Smith vows ‘turnaround year’
■Sen. Gordon Smith continues
his campaign, promising a
better future for Oregon’s timber
industry and overall economy
By Jeremy Lang
Oregon Daily Emerald
Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., fresh
off his one-on-one with President
George W. Bush, told the Associated
Oregon Loggers convention Friday
that he’s optimistic about their
chances — and his chances — of
coming out on top in 2002.
Smith, the keynote speaker for
the 32nd annual convention, said
Bush’s Republican administration
will give him “the opportunity to be
on the offensive” for the first time
since taking office in 1997.
He said the offensive push to im
prove Oregon’s economy will favor
the timber industry, <lmid loggers
should be as optimistic as he is that
2002 will be a “turnaround year” for
the industry and the entire state.
“For a decade now, we’ve taken
advantage of natural resources,”
Smith said. “We’ve put all our eggs
in the high-tech basket.”
Bush visited Oregon on Jan. 5, his
first return since the 2000 campaign,
and Smith accompanied the presi
* dent on Air Force One and in limou
sines. He told the 200-plus attendees
at the convention that Bush showed
an aggressive resolve to help strug
gling Oregon loggers and farmers.
“I saw a man genuinely ag
grieved,” Smith said of Bush. “I saw
him give very clear directions (to his
advisers) to get this fixed, doggone it.”
The convention took place at the
Eugene Hilton, and the atmosphere
contrasted the atmosphere during a
University conference on natural
resources. Historically, when tim
ber conferences come to the Uni
r
32ND ANNlMi CON^EMTIOli
1,4#* ^*1 F«*«i
Thomas Patterson Emerald
Sen. Gordon Smith mingles with constituents after his speech at the Associated Oregon
Loggers 2002 annual convention at the Eugene Hilton on Friday morning.
versity, they focus on preservation
and conservation, with student
groups such as Oregon Student
Public Interest Research Group vo
cally and frequently sounding the
rallying cry. But Smith faced no op
position Friday speaking to a group
that showed its Republican colors
numerous times.
Association President Mark
Crawford, who opened the event,
said he agreed that the Executive
Branch will correct the “awful poli
cies” passed by former President
Bill Clinton’s administration.
“I’m sure we are all relieved to
have the past year behind us. ...
Thank God for George Bush. ”
Smith is running for re-election
in November, and the question-and
answer session that followed his
speech seemed like a campaign
stop. Audience members wearing
work shirts, suspenders and base
ball caps questioned the suit-clad
senator on a variety of issues that
analysts believe will define the
midterm elections, from terrorism
to Senate Majority Leader Tom
Daschle’s, D-S.D., role in the dead
lock on economic stimulus.
“Daschle blamed the recession
more on the dot-coms than the Bush
tax cut. When George Bush took his
oath of office, we were in a recession. ”
Democrats currently hold a one
seat majority in the Senate, and
Smith said races such as his could
decide who controls the agenda for
the next two years. Smith called his
likely Democratic contender, Secre
tary of State Bill Bradbury, a “credi
ble opponent” who will run an “ag
gressive, well-funded campaign.”
“If we defend seats like mine,
we’ll take back the Senate,” Smith
said. “If you’d like to keep with the
ear of the president of the U.S., I’m
your candidate.”
Smith said he plans to stop at the
University during his campaign,
Turn to Sen. Smith, page 6
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