Tom Forest

Tom Forest earned a high school diploma from Hillsboro High School and earned a bachelor's degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1986. Forest's career experience includes working as a software engineer.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I have a science degree in management from MIT and had a career as a software engineer. I’m also a Hillsboro High School graduate, whose family roots go 145 years deep into Oregon history (since my great-granduncle, Simon Benson, arrived in 1880) and who, living three miles up a gravel road, knows rural Oregon life.

I have relevant science, technology, and management knowledge, skills, and experience that my primary opponent and GOP incumbent both lack. Also both have day jobs, which I do not, so I have more time to focus on being a legislator.

I've been on the Banks School District Budget Committee for 15 years, chairing the committee for the last few years.

Working as a legislator, I'll use the collaborative Agile software development process that I've used for many years. It starts with talking to all the stakeholders and understanding the complete presenting problem and its underlying issues, giving everyone a chance to make sure they are heard. Next, we'll prioritize the issues, estimate the level of effort to address each aspect, and re-prioritize accordingly. We'll have daily team meetings, weekly stakeholder meetings, and continuous online updates. As your representative, I'll do my best and focus on your priorities while working with my colleagues.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Short term, let's make up for budget shortfalls caused by Federal legislation by raising tax revenue in a progressive way.

I'll start with basing corporate taxes on worldwide combined reporting, which Oregon did until 1984. For example, assume Acme had global sales of $1 billion: $800M (million) in the U.S., including $100M in Oregon. Acme's total profits: $150M, with $50M earned in the U.S. That's a 6.25% profit margin in the USA, but 15% worldwide.

Oregon currently taxes 6.6% on the first $1M and 8.17% after that. Water's edge gives $100M/$800M x $50M = $6.25M of USA profits for a $495K tax. Worldwide gives $100M/$1,000M x $150M = $15M for $1.2M. Worldwide reporting generates 2½ times more taxes.Medium term, the most important issue is funding our schools well to give our children better opportunities and make employers want to come here to hire Oregonians. I've been on the Banks School District Budget Committee for 15 years, chairing the committee for the last few years. I'd like us to fund all unfunded mandates and remove any mandates we can't fund. Better education gives the next generation more and better careers choices. Everyone needs skills and knowledge of their choosing to be healthy, happy, and successful, no matter the path they take. We the People are responsible to facilitate their wellbeing with STEAM, vocational, and technical programs.Long term, the most important issue is the environment. The urgency of daily life can be overwhelming at times. I want to make sure that we don’t ignore the long term effects of what we do. As a science geek who is into geology, physics, thermodynamics, and ecology, I enjoy the subject matter. And as a long-time wilderness hiker, I appreciate visiting places where the human footprint is light and all the other species of life in Oregon can thrive as they have for eons.

Global heating will flood every coastal city in the world in a century, unless we take action now. Let's build on HB 2021, adding a requirement in the law for utilities to retire renewable energy certificates.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I'll explore creating a process improvement committee. Process improvement was the heart of my professional career as a software engineer. There is a Continuous Improvement Advisory Committee working with the Oregon Transportation Commission. I'd like a similar committee with broader scope to examine longer-duration, multistep, and especially multi-agency processes that people and companies have to navigate.

The committee will interview representatives of each role involved in a process The committee will then collaborate with all the stakeholders to design process improvement solutions with each role in mind and recommend legislation to other committees or the legislature itself.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

The core responsibilities are to listen, empathize, and understand the needs and values of constituents - to understand the problems and issues facing them and their relative importance. It is essential to work productively with colleagues in the legislature, mindful of the governor's position, and enact legislation in line with what my constituents want.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I worked my way through college. The job I had when I graduated was as a business manager. My employer, Lincoln & Company, was a 25-person engineering company that designed controller boards for laser printers. I worked there for two years. Their biggest success was designing the controller for a popular Digital Equipment Corporation laser printer in the mid-1980s, the LN03.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Legislating skillfully - relating to other people - isn't about command and control. It's not about conceding. It's about collaboration: being curious, asking lots of questions, reflecting on the answers, being patient, and exploring underlying concerns. It's about brainstorming practical and mutually satisfactory solutions.

What was the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember?

My earliest dateable memory is from the 1962 Columbus Day storm – an extra-tropical, Category 3 strength storm that flattened many a barn and TV tower in western Oregon. I was almost four years old. I remember how cool it was to have candles at the dinner table and having Dad home from his job at Tektronix for a few days.