Chamber releases JOBS scorecard on Legislature

Chamber’s focus on private-sector job creation continues with release of online scorecard
By Portland Business Alliance

Portland, Ore. – On Wednesday, the Portland Business Alliance released its first ever JOBS Scorecard that evaluates regional elected officials on how their votes support or stymie private-sector job creation. The online scorecard reviews the votes of elected officials with the City of Portland, Multnomah County, Metro Council as well as those votes of Portland-region state legislators and Governor Kitzhaber.

Scores from the 2011 legislative session are included in today’s release. “The goal of the scorecard is to show how elected leaders can help or hurt our region’s ability to grow jobs,” said Sandra McDonough, President and CEO of the Portland Business Alliance. “We also want to educate voters about the impact of public policy decisions on job growth and give voters a useful tool to help in their decision-making process during the next election cycle.“ Last year, the Alliance and its partners at Associated Oregon Industries, Oregon Business Association, Oregon Business Council and the Port of Portland released an economic report, conducted by ECONorthwest, which showed that declining wages and per capita income in the Portland-metro area compared to the national average and other peer metro areas. As a follow-up to the study, the Alliance hosted a JOBS Summit with public and private-sector leaders and developed an Action Plan to improve the region’s economic performance. The public policy issues and bills included in the Value of Jobs Scorecard reflect the policy recommendations in the Action Plan and the 2011 Oregon Business Plan. The legislative portion of the scorecard will be updated at the end of each legislative session. The local and regional sections will be updated as issues move forward for a vote.

“As the region’s voice for business, we hope that the JOBS Scorecard will lead to a better understanding that quality of life starts with a good job and we all need to work together to create a healthy, prosperous region that supports families and funds schools and other public services.” The scorecard can be found on the Alliance’s Value of Jobs website: www.valueofjobs.com/jobs_scorecard/index.html ###


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