Oregon Public Broadcasting

Oregon’s former Governor, John Kitzhaber, made his first public appearance Friday since mentioning he might run for the state’s top office again. Kristian Foden-Vencil was there.

Wearing his signature cowboy boots, jeans and a jacket and tie, Kitzhaber appeared relaxed and confident in front of the City Club of Portland.

In a speech, he laid out his vision of fixing everything from Oregon’s dependence on fossil fuels to health care and schools.

Afterwards, the former governor explained how he’ll decide whether to run.

John Kitzhaber: “There are family and personal financial issues and then there is the question of what is the capacity for some really significant transitional and transformational change.”

On leaving office in 2003, Kitzhaber famously called Oregon ‘ungovernable.’

He now says it felt like it at the time, but that he believes it is possible to get Oregon where it needs to be.