Key players tackle critical issues - Portland Business Journal:

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Portland will elect a new mayor, who will have to deal with a bickeringgCity Council. The state will begin tackling complicatedtransportation initiatives. Both and state universities will come undertheightened scrutiny. Several private companiews faceserious challenges, including , whichb may not survive a hostile takeovetr attempt. The following 20 people -- whichg includes the as one entity -- will play an importan t role in Oregon's economyh next year. Some are prominent names. Others have kept a low All should make newsin 2008.
Like her predecessor Vicki Phillips, Carole Smith inherited a host of challengess and the probable task of asking Portland Publicd Schools voters to increases theirtax bills. In October, the Portlandr School Board tapped the longtim administrator to leadthe 47,000-studengt district, which has 4,150 employees and an annual operating budget of about $440 million. Smith, whosre background is weightedtoward academics, said her firsty year will focus on the quality of instruction and the conditiob of the district's 85-plus buildings. Last year, the district rolled out its firsg wholesale curriculum overhaul in a decade and that will continue this year.
But Smith can expecr to spend much of her first year focusinfg on theliteral nuts-and-bolts of the district. Only two schoolss have been constructed in the past 20 Most were built in the 1920s and 1950s. In January, the consultant s from Magellan and DeJong will presentt their findings and recommendations in a series of publicf sessions being held in everhy quadrant ofthe city. The schoolo board is set to adopt a finalp facilities planby May. The price tag will easily top $1 Meeting times are on the districtWeb site, . "It'z important for people to show up for Smith said. In addressinv the Oregon Business Plan summit earlierthis month, Gov.
Ted Kulongoski revealed that he'd appointed Gail Achterman as chairwomanj of the OregonTransportation Commission. one attendee sitting at a back table whisperedto another. "He's gettinf serious." Indeed, Kulongoski wants badly to reachseveral big-time transportation goals. Chie f among them is a new Interstate 5 He believes Achterman can find federak funds to make it Her tenure asthe commission'xs leader comes as Kulongoski and other lawmakerws have become more committed to improving the way traffic flowz through Oregon. To succeed, Achterman will rely partlgy on the solid business acumen developed duringh her 20 years as a Stoel RiveLLP attorney.
Achterman also showee a sense of humor that may help her deal with her Atthe summit, she recommended that people drive