Oregon Coastal Caucus Economic Summit
Leaders
from communities up and down the coast will meet to discuss strategies for
economic revitalization
LINCOLN COUNTY—State legislators from Oregon’s Coastal Caucus
are bringing together leaders from academia, government and industry for a two-day
summit to assess the economic viability of our region. The Oregon
Coastal Caucus Economic Summit, now in its seventh year, is scheduled for Wednesday and
Thursday, August 22 and 23, at Chinook Winds Casino & Resort, Lincoln City.
“We have put together an exciting two-day event, packed with informative panels and discussion opportunities, to bring together Oregon’s coastal leaders to develop strategies that will improve our region’s economy,” Rep. Caddy McKeown, D-Coos Bay, said. “The time and energy invested from those
who attend creates a powerful force around potential legislation and helps us
determine the impacts on rural and coastal economies.”
 This year’s summit is being presented in partnership with the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians an Charter Communications. As members of the nine federally recognized Indian tribes native to Oregon and one of our state’s largest employers, the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians have made significant contributions to improving the quality of life for residents, particularly in rural areas. Oregon Indian tribes have a special interest in – and a unique perspective on – the health of rural and coastal Oregon’s economy.
“We are excited to host this important regional summit for the second time, and are honored to have some top-notch speakers again this year,” Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians Chairman Dee Pigsly said. “I think the event will be educational for all who attend.”
In addition to capping carbon emissions and fixing Oregon public schools – both priorities for the upcoming 2019 Legislative Session – Coastal Caucus members also are looking to take the lead on a number of initiatives to address regional economic issues, such as housing, workforce development, transportation, water, broadband, building codes and cannabis policies. Rep. David Gomberg, D-Otis, hopes the Summit will lead to clear alternatives to drilling off the Oregon Coast.
“Our coastal communities are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of offshore drilling,” he said. “That’s why it’s crucial that we have important discussions on clean energy for the sake of both ourselves and future generations.”
Who: Invited Members of Oregon’s Congressional delegation – including Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Congressional Representatives Peter DeFazio, Kurt Schrader and Suzanne Bonamici – this year’s Coastal Caucus members, local government and tribal officials, state agency directors and community leaders from all parts of the Rural-Coast
What: 7th-Annual Oregon Coastal Caucus Economic Summit
When: Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 22 and 23
Where: Chinook Winds Casino and Resort in Lincoln City
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Senator
(D- SD16), Oregon State Legislature
Senator Betsy Johnson (D-Scappoose) is serving her third
term in the Oregon Senate. In the 2017 Legislative Session, Senator Johnson
served as the Vice Co-Chair of the Joint Committee on Ways and Means, Co-Chair
of the Ways and Means Transportation and Economic Development Subcommittee, and
member of the Ways and Means General Government Subcommittee. Senator Johnson
also served on the Joint Committee on Transportation Preservation and
Modernization and on the Joint Legislative Policy and Research Committee.
Senator Johnson received her undergraduate degree in
History from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota and her Law degree from
the Northwestern School of Law, Lewis & Clark College.
A licensed commercial pilot of both fixed and rotor-wing
aircraft, she founded Transwestern Helicopters, Inc. in 1978. The helicopter
division of the firm was sold in 1993 and the company, now known as
Transwestern Aviation, Inc., is managed by her husband, John Helm. In September
1993, Senator Johnson was selected as Manager of the Aeronautics Division of
the Oregon Department of Transportation, a position she held until September
1998. During the 1999 Legislative Session she was Vice President for
Legislative Affairs for the Oregon Pilots Association, where she successfully
championed legislation that created the Oregon Department of Aviation.
Senator
Johnson has served on numerous local, regional and national boards and
commissions, including the Oregon Health Sciences University Foundation,
Doernbecher Children's Hospital, the Oregon Public Broadcasting Foundation and
the High Desert Museum. Senator Johnson currently serves on a number of
regional boards, most recently elected as a member of the Board of Visitors,
Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark College. She also serves as the
President of the Samuel S. Johnson Foundation.
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Representative (R- HD1) Oregon State Legislature
Oregon
State Representative David Brock Smith, House District 1, is from Port Orford
and is a third generation Southwest Oregon resident of the area he now
represents. A former Chair of the Curry
County Board of Commissioners and the elected Association of Oregon Counties
(AOC) District 4 Chair are just two of the positions he has held in his
extensive history in local government.
David
has been blessed to serve on four House Committees, as well as one Joint
Committee working with the Oregon State Senate.
All of which involve critical work for our District in Southwest Oregon.
Vice Chair - Economic Development & Trade, Vice Chair – Joint Committee on
Carbon Reduction, Agriculture & Natural Resources, Energy &
Environment, Early Childhood & Family Support.
David
is also on key State Legislative Task Forces and Commissions. Some of those
are: Vice Chair- Oregon Legislature's Coastal Caucus, House Republican State
Delegate- (PNWER), House Republican - Opioid Task Force, House Republican-
Maritime Workforce Task Force, Chair- Oregon-China Sister State Relations
Council’s Southern Oregon China Connection, Global Warming Commission, and
Co-Convener Task Force on Sudden Oak Death with Senator Merkley.
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Deborah Boone has served seven terms in House
District 32, which includes Clatsop County, half of Tillamook County and a bit
of western Washington County. She has been appointed to most of the House
committees over the years but focused on Emergency Preparedness, Ocean and
Fisheries, Renewable Energy and Hydrokenetic Ocean Energy, Veterans Services
and Human Services.
Many of the bills she championed were minor
enabling legislation to move ocean energy issues forward. Her work in emergency
preparedness drove her to sponsor bills that would support ocean and tidal
energy devices so the coastal communities would have a source of power after a
disaster. Some of her legislation includes the award winning HR3, the
Oregon Resilience Plan. Once a plan had been developed and an
implementation plan designed she shepherded another bill to create the Office
of Resilience within the Governor’s cabinet. A bill to utilize unwanted
species by-catch that had been thrown overboard was written and passed
providing a way to use the fish and stop wasting it. It now goes to food
banks.
Her last full session
in 2017 was challenged when her husband was battling brain cancer and she
became his full-time caregiver. She is forever grateful to Sen. Betsy Johnson
who selflessly picked up the slack and was instrumental in helping get votes in
the Senate including a bill to allow volunteer firefighters a tax check-off in
the ninth attempt for passage. It was especially important as her husband
spent more than 20 years as a local volunteer fire chief. She will retire at
the end of the current term.
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Senator
Arnie Roblan represents the scenic and rugged central Oregon coast comprising
the 5th Senate District, which includes the Oregon coast from Coos Bay to
Oceanside and parts of Polk and Yamhill counties, including Neskowin, Otis,
Blachly, Grande Ronde, Siletz, Eddyville, Swiss Home, Ada, Pacific City, and
parts of Fall City, Willamina and Sheridan.
A long-time public servant, Senator Roblan brings with him
34 years as an educator – having worked as a math teacher and ultimately
elevating to the role of principal at Marshfield High School – as well as four
terms as a state representative, including two terms as Co-Speaker, and one
term as a state senator.
He has received the Milken Education Award and recognition
as a Distinguished Alumnus by the UO. The Oregon Business Association named him
the Statesman of the Year in 2011. Arnie is also President of the Pacific NorthWest
Economic Region (PNWER) a public/private non-profit created by statute in 1991
by the states of Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Montana and Washington, the Canadian
provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and the Yukon and Northwest
Territories.
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Serving his third term in the Oregon
Legislature, David Gomberg represents House District 10 on the central coast,
ranging from Tillamook to Yachats and inland to Sheridan.
Representative Gomberg currently
serves as the chair of the House Economic Development and Trade Committee, is
co-chair for the Ways & Means Transportation & Economic Development
subcommittee, and is a member of the Oregon Innovation Council and the
Governor’s Commission on Senior Services.
David is a graduate of Oregon State
where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, served as student
body president, and earned a Masters in Political Science, Economics, and
History. He then earned his MBA at Willamette University.
Gomberg is also
co-owner of Gomberg Kite Productions, an internationally recognized designer
and manufacturer, and a business ideally suited to the Lincoln County economy
as well as its natural surroundings. He has performed for Walt Disney, the
Super Bowl, and in 40 different countries. In 2005, David was inducted into the
Kite Hall of Fame.
Among his “awards and
accomplishments”, he lists 30 years of marriage to Susan Gomberg.
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Representative
Caddy McKeown represents House District 9 that includes Coos Bay.
Representative Caddy McKeown is a 4th generation Oregonian, born and raised in
Coos Bay. Her public service began on the Coos Bay school board, where she
served for 11 years. She went on to be appointed to the Board of Commissioners
of the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay, where she served for nine years
and worked to acquire and rehabilitate the Coos Bay rail line.
In 2012, she was
elected to represent coastal portions of Coos, Douglas, Lane and Lincoln
counties in the Oregon House of Representatives. Current committee assignments
include the House Agriculture & Natural Resources committee as well as the
House Economic Development and Trade committee. She continues to serve as
Co-Chair of the Joint Committee on Transportation Preservation and
Modernization, a role in which she and a bi-partisan, bi-cameral 14 member
committee successfully designed an historic state-wide transportation package
in 2017. She is also proud to be a member of the Legislative Commission on
Indian Services, the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, as well as
serve on the Oregon Coastal Caucus.
When she can, she enjoys being home with her husband
and two Labradors
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Senator Heard has the
pleasure of representing Oregon Senate District 1. This southwestern district
of the state includes our coastal communities from the California boarder up
through just south of Coos Bay, extending east to the cities of Roseburg,
Riddle, Glendale, Winston, Myrtle Creek, and Canyonville!
Born and raised in Roseburg Oregon,
Senator Heard has had the honor of serving his community in the Oregon State
Legislature since 2014. A small business owner in Douglas County since 2004,
Senator Heard has worked hard to protect small business interests in our state.
He has served on the House Business and Labor Committee, House Higher Education
and Workforce Development Committee, and House Energy and Environment
Committee. He currently serves on the Senate Education Committee and
Vice-Chairs the Senate Human Services Committee.
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