Leadership Quote by Ted Kulongoski

“A healthy environment” does double duty here: it’s moral language dressed in managerial clothing. Ted Kulongoski isn’t just praising clean air and water; he’s trying to short-circuit Oregon’s perennial political knife fight over whether environmental regulation is a luxury item or an economic threat. By pairing “livable Oregon” with “a strong economy,” he makes the state’s identity itself the bridge between the two camps. The message is: protecting nature isn’t an add-on to prosperity, it’s the precondition for it.

The intent is coalition-building. “Livable” speaks to residents who moved (or stayed) for the quality of life: scenery, recreation, public health, the feeling that Oregon is not just another strip-mall corridor. “Strong economy” signals he’s not asking voters to choose between jobs and salmon runs. It’s a line calibrated for business owners, timber communities wary of restrictions, and urban professionals who want climate-minded leadership without sounding anti-growth.

The subtext is defensive and strategic: Oregon’s brand is an asset, and assets can be squandered. A degraded environment doesn’t only harm ecosystems; it erodes tourism, agriculture, fisheries, and the state’s ability to attract workers and companies chasing a high-quality place to live. In the mid-2000s, when climate policy and land-use fights were sharpening nationwide, this kind of framing positioned environmental stewardship as infrastructure, not ideology. It’s politics as reframing: turning “regulation” into “insurance” for the Oregon people think they already own.