Knute Buehler

Candidate for governor of Oregon.

Knute grew up in Roseburg, and along with his brothers, became the first generation to attend college. He played baseball and earned a microbiology degree at Oregon State University. He became the university’s first Rhodes Scholar — earning a masters in politics and economics from Oxford University. He attended medical school at Johns Hopkins University, where he met his wife, Patty. After their medical training, they moved to Bend to build medical practices and raise two children. Since 2015, Knute has been a state representative for District 54 in Bend. During this time, he’s earned a reputation as a thoughtful, independent, effective leader and lawmaker.

Oregon state representative, House District 54. Oregon State University Foundation, board member. Ford Family Foundation, board member. Bend-La Pine School District, Budget Committee. High Desert Museum, board member. OSU-Cascades Campus, board member. St. Charles Health System, board member.

After listening to me complain for far too long about the waste and mismanagement failures of our state government, my wife Patty told me that I either needed to “get involved or stop complaining.” So I took her advice and ran for Secretary of State in 2012. I lost that race, but I met many great people all across Oregon who shared my concerns. And I learned I needed to gain experience at the state level, so I ran for the Oregon House in 2014 and won. As a legislator, I have worked with both Democrats and Republicans to get things done.

I’m running for governor to bring moderate, independent leadership to fix the big problems Kate Brown has avoided, ignored or made worse as governor. Our schools rank in the bottom five in the nation. We face a classroom funding crisis caused by Brown’s refusal to reform PERS. Homelessness is a humanitarian and public health crisis. Our rural communities too often are left behind and forgotten. We need a governor who will lead for all of Oregon, and bring changes we need to make Oregon the best it can and should be.

I will challenge the status quo and be a governor for all of Oregon no matter who you are, where you live, who you love or how you register to vote. I will bring moderate, independent leadership to the governorship while working with Democrats, Republicans and Independents to help solve our most pressing issues.

My four ambitious plans (knutebuehler.com) outline big important goals about how I will lead to fix some of Oregon’s biggest problems, such as education, health care, homelessness and closing Oregon’s rural-urban divide.

First, we need to rescue our students, teachers and public schools from a classroom funding and graduation crisis. I will lead our public schools from the bottom five to the top five in five years. I will fix our classroom funding crisis by reforming PERS, which has forced schools to cut teachers, programs and school days. We must restore lost school days, boost reading, and fully fund career and technical education programs. We need to take other positive steps to help students succeed and prepare for good jobs or further education.

Second, we need to regain our status as a national leader in health care and Medicaid delivery, for the sake of the hundreds of thousands of Oregonians who depend on it. Our system today is known for scandals, mismanagement and waste. As a physician, I will lead to ensure that every Oregonian has access to high-quality health care.

Third, homelessness is a humanitarian, public health and public safety crisis. I will lead with compassion, and a little tough love to ensure that in Oregon, a tent or a sidewalk is never anyone’s home.

Finally, our rural communities have been left behind and forgotten by Salem for far too long. Oregon’s rural-urban divide is not an immovable feature of the natural landscape. It is an artificial political divide resulting from choices made every day in Salem by elected officials and unelected government employees. I will be a leader for all of Oregon. As governor, I will make state government a partner for growing jobs and restoring hope and opportunity in rural Oregon.