Meet Rose Cook

Dear Fellow Oregonians,

I’m excited about the prospects of becoming the District 16 Representative in the Oregon House!  I love Oregon and have lived here all my life.  I grew up in Toledo, but after my husband Tom and I were married, we made our home in the Corvallis/Philomath area.  We’ve been married for 33 years and are blessed with three children:  our son Kendall and wife Melanie live in Lake Oswego; daughter Nicole and husband Chris Scariano are in North Albany; and son Matt and his wife Jesse live in Philomath.  Together, they have given us four wonderful grandchildren.

After working for the Philomath School District for 17 years, I ran for the Philomath School Board, where I’ve served for seven years (the past three years as Chair).  Additionally, I serve on the Linn-Benton ESD Budget Committee and am secretary for the Board of our church.  Tom is self-employed in the logging industry (as was his father) and one of our sons has joined him in this profession.  We are proud to call ourselves “a logging family.”

Because of my experience in education and the small business sector, I can fairly represent the citizens of District 16 in the State House of Representatives.  Here are some of my most important goals:

• I’ve had a front row seat to observe the unstable school funding debacle.  Oregon’s schools and public safety must be funded FIRST, not LAST.  The Legislature must stop holding our kids and our police hostage in the budgeting process.  We must encourage our legislators to come forward with a workable plan for stable funding.
• Industry, commerce and business (large and small) are the engines that keep Oregonians employed and give us economic vitality.  These past couple of years have been terrible for business, and about 130,000  Oregon businesses either closed or left the state.  My goal will be to grow jobs in Oregon, to keep Oregonians in Oregon!
• Every dollar in the state treasury is available only because of another individual’s hard work.  Waste of taxpayers’ hard earned dollars is unacceptable!  I will join other Oregon legislators in prioritizing spending and balancing Oregon’s budget.
• Government should encourage – not discourage – personal responsibility.  Many of our government-funded programs today are teaching us that government can take care of us in areas where we can do it ourselves.  I want Oregon to encourage self-reliance, but for those who find themselves incapacitated or unemployed without job prospects in or out of Oregon, I will stand by them to help them through this tough time.
• You have the right to expect a safe place to live, to build your life and raise your kids.  That’s important to me and my family, too.  I’ll do my best to see that you have that security.

It’s primarily for these reasons that I accepted the encouragement of my family, friends and colleagues to run for the privilege of representing you in the Oregon legislature.  I hope you’ll become one of my supporters.
I promise to be an honest and moral Representative.
You can depend on that.

Sincerely,
Rose