Wyden Firsts: Working for Oregonians

Ron was the first Oregon elected official to hold open-to-all town meetings in every Oregon county. More than 900 of these meetings have been held over Ron’s time in the Senate, with his first town meeting held in Fossil in Oregon’s smallest county. He has repeatedly won the “MVP” award from the non-profit Town Hall Project for this commitment to open, accountable government.

Ron was the first to find a new strategy to fund rural roads, schools, infrastructure and law enforcement in hard hit rural Oregon. His bipartisan Secure Rural Schools law has delivered more than $3 billion to Oregon for these services. As public opposition grew to clear cutting, this essential law and Ron’s efforts to use “stewardship” contracts were key to increasing crucial community services and timber supply in eastern Oregon.

Ron was the first to recognize the need to modernize the law governing beer, wine, cider and other agricultural products. This boosted national and international markets for Oregon products. This effort has also been a big boost to Oregon tourism.

And, Don’t Forget…

Maybe not a first, but Ron set the Congressional free-throw shooting record, with 47 out of 50.