Kitzhaber Koming to Korvallis

Former governor Dr. John Kitzhaber will be breezing through Corvallis on Monday, May 1st, to discuss the Archimedes Movement, a project he started to reinvigorate the way health care works in Oregon.

I'll just get this out of the way now: John Kitzhaber is one of my heroes. I first met him when I was serving on the editorial board of the Gazette-Times in 1996, when he was first running for office. I've yet to meet another politician who actually answered questions so directly. No spin! Plus, he had a brilliant vision for health care in Oregon then, as now, but the Oregon Health Plan that exists today has been gutted and is but a shade of what could have been.

The main goal of the Archimedes Movement is to get a health care initiative on the ballot for the 2008 election. The details of the plan are still being brainstormed, and public involvement is invited. The basic tenets are that everyone should have access to basic care and that funding should be implemented in a similar fashion to public education, which is already a guaranteed benefit for all American citizens.

If you would like to be involved, Dr. Kitzhaber will be holding two meetings in Corvallis tomorrow, the first one at the Corvallis Senior Center at 3 p.m. and the second at the First United Methodist Church at 6 p.m. The latter will be a participatory event, so bring your ideas and be part of something that has the chance to make a real difference in our state.