Oregon Business Association

January 24, 2008

OBA Brings Leadership to Governor's Transporation Advisory Committee

Oregon’s economy is transportation dependent but our transportation system is not meeting our evolving business needs.  To help develop his 2009 Transportation Package, Governor Kulongoski has formed an Advisory Committee on Transportation made up of three sub-committees titled: Vision, Governance and Public Awareness.

OBA member Pat Reiten, President of Pacific Power, will serve as chair of the Vision Subcommittee. In addition, Harvey Platt, CEO of Platt Electric Supply, Inc., has agreed to represent OBA on this subcommittee. The group’s task is to conceptualize a transportation package that the Governor can present to the 2009 Legislature and find ways to shift the nature of the debate surrounding transportation. Governor Kulongoski is looking to Reiten, Platt and others on the subcommittee to institutionalize transportation investment as part of the regular legislative process.

OBA is represented on the Governance Subcommittee by Lanny Gower, Manager License & Operating Tax of Con-way Freight, Inc. This group will address how transportation funds are invested and work to ensure that local governing bodies and stakeholders identify objective criteria for transportation investments. Lanny’s participation on this subcommittee will provide a strong voice for the OBA’s Transportation Agenda.

The third group will focus on how best to communicate with the public regarding transportation needs. OBA will be represented on the Public Awareness Subcommittee by Len Bergstein, OBA Board Member and President of Northwest Strategies. Len’s considerable political experience has proven to be an asset to the OBA Transportation Committee during the four years he served as chair. His expertise will certainly play a major roll in shaping public opinion and creating support for the Governor’s 2009 Transportation Package.