• Not-so-chummy relationship? Gov. Kate Brown didn’t make it to the Democratic Governors Association meeting in Louisiana last week because the timing conflicted with her giving the keynote speech at the Oregon Leadership Summit. Brown had asked to speak first thing on Dec. 5, so she could then fly to Louisiana for the rest of the DGA meeting. Instead, she was given a lunch-hour speaking slot.

Brown doesn’t have a particularly warm relationship with the Oregon Business Council, which organizes the Leadership Summit and other programs. She reportedly was invited and then un-invited to an OBC retreat this fall.

Much of the business community ardently opposed Ballot Measure 97 — a corporate tax increase — which Brown supported.

In her keynote speech, she challenged business interests, pointing out that both sides won at the November general election. Voters defeated Measure 97, leaving a big hole in the upcoming state budget, but also elected her over Republican Bud Pierce of Salem.

“You might think that puts a tremendous burden on me as your governor to find another way forward to fund the future of Oregon. But I’m here today to state clearly that the price of victory is responsibility – both for me and for you,” she said.

“You’ve demonstrated what you will NOT support — I need to know what you CAN support. What you WILL support. …”

“Make no mistake,” she went on to say, “I will lead but, I can’t do this alone.”

• Paying for new roads and bridges and…: Legislators across the political spectrum agree that Oregon must invest more in its streets, roads and bridges, as well as its bikeways, pedestrian paths, transit systems and ports. But during discussions at the Oregon Capitol this week, there was no consensus on whether the investment should be in the hundreds of millions of dollars or in the billions.

The top priority: maintaining and preserving existing infrastructure.

• Flakey mess in the capital: Wednesday’s snowstorm turned Salem and much of the Willamette Valley into a travel nightmare.

It’s a safe bet that many Willamette Valley motorists wished they had studded tires, which are more common in Eastern and Southern Oregon. The Oregon Department of Transportation discourages use of studded tires, and some urban lawmakers have tried repeatedly to ban them.

ODOT estimates that studded tires cause $8.5 million in road damage each year, because the pavement does not last as long and the ruts can create dangerous driving conditions.

• Be on the tax-tsunami alert: Look for “tax tsunami” to be a buzzword for Oregon’s Republican senators in the 2017 Legislature.

This week, the senators re-elected Sen. Ted Ferrioli of John Day as their leader, and they immediately noted that the majority Democrats have proposed more than a dozen tax increases.

Said Ferrioli: “Senate Republicans will do everything we can to protect [Oregonians] from this tax tsunami. … Oregon taxpayers should ‘duck and cover.'”

• Trading on the economy: An estimated one-in -ive Oregon jobs revolves around trade — often good-paying jobs. Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden’s economic pitch, as he capsuled it at the Oregon Leadership Summit last week, is: “Let’s grow it in Oregon. Let’s make it in Oregon. Let’s add volume to it in Oregon. Let’s ship it somewhere.”

China is Oregon’s top trading partner, as Sen. Chip Shields, D-Eugene, and state Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, emphasized when they welcomed the Chinese deputy counsel general from San Francisco to the state Senate floor on Wednesday.

Oregon’s exports to China increased 13 percent last year from the previous year. Canada is the No. 2 customer, but with half as much Oregon business as China. The rest of the top 25 are 3, Malaysia; 4, Japan; 5, South Korea; 6, Taiwan; 7, Vietnam; 8, Australia; 9, Singapore; 10, Hong Kong; 11, Mexico; 12, United Kingdom; 13, Germany; 14, The Netherlands; 15, Ireland; 16, Brazil; 17, The Philippines; 18, United Arab Emirates; 19, Israel; 20, Switzerland; 21, Thailand; 22, France; 23, Italy; 24, Belgium; and 25, India.

• Exit lines: During Legislative Days this week, the state House and Senate feted their retiring members. Rep. Wayne Krieger, R-Gold Beach, and his wife and legislative assistant, Colleen, were praised for reading every piece of legislation, a rarity among lawmakers. He also was known for organizing dinners so Republican and Democratic lawmakers could get to know one another.

Departing Rep. Gail Whitsett, R-Klamath Falls, is the only woman ever elected to the Legislature from Klamath County. So said her proud husband, Sen. Doug Whitsett, who also is retiring. He individually thanked each senator, noting that Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose, is so well-connected that she undoubtedly has two-thirds of her constituents on speed-dial.

Sen. Rod Monroe, D-Portland, gave the invocation for Wednesday’s Senate session. “Remember that we are servants of the people more than leaders,” he prayed.

Dick Hughes has been covering the Oregon political scene since 1976. Contact him at TheHughesisms@Gmail.com.