Increasing Pay Won't Improve the Legislature, According to Former Legislator of 20 Years

Mark Hass served in the Oregon legislature for two decades. Higher pay, he says, would have helped pay his bills but being a professional legislator comes at a cost.

I remember the panic attacks. They would hit me in a conference room in the Kruse Way office park where I was meeting with clients. My cell phone would start vibrating – and the screen would light up with “John Kitzhaber” or “Peter Courtney.” There was nothing I could do. I couldn’t stop my presentation and say, sorry gotta take this.

And then, there I was at the State Capitol, on the Senate Revenue Committee, when my phone would stage-whisper the name of my employer. What did he want? Did I screw something up? What was I supposed to do, call for a committee recess so I could call my boss?

This was my life for 20 years, serving in Oregon’s citizen legislature. It was a tricky juggling act, see-sawing between two jobs – one that paid the mortgage and one that I hoped would help make Oregon better.

If this sounds like an argument for a legislative pay raise to move away from the Citizen’s Legislature model – it’s not.

It’s exactly the opposite.

Even though there were days that I thought my head would explode, I believe my “real” job made me a more effective state legislator. It grounded me in the common sense that all workers understand about production goals, sales quotas, and keeping the boss happy.

The marketing firm I worked for had fewer than 20 employees, so I paid attention to small business issues in the legislature. When sick leave and family leave came up, I had relevant experience as an employee on what was reasonable – and what wasn’t.

Others at the legislature, who also held down jobs, used to joke that there should be a should be a law requiring all legislators to hold a private sector job or run business. This would expose them to the real world that working Oregonians deal with every day.

It certainly feels like Oregon works better when people who work on a farm or work in an office sit down together to solve problems. Without real world backgrounds it becomes easier to let ideology or partisanship overrule common sense.

I’ve followed the debate of a professional legislature versus a citizen’s legislature for decades. Yes, I’m sensitive to the obstacles of making public service work financially. Yes, what a relief it would have been for me personally to not have had to worry about my own budget while reviewing the state’s finances. But would the legislature be better? I don’t think so.

And what does “professional” mean? Should the legislature require college degrees? Exams?

I’m also sensitive to the argument that it’s harder for people of color to make the current system work for them. Running for (and, especially, winning) elected office is a heck of a lot easier with personal wealth and connections to wealthy individuals. Those networks tend to be whiter and older. Increasing legislator pay, though, is not going to substantially lower barriers for diverse candidates to run for office. It’s an upstream solution. All candidates would still have to take months to campaign with no pay. How would increasing legislature pay help those candidates out?

I believe the burdens and gratification of public service cuts across the spectrum, from rich to poor from upstate to downstate. Public service is not supposed to be easy, convenient, or lucrative.

The National Conference on State Legislatures says more than 20 states have some form of a citizen’s legislature. So Oregon is not an outlier. Of those states with full time, professional legislatures, like California, there’s no evidence that model works any better in terms of quality or quantity of legislation.

John Kitzhaber pulled emergency room shifts as a physician while also serving as Senate President. His experience in the ER helped shape health care policy in Oregon and voters eventually elected him governor.

There are a handful of legislators today who still work in their chosen careers in addition to legislative service. I admire them and am grateful they are willing to share their backgrounds, expertise, and perspective in the legislature.

Oregon needs more of this – not less.

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