Oregon Public Broadcasting

Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski calls the just completed 2009 legislative session one of the most challenging and rewarding of his career. 

The Governor saw lawmakers take up some of his biggest priorities.  But as Salem Correspondent Chris Lehman reports, he's criticizing them for leaving behind some of his other proposals.

With strong Democratic majorities, lawmakers passed two of the Governorís big priorities:  higher taxes on hospitals to expand access to health care, and on gasoline to fund highway construction. 

But for the first time, lawmakers over-turned one of the Governor's vetoes.  It was an education budget that Kulongoski said used too much of the state's reserves. 

And the Governor blasted lawmakers for ignoring his proposal for a summer jobs program.

Ted Kulongoski:  "Here we had a chance to have over 7500 jobs this summer.  And they left it on the floor.  And I think in the long term it was the wrong policy decision and I will tell you this, it will be the wrong political decision for them."

Despite such criticism of fellow Democrats, Kulongoski did say he would campaign for the Legislature's two major budget-balancing tax increases, that is, if anti-tax groups are successful in forcing those issues to the ballot.