By PETER WONG
Statesman Journal
A funny thing happened to Fred Girod as he made his way back to the Oregon House last year.
When Girod was tapped last summer to succeed Jeff Kropf of Sublimity, who resigned his nomination to avoid a job conflict, Republicans were the majority in the House — the same as when Girod served in 1993-94.
But the Nov. 7 election that returned Girod to the House also put Democrats in the majority for the first time in 16 years.
Girod hasn’t silenced his voice on behalf of his constituents in District 17, a largely rural area that covers Stayton, Sublimity, the Santiam Canyon communities and a chunk of eastern Linn County.
“But if you are in the minority party, sometimes you have to change your focus,” said Girod, a dentist who now lives in Lyons.
He has made greater efforts to help constituents and the small communities in his district obtain state aid. Examples are a land-swap arrangement satisfactory to Stayton and the Oregon Department of Transportation, replacement of wooden pipes in Idanha, and a temporary bridge in Scio.
“Every city has its wish list,” said Girod, who met with city officials upon taking office. “We’ve been successful with some requests; others are on the back burner.”
Although he represents much of the same area as in his first term 14 years ago, Girod said the Oregon House is a different place, and not just because a different political party is in charge.
He said the divisions are sharper now between the parties as well as between rural and urban interests.
“I have views that represent my district well, and that’s why I think this session has been so frustrating for me,” he said.
He said the current legislative session has done little so far for timber and agriculture, although he added that it’s federal policy that governs how many trees can be cut on public lands and how farm products fare under free-trade agreements.
Still, he said, even with a one-year extension by Congress of federal payments to timber-dependent counties, sheriff’s patrols in the outlying areas of Marion and Linn counties likely will reduced.
“State police has to be a priority for almost all rural communities, so it’s important to restore 24-hour coverage for public safety,” Girod said.
House Republicans and Democrats have jostled for political advantage on the Oregon State Police budget, which has money to phase in 100 more troopers in the next two years, but is 40 troopers short of 24-hour coverage.
Girod has voted with the majority of his party on most key bills this session.
But he has signed up on two of the seven House measures, called “teamwork” or “buddy” bills, that were given guarantees of a public hearing and committee consideration if they were sponsored by two Democrats and two Republicans.
One measure, co-sponsored with Democratic Rep. Brian Clem of Salem and others, would require state contracts to take into account the value of awarding proposed work to Oregon businesses. It’s pending in the Legislature’s joint budget committee.
Girod is the principal sponsor of just seven measures, second-lowest among the nine Mid-Valley representatives, although he has co-sponsored many others. The highest this session is Rep. Kim Thatcher, R-Keizer, principal sponsor of 63 measures.
He did express public irritation last week when he moved unsuccessfully to extract his bill barring sex offenders from residing in communities unless police officers were on duty. He said it’s an issue in the small communities he represents.
Such parliamentary moves rarely succeed because they are seen as a challenge to the House leadership, even if there might be a majority for the measure.
Girod said there are other reasons for the partisan jousting, including term limits that stripped the House of most of its senior members before the Supreme Court overturned the limits in 2002.
“There was an advantage for me to have a Bill Markham or a Denny Jones around,” Girod said in reference to two Republicans who each served more than two decades in the House.
“I could come up with an idea. They would tell me why it did not work in the past, and it would save me a lot of heartaches. Now that history is not available in either caucus, so it’s more us against them.”
He also said the current House lacks the social-networking opportunities that allowed him in the 1993 session to build relationships across party lines with Democrats such as Jim Whitty of Coos Bay and Margaret Carter of Portland. Carter, after 14 years in the House, went to the Senate in 2000.
Larry Campbell, who was the House speaker in Girod’s first term and is a business lobbyist now, said Girod could serve as one of those bridges to others in the House if he stayed for a few terms.
“Somebody who gets elected to the Legislature has a lot more to contribute when he serves more than one term, so I was pleased to see him come back here,” Campbell said.
“I believe he can make a much better contribution. He is level-headed, makes good decisions, and is clear about his objectives. You always know where he is — and that should be a mantra for any legislator.”
pwong@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6745
Fred Girod
POSITION: State representative, District 17 (Stayton, Sublimity, Santiam Canyon communities; also part of Linn County), elected 1992, 2006.
PARTY: Republican
AGE: 56
HOME: Lyons
FAMILY: Wife, Daphne, a former mayor of Stayton (1996-98); two children, two grandchildren
EDUCATION: Stayton High School, 1969; bachelor’s degree, 1973, Oregon State University; dentistry degree, 1978, from what is now Oregon Health & Science University; master’s degree in public administration, 1988, Harvard University
WORK: Dental practice; land developer
OTHER: Stayton City Council; city budget committee. He was in the Oregon House in 1993-94, but gave up the seat for an unsuccessful Republican primary bid for the 5th District congressional seat in 1994.
2007 COMMITTEES: Consumer Protection; Government Accountability and Information Technology, vice chairman; Workforce and Economic Development
CONTACT: H-478 State Capitol, Salem, telephone (503) 986-1417; rep.fredgirod@state.or.us. Chief of staff: Lori Caston
Dr. No
Republican Rep. Fred Girod and former Democratic Gov. John Kitzhaber may appear to have little in common politically.
But in his previous term in 1993, Girod voted for the financing — including an increase in cigarette taxes — that broadened the traditional Medicaid program into an Oregon Health Plan that covered all people under the federal poverty level for a decade.
Kitzhaber was the plan’s chief author and was elected governor in 1994.
Girod is a dentist, Kitzhaber a physician.
Girod said even though spending cuts since 2004 have altered the plan, he still likes its premise of setting priorities for medical services with the money available.
“For me, if we have extra money, we can tweak it slightly so that in good times, we can do a little more,” he said. “In bad times, we might have to cut it.”
In his current term, Girod has often voted against bills.
“My recent moniker is ‘Dr. No,’ and when John Kitzhaber was governor, he was ‘Dr. No,’” said Girod, referring to Kitzhaber’s record number of vetoes as governor. “So I want to shake his hand as one ‘Dr. No’ to another.”
– Peter Wong
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