SALEM — After a long and stubborn recession, Oregonians are finding work. Now they need to get paid fairly for it.

That’s what John Kitzhaber told the House and Senate after he was sworn in as Oregon’s governor for a record fourth time Monday.

“Indeed, I must admit to feeling a bit disingenuous when I say economic recovery, because I am certain that this term does not have much meaning for hundreds of thousands of people in our state,” Kitzhaber said.

In his inaugural address, Kitzhaber stuck to themes that have grown familiar over the campaign and months since he was re-elected. Businesses have rebounded, but many people now working are in low-paying jobs.

“I think we can all agree that this situation is not only unfair, but that it serves to widen the disparities that divide us and makes it more difficult for us to come together as a community,” Kitzhaber said.

“Disparity is the enemy of community,” he said.

Kitzhaber took the oath of office in his familiar blue jeans and suit coat alongside his fiancee, Cylvia Hayes.

The day saw a new crop of legislators sworn in, including Rep. Knute Buehler, R-Bend. Central Oregon Republicans Mike McLane, the House Republican Leader, Rep. Gene Whisnant, of Sunriver, and Rep. John Huffman, of The Dalles, were also sworn in.

Democratic leaders in the House and Senate focused their speeches, which were made short in part to account for the University of Oregon football game, on inequality. They called for statewide and regional focus on issues that persist, such as near double-digit unemployment rates and sluggish economies in rural communities.

Democrats will control both chambers of the legislature when the full session convenes Feb. 2. The leaders walked similar paths in their remarks, calling for unity across party lines to provide economic equality for all Oregonians.

Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, gave Republicans each a toy elephant and Democrats each a toy donkey, marking the symbols of the respective parties. But he told them he was thinking twice about the gift because he’d prefer they forget parties during the session and work together.

“At least for today, maybe not be an elephant. Maybe not be a donkey, but an Oregonian,” Courtney said. “When you look at your elephant and your donkey this session, let us not think about how they are different, let us think about how they are alike.”

House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, who was sworn in unanimously to her position for the second consecutive term, focused on those issues during a brief speech in the House chambers.

“Rep. Mike McLane from Powell Butte is inspired to find ways to help families in poverty. And he brings those concerns to the Capitol every day,” Kotek said, before saying Rep. Brian Clem, D-Salem, works to protect farmers and others focus on their constituents.

The remarks were a taste of what’s to come during the 2015 session.

The biggest portion of Kitzhaber’s proposed budget, taking up more than half of the $18.6 billion proposed spending, is education. Lawmakers will consider reforms to education funding and focus on early learning through all-day kindergarten and third-grade reading.

The state has other pressing needs as well, like plugging the gap of inconsistent federal transportation funding and ending a reliance on the gas tax that has grown unstable as cars grow more fuel efficient.

Raising the minimum wage, creating a statewide paid sick leave policy and creating a retirement account accessible to all workers have emerged on the list of Democratic priorities likely to arise during the session.

The inauguration ceremonies serve as a bridge from a bruising campaign season to the inevitable battles over how the Legislature will work together on those and other issues, and Kitzhaber’s speech helped pave the way.

He said Robert F. Kennedy’s presidential run and later assassination moved him to enter state politics 36 years ago as a young emergency room doctor from Roseburg.

Kennedy asked tough questions, Kitzhaber said, and even when the answers were elusive, the debate alone was enough to create progress. He asked why the state would settle for the current economy.

Employee productivity and wages in the U.S. grew nearly in tandem after World War II through 1973, Kitzhaber said. Since then, productivity has jumped 80 percent, but wages have increased just 10 percent, he said.

“Why?” he asked. “Why are one in five Oregon children still living in poverty? Why do over 30 percent of Oregon children face food insecurity on a daily basis? Why is poverty among Latinos 27 percent and poverty among African Americans, Native Americans, Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders and people with disabilities over 30 percent?”

“And most importantly, why is that acceptable to us?” Kitzhaber asked.

— Reporter: 406-589-4347,

tanderson@bendbulletin.com