Back from his first session as an Oregon legislator representing House District 54, Miller Nash attorney Jason Conger sat down with Cascade Business News to discuss why he chose to run for office, how the first session went, and what he hopes to accomplish for the future.
Q. Tell us why you decided to run for the Oregon House.
A. Frankly, I thought Oregon was heading in the wrong direction and needed new leadership. Oregon lags behind other states in many measurable – and inexcusable – ways. For example, per capita income in Oregon is about 10 percent less than the rest of the country and 15 percent less than the State of Washington, yet in 2009 while tens of thousands of Oregonians were losing their jobs, the legislature enacted 39 different tax increases, which was the biggest tax increase in Oregon’s history, and dramatically increased state spending. That was really bad policy. I decided that something needed to be done and thought I could offer a different perspective and philosophy on how to address problems we face as a community.
Q. What do you consider to be the legislature’s greatest accomplishment for the residents of Central Oregon during this last session?
A. I was very proud to have been involved with providing funding to buy the OSU Cascades building, which will create more jobs for Central Oregon. It was something I fought hard for, and it came down to the last day of the session before it was finally approved. One thing I learned from my first session is that even if you have a broad coalition supporting a bill, the system itself is biased against change, so you have to fight that much harder to get bills approved. Not to mention that there’s a lot of justifiable skepticism right now about additional borrowing. In the end, though, broad based support from the community and the merits of the project prevailed and we got the bill passed.
Q. What work still needs to be done for your constituents in the next session?
A. We made incremental improvements in education and budget reform in 2011, but we failed to do enough. I’ll be looking for ways to make Oregon’s economy more competitive so that more jobs are created. And I plan to re-introduce the School Savings Act, a bill that we estimate will make about $200 million more of the education budget available for schools to use in the classroom – actually educating children – by giving them relief from some expenses mandated by the state.
Q. Not only are you a partner with Miller Nash, but you’re also a father of five. How do you balance your workload and family life with your life as a U.S. House Representative?
A. Well, with respect to workload, one of the benefits of working at a firm of the quality and size of Miller Nash is that I have many partners who were willing to step in and help with my client work while I was gone, and over the course of the legislative session I leaned more and more on them. The firm has been enormously supportive of my role in public service, and I’m truly thankful for that. My first priority has been and remains my family. Although we had to sacrifice a lot of time together while I was in Salem, we made the best of it. I would come home on the weekends and [my wife]Amy and the kids would come to visit me in Salem whenever they could. I think they all enjoyed spending some time in the Capitol learning about Oregon’s history and government – and my oldest son even worked for me in Salem as an aide. Overall, while it was not easy to be away from home, it’s been worth it. I feel genuinely privileged to be able to represent Bend in Salem and to be able to fight for my friends and neighbors here in Central Oregon. And I still have plenty to accomplish for them.
Jason Conger is an attorney at Miller Nash LLP, where his practice focuses on corporate, securities and venture capital law. He represents emerging companies in general corporate matters as well as a broad range of complex transactions, including real estate syndications, mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity financings, and stock and bond offerings. He can be reached at Jason.conger@millernash.com.
