What’s It Like Working In the Oregon Legislature? My thoughts.

After being discharged from an eighteen month military tour at the Joint Personal Effects Depot at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland and making the 5-day drive from the east coast to Portland, Oregon I began thinking of how I would continue serving, specifically serving Oregon’s Veterans. Before leaving Maryland, my First Sergeant remarked, “what are you going to do back home, Sir? This is a very important mission we have here you know.” Six months passed and I applied for a position in the Oregon Legislature. Fortunately, I received my first pick: Veterans Affairs. He was very pleased when I told him of the new assignment.

Its a Marathon Not a Sprint
In early January 2009 I began a 6 month assignment where I staffed the House Committee on Veterans & Emergency Services (SMS example PDF). The committee Chair was Rep. Jean Cowan and the Vice Chairs were Rep. Tim Freeman and Rep. Greg Matthews. The committee also included Rep. Debbie Boone, Rep. Sal Esquivel, Rep. Betty Komp, Rep. Chuck Riley, and Rep. Jim Weidner. The committee met every Tuesday and Thursday from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm for nearly 6 months. Meetings with leadership regularly. It was an incredible and humbling opportunity and I soaked every nano-second.

First Impressions
1. A warm, friendly and courteous welcome from very competent legislative, committee, revenue and fiscal staff (regulars and temps)
2. Democracy and the legislative process is more interesting from the House floor. The Senate floor is much quieter. More interesting on the inside.
3. This is serious business (we only do this every 2 years)
4. Learned very quickly that a bill is either DOA (dead on arrival), a maybe (don’t care either way), and a definite (this we’ll defend)
5. Not very diverse

Two Different Worlds. Make It Three.
The world we live out here differs greatly from the customs and courtesies of the Senate floor and House floor, protocol and even humor.

My experiences gained on the House floor were:
1. Best know your material (I had to sit next to the carrier of the bill and support in case there’s questions from another member) and write compelling staff measure summaries
2. Best know where to walk (I got yelled at for walking where the elected officials can only walk)
3. Best be flexible, expedient, and confident
4. Best know the intentions of the Chair and the sponsor/co-sponsor of the bill (daily meetings, and thank god for the BlackBerry)
5. Best pace yourself (its a marathon, not a sprint I kept being told)
6. Best be a multitasker
7. Best have a hard shell
8. Best know the pronunciation of words (once, I couldn’t say “defibrillator”)
9. Best be able to keep a balance (professional, personal)
10. Best be able to not let it go to your head

The Other Side. The “Dark” Side.
Lobbyists or official spokespersons for an interest play an intricate part of Oregon’s democracy. I worked hand-in-hand w/ lobbyists to make sure the Chairs’ priority were moving forward. I was very fortunate to have passionate, forward-thinking, outspoken, and veterans as my lobbyists (to include Paul Evans, Jim Willis, Tom Mann, Brig. Gen. Mike Caldwell, and Greg Warnock to name a few). These guys taught me that while military service is important, public service is also very important. We would meet regularly for coffee. I came to understand that “dark side” just meant “the other side.” On the emergency side, I had the pleasure of meeting experts like Ken Murphy, Dr. Chris Goldfinger, Dr. Rahti Sanji, and Steve West that explained the emergencies Oregon faces, and advice on moving towards solving them. As many of you know, I have limitations here, but I do know we best be prepared for what we don’t know. Every meeting, discussion and briefing was highly educational, and the “other side” always took the time to meet and explain things when I didn’t understand.

Final Thoughts
I think all Oregonians, in an effort to preserve what we have, need to serve at least once in the legislative branch as a staffer and/or run for office. Once inside, serving broadens our understanding while providing a birds eye view of the state. Nothing wrong with a 50,000 foot view, is there? If you can’t at least you can watch the proceedings streamed live at http://www.leg.state.or.us, and keep an eye on issues important to you so you can engage your representative/senator. Once I got an email from a friend to keep an eye out for a certain set of bills. He thought since I worked there I may have some free time. Oregon’s democracy is everyones responsibility. Its called being a citizen. Staffers get super busy and it doesn’t slow down until Sine Die (another word I learned).

As a veteran I think it was important to apply for this position. Fortunately the hiring committee saw potential and I was hired and given my first pick. I think all veterans should consider applying for this position.

Your Turn
Have you worked in the Oregon Legislature or staffed the Executive branch? What advice would you give to young potential staffers looking to work in Oregon’s democracy? What kinds of programs or work experience, reading material should future staffers be focusing to prepare for work in the Oregon Legislature? I look forward to reading your comments below.

David Molina is the co-founder/CEO of BilingualHire. He can be reached directly at: david at bilingualhireco dot com, 1+(503) 708-4614 or you can follow his lifestream on Twitter.