The following is from an internal State of Oregon Department of Environmental Quality newsletter.
When Dick Pedersen sent an email to all DEQ staff highlighting the mentorship program this summer, it struck a chord. It was the first I had heard of the program and being a junior staff member, I could think of no better way to learn how to navigate through my burgeoning career than to learn from someone with experience. Moreover, being from a family of farmers and carpenters, mentorship has been the path to becoming expert tradesmen for as long as the trades have existed. Yet in modern times and especially in the professional fields, this relationship between the learned and the learning has all but disappeared. Perhaps arising from my greenness, perhaps a logical conclusion of the mentorship concept (learning from the best), I promptly replied to Dick’s email asking him if he would be able to mentor me. He suggested a job shadow day and asked what aspect of his position I would be interested in learning about.
I am very interested in the political aspects of environmental regulation and was interested to know what the director’s activities at the Capitol consisted of. So on the morning of Inauguration Day, wearing my spooky black suit (I was supposed to be a shadow, after all) I met Dick and Greg Aldrich (DEQ’s legislative liaison) at the Capitol for a day that was to be both informative and inspiring.
Greg and I started the day with a short tour of the Capitol building, a summary of the political process here in Oregon (I am new to Oregon), and what his job involved. While I probably only scratched the surface with a one-day visit, my impression was that Greg is a very busy man while the legislature is in session. He reviews all submitted bills for potential relevance to DEQ’s work, tracks bills we’re supporting, maintains contacts with representatives, senators and their staff, coordinates Dick’s schedule while at the Capitol and much, much more.
We met Dick in the Capitol building lobby while Obama was giving his inaugural speech in Washington. The energy was palpable, which foreshadowed the day to come. I try to maintain an open mind in all that I do, but my expectation of the day was that the budget would dominate all discussions, which turned out to be true. While I am not informed enough to give a budget update, I will say that there are some fundamental rules of addition and subtraction (revenue and expenditures) that are driving a frenzy of activity as we near the end of the biennium.
For the remainder of the morning, Dick, Greg and their shadow met with the legislators whose positions on our Bills or seats on committees have potentially deciding voices. Dick’s approach to lobbying would not meet the definition of lobbying (a group of supporters and representatives of particular interests who try to influence political policy on a particular issue) as I did not hear him offer opinion, but rather witnessed him embrace his role as a public servant, providing information about DEQ, inviting and responding to questions, and offering his assistance − whenever needed − to raise awareness of DEQ and our work around the state.
At first I was surprised by the absence of positions in Dick’s approach. But as I noticed him solicit positive responses regardless of an individual legislator’s position on this or that bill, I realized the merits of this more subtle approach: to raise awareness of DEQ’s important role in the state’s essential functions, without exposing personal or political divisions on specific issues. Single-issue politics have dominated our political climate for years and it is easy to fall back on a divisive issue. Avoiding this pitfall, while navigating through the complex field of issues that need consideration is not easy but is essential when extolling the work of a large organization such as ours.
Dick and I had lunch together in a basement cafeteria. Some things that struck from our more candid conversation while eating was his genuine enthusiasm for his job: “...One could approach this job as if it were just any job. Go into the office, sit at the computer, field calls… or you could embrace the leadership, variety, and potential that it offers.”
We discussed the strong political wind generated from the about-face at the federal level and the irony of the financial constraints that have emerged to challenge this new political will. We discussed the concept of ecosystem services and how ascribing tangible value to their essential role as the foundation of our economy may provide incentive, where lacking, for effective environmental stewardship. I enjoyed our conversation and was given the impression that Dick enjoys (as do I) engaging in discussion that explores options for improving our relationship with the environment and increasing the efficacy of our work.
For the first part of the afternoon, I accompanied Greg to an Environment and Water Committee hearing on the proposed gray water reuse bill. I was surprised and reassured by how quickly the panel dove into the intricacies of outdoor gray water reuse without fumbling with basic concepts. One theme that emerged here and throughout the day was that current budgetary realities (and perceptions) present serious obstacles to any Bill that proposes new expenditures. Personally, it irks me to think that we would abandon a project that has modest upfront cost and the potential for a fast and exponential return on investment. But for those of us who track the progress of sustainability initiatives, unfortunately, this phenomenon is old news (I am reminded of the evolution of the new Eugene State Office Building project and the shedding of nearly all the green features as budgets tighten).
The budget loomed large in the Economic Revitalization Team (ERT) meeting with the Governor. I snuck in halfway into the meeting, which was populated by agency heads and regional ERT representatives. Dick maintained the positivism I had noticed throughout the day even when presented with some gloomy words from the Governor. In fact, I was surprised by the “take-home-message” he relayed to me afterwards, which was that ERT is being charged to “think outside the box,” something Dick admittedly loves to do. Many would be depressed (and some in the meeting appeared to be) by the budgetary realities they are faced with. While Dick, not discounting the significant challenge, focused on the opportunity the scenario presented. I think this tendency will serve him (and us) well in the coming months.
On my way back to Eugene I had some time to ponder the day. I couldn’t help but think of the similarities between Dick’s work at the Capitol and memories of my potato-farmer grandfather in eastern Washington. Farmer Dick is cultivating political soil in a sometimes harsh environment, planting seeds whose crops will only come to fruition if carefully tended to. Just like Farmer Mauri Balcom, Farmer Dick Pedersen has to respond to the changing climate with tact and precision to weather the storm in Salem.
