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 to 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 press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon, as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as 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.

Some points I have made in this blog could prompt folks to believe I am against government.

No.

I support government.

Except that I want government to operate more effectively for the benefit of citizens, not for its own growth ends.

That applies to all government sectors, including the Executive and Legislative Branches, especially in Oregon where I have related to government for more than 40 years, as follows:

+ First, just out of college, I worked for a daily newspaper in Astoria, Oregon where my beat focused on city government, as well as another government agency, the Port of Astoria.

+ Second, I worked for about 15 years directly for government – in Portland, in Washington, D.C., and in Salem.

+ Third, I worked for almost 25 years a lobbyist in Salem, which meant that I related to legislators, to various governors and to other statewide elected officials, and to appointed officials in Executive Branch agencies.

Those experiences gave me a lot of time to develop perceptions about government — perceptions that, I believe, go beyond just the “for” and “against” perspectives of many of those running for office today, or, for that matter, to many of those who compete for high-level government appointments.

I have come to the following conclusions about government:

• I believe those who work for government should operate with the commitment that they have to earn their way every day. By that, I mean displaying a commitment to those they serve. One way to do this is to assume that, as a government employee, you have to earn revenue every day to support your operations – which is exactly what happens to those in the private sector who have to earn their way every day.
• I believe those who work for government should always do what they think is right, not necessarily what they believe could be politically popular.
• But, before doing what is right, I believe those who work for government should consider the views of others BEFORE resolving their own positions.
• This rests on my belief that those who work government should function as part of a team, given the reality that nothing good happens due to the individual work of one member of the team. It’s always the work of a team.
• I believe those who work for government should recognize the absolute importance of ethics, honesty and integrity as part of earning the public’s trust.
• I believe those who work government should exemplify the “your word is your bond ethic.”   Being true to your word (and, by the way, if you have to change your mind, no problem – just be clear and vocal about the need to do so) is one way to earn and retain credibility, which, if lost, will compromise any operation.
• I believe that, in the spirit of the phrase “what you see depends on where you sit,” those who work for government should recognize that that they don’t always have the right or the only answer to government action. Various viewpoints inform government processes.
• I believe most solutions to pressing public policy issues lie in the “smart middle ground,” not the extremes of either the left or the right. Government officials should recognize this reality.

If these commitments were lived out every day by those who work for government, government would earn the trust and support of more Americans than is currently the case.

And, we wouldn’t be experiencing the poles of the far left and the far right, which leave no apparent room for civility and centrist citizenship.