kitzhaber went on to tee-off his fourth term by speaking of how measuring the state's economic growth through the GDP (gross domestic product) fails to capture the inequities felt by many Oregonians who he said are working hard yet are not being rewarded with a better life. The governor has studied a different measure, the Genuine Progress Indicator, or GPI, which a handful of states use and argue is a better economic indicator because it takes into account more social and environmental factors.

"I grew up in an era where people still believed in government and believed it was the vehicle through which we could do amazing things for the whole society that we couldn't possibly do by ourselves..." Kitzhaber said.

"I still believe that. And I'm here today because I still believe in our government and that it can be a force of good in our lives," he said. "But I have learned that those kinds of remarkable accomplishments are only possible if they're driven by a sense of common purpose."

John Kitzhaber sworn in for historic fourth term Gov. John Kitzhaber is sworn in for an unprecedented fourth term Jan. 12, 2015, with first lady Cylvia Hayes by his side.

For that generation, he said, the common purpose was more clear: To defeat Germany and the Axis powers and rebuild America. Today, he said, the common purpose is more ambiguous.

The problems are more complex now, he added, without much low-hanging fruit. For a nation hungry for instant gratification, he said, there are no quick fixes.

"But I can tell you, the need for sense of common purpose is just as important today as it was 70 years ago on D Day," Kitzhaber said, "A common purpose is the one essential ingredient necessary to build community, which allows people to come together and do what would be difficult or impossible for them to do by themselves."

Kitzhaber went on to describe the difficult questions Robert F. Kennedy brought up during his presidential campaign -- about how the GDP measured wealth but not well-being.

"He was calling out disparities and inequalities and asking why we allow them to exist. We're still asking these same questions today," Kitzhaber said. "Disparity is the enemy of community."

He rattled off the numbers to illustrate the disparities in Oregon: 1 in 5 families living in poverty, how 30 percent of children don't have enough food and how the unemployment rates are much higher for Latinos, Native Americans, African Americans and for Oregonians with disabilities.

"That should be troubling to all of us," he said. "It's our intent to lift up the whole community, not just part of it."

Members of both the House and the Senate were in the House chamber for Kitzhaber's swearing in, along with Treasurer Ted Wheeler, Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian, Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum and the Oregon Supreme Court.

Overall, 15 new members of the House and three in the Senate were sworn in on Monday in addition to 72 returning lawmakers. The Legislature will convene on Feb. 2.

(c)2015 The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.)

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