Alley hopes to prepare Oregon for 2020 by thinking outside the box

Perhaps the most eye-catching policy proposal in state Treasurer candidate Allen Alley’s (R-Lake Oswego) “Oregon 2020” plan, released on Tuesday, is his goal of increasing the federalCorporate Average Fuel Economy standard to 100 miles per gallon.

The goal is bold, even lofty, considering that if Alley is elected, the former auto engineer, aerospace engineer, entrepreneur, and deputy chief of staff to Gov. Ted Kulongoski, would not have much say in federal standards. But, Alley said, those are the kinds of ideas a state executive would need to start moving Oregon in a radically greener - yet financially stable - direction.

“I am simply thinking from the state treasurer position,” Alley said of his proposal in an exclusive interview with PolitickerOR.com. “Every time we make a decision to get oil reserves from the Middle East, we are making a financial decision. So let’s not stop at 35 miles per gallon, let’s go to 100. To do so, you’re going to have to go massively electric. But from my perspective as an automotive engineer, we can do it. We will have to stop burning fuel. But you have to stop doing it without killing the economy.”

For Alley, it’s simple. He estimates that if the U.S continues to burn fuel imported from the Middle East, it will end up sending $50 trillion to countries like Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. As the potential chief financial officer for the state, Alley says it’s disastrous to send that much money overseas. So why not start planning for 100-mile-per-gallon cars? And why not start in Oregon?

“We are the early adapter market,” Alley said of Oregon. “You can be a leader by adopting these types of standards.”

Alley admits that his ideas are, well, different. But, he says, that is what got him onto Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s staff, as his former deputy and economic advisor. He says he knows what Salem is like, and he wants to change it. To do so, Alley says, politicians need to open their minds.

“When I was in the governor’s office, the discussion of solutions was narrow,” Alley said. “I would come at problems from outside the box. It got them thinking differently. People were like, ‘Can we really do that?’ I could talk about issues openly. The richness of the discussion was much greater, much better and much more robust. The strength was not that we were all the same. It was that we were all different.”

But being state treasurer is a far cry from an advisor. An advisor comes up with ideas, while a state treasurer is a decision-maker. That, Alley says, is exactly what he wants.

“It’s an executive office,” Alley said. “It fits my background. I can get the best from my resume and work experience in this job.”

He has had to pursue the position without the support of his former boss. Kulongoski endorsed Alley’s campaign rival, State Sen. Ben Westlund (D-Tumalo). But Alley does not fault the governor for his decision. In fact, Alley says, he learned from it.

“In politics you put on the jersey of one team or the other,” Alley said. “In the governor’s office, we were all on the same team. And if he hadn’t given me that opportunity, I wouldn’t be doing this. He did a lot to teach me about politics.”

For Alley, once the political games are over, he believes he can once again get people to start working toward solutions.

“It’s not that I have all these great ideas,” he said. “It’s just that I have ideas that are different, and that opens people up.”

Since his campaign kicked off in April, Alley has touted his business record, even as he has had to fend off attacks about his business practices.

The Democratic Party of Oregon launched a website accusing him of making bad business decisions when he was the CEO of Pixelworks, including charges that his decisions led the company’s stock to plummet. Alley is no longer in charge of Pixelworks, but does still sit on the board. And he acknowledges the attacks, but shrugs them off.

“With enough money behind them, they can create a view in the electorate that isn’t who I am,“ Alley said. “But I know who I am, and I know about my morals, ethics, and business practices. And I never thought I’d get to a point in my life where someone would actually spend money on a website about me. And update it.”

In the meantime, if he wants the chance for his ideas to be heard from the state treasurer’s platform, he has to wage a grueling statewide campaign. Where Westlund has experience of running a statewide campaign after a brief run for Governor in 2006, Alley is starting from scratch. But he doesn’t see himself at a huge disadvantage; he says he had a name recognition poll conducted on him and Westlund throughout the state. Westlund had 13 percent name recognition, Alley had eight.

“Neither of us have big name recognition. So it’s coming down to, ‘How many people can I physically and virtually meet?’” Alley said. “A 30-second spot is 70 words. How do I convey all of this in 70 words? So I spend a lot of time out talking to people, hoping they talk to their friends about me.”

Alley will have two opportunities to reach out to voters during two debates he and Westlund have scheduled for September and October. The first will be in Portland on Sept. 26, and then Alley will jump in his hybrid Chevy Tahoe (20 mpg) for the road trip down to Bend for the second debate Oct. 14.

From there, he says he will be out meeting as many people as possible. And making those connections he hopes will propel him into office.

“I was sitting with these cattlemen out in John Day and I was nervous. I’m thinking, ‘I don’t have anything in common with them. I’ve never been on a cattle ranch in my life,’” Alley said. “But ninety minutes later we are talking about solar pumps for irrigation water. It’s just like in business. In business, the first thing you have to do is connect with people.”