In this Issue:

• The First Week of the Legislature
• Meet Michelle Felton
• Constituent  Survey

 The First Week of the Legislature

Monday, the ceremonial opening session of the 75^th Legislative Assembly included the Governor’s State of the State speech.  Joining me on the floor of the House of Representatives were the Mayor of Salem, Janet Taylor, and the President of Chemeketa Community College, Cheryl Roberts.  Also, my friend Sam Skillern, director of the Salem Leadership Foundation and my husband Jerry were my invited guests.

This first week the legislature has been organizing for the work ahead.  The economy, the depth and impact of the economic crisis in Oregon, and what we can do about it are the important questions facing the 75^th Legislative Assembly.

The constitutional duty of the Legislature is to balance the 2 year budget for the state.  With all of the unknowns in our current economic climate this will be a particularly difficult job.  The State Economist, Tom Potiowski, testified before the Revenue Committee that the recession is having a worse impact on Oregon’s budget picture than was forecast even last fall.  Another big unknown is what the federal stimulus package looks like and what it means for the Oregon economy.

Meet Michelle Felton

My new Legislative Assistant is Michelle Felton.  Michelle has 15 years experience in state government where she worked in the child welfare program of the Department of Human Services.  Michelle is happy to respond to questions and comments from all constituents.  Please don’t hesitate to contact my office at the numbers listed above if we can help.  And we welcome visitors to the Capitol during the session, just give us a call.

Constituent Survey

Last week a survey was sent to all households in District 20.  The response was overwhelming!  We are just now tabulating the results and we will report the opinions received in future newsletters.  Thank you to all who took the trouble to respond.  It is not too late to send in the survey if you haven’t.  District 20 constituents can find the survey on my website at http://www.leg.state.or.us/berger             

Please keep in touch…

Vicki