PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as a Congressional press secretary in Washington, D.C., an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.

There was an interesting development last week in Oregon that gives pause to those of us who believe there could be or should be middle ground in a battle over how money state government should have.

The only leader with the credentials and moxie to bring parties together is the governor, Kate Brown. She has not acted so far, but her background holds promise that she could play the leadership role.

Even after getting killed at the ballot in November – Ballot Measure 97, a tax on sales, not profits, lost by 19 points – advocates for higher taxes on business are upping the ante. They call themselves “Better Oregon,” an ironic name for a coalition of Our Oregon, unions and advocacy groups, which may, in fact, not be working for a better Oregon.

Incredibly, the group is claiming victory at the polls despite the overwhelming result the other way.

Our Oregon executive director Ben Unger, who appears to have no idea about what Oregonians really want or, perhaps, doesn’t care, contends the campaign in support of Measure 97 did nothing wrong.

As the Portland Tribune put it, “Unger says the main thing his side failed in was to match the opposition’s checkbook.”

So, instead of coming to the Capitol in Salem prepared to work to cut a deal with business about funding – and, to be sure, business leaders believe there should be more funding, especially for K-12 schools and higher education — Unger and his cronies just want more money.

Thus, they are proposing a new $5 billion tax on business, which they hope legislators will consider as they gather in Salem after the first of the year.

Even Tim Nesbitt, past president of the Oregon AFL-CIO, said he thinks the pro-tax side spent a lot of money on a flawed measure (the Measure 97 measure) while missing an opportunity to capitalize on the voters’ mood.

“There was an opportunity here to seize a populist moment and make some long-awaited progress on business tax support for services,” he told the Portland Tribune. “But it had to be well-designed and well-calibrated for it to succeed.”

Nesbitt said Measure 97 was neither.

What Oregon needs now is a leader with the moxie to bring disparate interests together to find middle-ground and way to fill what is estimated to be a $1.7 billion hole in the 2017-19 state budget. Get opponents in the same room. Knock heads for a real “better Oregon.”

Governor Brown could do it.

But, in an early sour note, she appeared at the recent Business Summit to lecture business leaders that they needed to come to Salem with more money on their own. So soon after the Measure 97 defeat, it came across a little like asking the winning team to forfeit its victory.

Legislative sessions carry at least two challenges. First, they represent an opportunity for leaders to emerge to develop compromises that serve the future of Oregon. Second, they can devolve into contention, pitted rhetoric and disagreement.

The question for Oregon? Which purpose will be served this time around. Early signals are not positive, but there is a lot of time between now and the end of the legislative session next June and that is time Governor Brown could use to display her leadership credentials.