League of Oregon Cities City Day Remarks

Thank you, Mayor Engelke, and thank you Mayor Hoy for hosting this impressive event here in Salem. And good morning to all of you, it is so good to see you. Congratulations to the League of Cities on your centennial celebration – this is a special day.  Made more special by the young people here representing your Youth Advisory Councils, thank you for your service to our state. You have an exciting day ahead, and we need your voices in Salem.

As Governor, one of the challenges of this job is time. I do not get to hear from everyone, not for lack of trying. Few people understand that like you all do. You have the same challenge in your towns and cities. There is not enough time in the day to solve all of the problems, so we have to make choices. 

We may not always agree with one another on what those choices are, but it is incumbent on each of us to leverage our energy, our skill sets, and our partnerships to make things better. For one person, and hopefully for hundreds, or thousands. 

When I had the privilege of meeting with many of you in the communities you serve during the One Oregon Listening Tour in my first year in office, I started a conversation with you about how the state can be a better partner. I heard the nitty-gritty of the issues your constituents are facing. Sometimes our problems are beneath the surface – not so easy to see. For all of us, what is out of sight, must stay top of mind. That’s not easy. But here you are. 

If you tuned into my State of the State a few weeks ago, or have read the news lately, you may have heard my ask of Oregonians to “stay the course” on our biggest challenges. To keep momentum and focus on what we see working, according to the numbers and according to what we can see on our streets. That stands true, and I am not shy about staying on message. But the conversation I want to build on with the leaders in this room is about our partnership – because I know you all are staying the course on what’s working for your constituents. 

The 2025 Legislative Session started last week. Every two years, the long session is a demonstration of what we can achieve when we work together. So at the beginning of the session, I want to touch on a few of our shared priorities that we can work on together this year. 

Let’s start with homelessness. Every city in Oregon has families living in it who do not know where they will sleep tonight. And I know every city is trying to find a way to shelter them and keep them safe. Over the past two years of my administration, you have been an invaluable partner in establishing a statewide shelter system, housing thousands of Oregonians who would have otherwise slept on the street. Together, we will build on that progress, and ensure we continue to fund the shelters and regional coordination we’ve built. I intend to go further, and support legislation that establishes a permanent state shelter program, in state statute. I know that is top of mind for you all as well, and I look forward to moving this conversation forward together. 

Now let’s talk infrastructure. Our homelessness crisis did not happen overnight: it was created by a housing affordability crisis, with too many families burdened by their housing costs, or worse, being pushed into homelessness. We make housing more affordable by building more houses. But there is a costly, hidden step here that isn’t talked about enough: we need the infrastructure on which to build it. You simply cannot have a house without running water. Many cities are poised to build more housing, but their city’s water infrastructure wouldn’t support it. And securing enough funds for projects like those is far too big a lift for many small localities. My housing initiative team is working on investments that preserve and build affordable housing on one end, but creates a program for the state to help fund the water, sewer, and stormwater cities need to get started. 

We will also work together to have a behavioral health system that can provide Oregonians with the help they need, when they need it. We need to humanely improve criteria for civil commitment, make sure community options exist to serve a larger civil commitment population, and dedicate permanent supportive housing dollars to expand housing with enhanced on-site services so more people have long-term living options that can support their health status.  

Lastly, I look forward to partnering with you and the legislature on a transportation package to serve Oregon’s transportation needs for years to come.

When it comes to homelessness and housing, mental health and addiction care, and student outcomes, I am impatient about the pace of progress – even frustrated at external forces out of our control that led us, at least in part, to being behind the curve in these areas. In these moments I remember that nothing great is accomplished alone. In fact, looking at the leaders around this room, I am even more certain of it. 

I always return to the knowledge that we can harness our resilience and our partnerships to solve problems. My approach to this job comes from a place of deep optimism that an answer actually exists for every problem – and if we just ask the right questions, listen, and adapt, we can also solve every problem.

My focus continues to be doing the most I can to chip away at our challenges and help make Oregon a place where everyone can be successful. I want to thank you for walking with me on this journey – today, tomorrow, over the next two years, and past that. Keep asking the hard questions. Keep raising the voices of your communities.

Later today, I look forward to sitting down with several of you for a direct conversation to better assess the ongoing needs in your communities. 

I am eager to continue our work, and I am so grateful for the partnership we have built over the last two years. Thank you.