Cannon To Serve As Oregon Governor's Education Policy Advisor

Glenn Vaagen:

Governor John Kitzhaber announced Tuesday that Representative Ben Cannon will join his staff as Education Policy Advisor. Representative Cannon, currently a state Representative for Portland, teaches middle school Humanities.

"Ben's passion and expertise on education policy will be a great asset to my office and the state," said Kitzhaber. "He'll bring the same dedication he has shown his constituents to implementing an education improvement agenda to ensure better results for Oregon students, more resources for teachers, and a more prosperous future."

"Serving as state Representative has been the highest honor I have ever held, and this was an incredibly difficult decision for me," Cannon said. "But I am convinced that to advise the Governor on education policy represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a difference on the same issues that drew me to teaching and politics in the first place. The achievements of the Governor and the Legislature this year have created a rare window of opportunity to make important improvements to the Oregon's public education system."

Oregon Rep. Ben Cannon, D-Portland, is resigning from the Legislature to become Gov. John Kitzhaber's top education adviser.

Cannon, a Democrat now in his third term in the House, will replace Nancy Golden, a temporary hire who has returned to her position as superintendent of the Springfield School District this summer.

His resignation is effective Sept. 1. He starts his new position Sept. 6

"It was a tremendously difficult decision to leave the Legislature," Cannon said by phone Tuesday, "but I have the opportunity now to continue to serve the people of Oregon and this governor on an issue that matters so much to me as a teacher, and to me as a father."

Posted by Jim Zellmer at August 18, 2011 3:38 AM
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