 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
Biography |
 |
 |
 |
A diverse background in both government and private sector supports strong and intelligent representation with the political depth to positively influence big government on behalf of the people of Klamath Falls. ...a track record of getting things done...thousands of jobs created in Oregon... Professional Highlights Jeff worked on economic development projects in Klamath Falls from 1993-2000 after accepting a post with the Oregon Economic Development Department. At one point he was in charge of overseeing $24 million of state and federal grant projects in the central Oregon region, including many in Klamath Falls. He was called as an expert to testify at legislative hearings and participate in roundtables nationwide. In 1999, he left public service and started a consulting firm in Klamath Falls, where he became fascinated with geothermal heating options and purchased a geothermally-heated home which he lives in to this day. The economic development consulting firm Jeff established achieved immediate success and became known for its creative approach in solving infrastructure barriers to economic growth (winning national awards and recognition). The company completed successful projects for communities in Oregon, Washington, California and Nevada. Prior to 911 most local governments were interested in improving their local economies. However, 911 became an excuse for governments NOT to work on improving business climates so the market for economic development consulting dried up. Jeff then closed the consultancy and went back into real estate, eventually starting his own firm, 541 Realty. His focus on recruiting businesses and investors to Klamath Falls' industrial and commercial properties provides recent and valuable insight into the challenges investors face. These are some of the barriers that many Klamath Falls City Council members are either oblivious to or simply don't seem to care enough about to address head-on. Most recently and at great personal financial risk, Jeff published a new lifestyle magazine to better promote the Klamath area. This was a direct response to the mass media negativity that by 2008 was scaring away visitors, doctors and businesses. By focusing on the positive attributes, the summer and fall circulation of Explore Klamath magazine helped slow the economic downturn. See: www.exploreklamath.com Work History Jeff had humble beginnings, working his way up from his first job as a grocery store clerk. Then he was an auditor in a major hotel, worked on coordinating county elections, apprenticed under his father's tutelage in appraisal and became the youngest real estate agent in his area at age 21. He never looked at real estate as a career unto itself, feeling that a person needed many well-rounded experiences to be good in any field. In his college of over 10,000 students, he was elected president of the student body for two terms, managing a staff of six and a budget of over $360,000. He was chosen for a Rotary Youth Leadership Award and was nominated for Rotary's Ambassador of Goodwill Scholarship. During this time he first became active in politics in Washington State by implementing a statewide referendum. The referendum process required that students at each of the colleges in the system commit to funding the organization's permanent office in the state capitol. Jeff went on tour and convinced the students at the rest of the colleges to vote for the referendum--a total population of over 160,000 students. After completing college, he was hired to conduct computer seminars in the Portland area for a startup company, quickly earning a promotion to general manager and participated in growing the business. At its peak, the company trained 12,000 students per year in computer applications. Jeff was next hired by Rubicon International as a technology consultant. Founded by partners in Arthur Anderson, Rubicon served foreign companies and domestic Fortune 500 firms. This was Jeff's first experience in strategic planning and site selection from the viewpoint of the same corporations who review cities like Klamath Falls as sites for future operations. Toshiba, First Security, Warn Industries, and Kaiser Permanente were among the job-producing projects Jeff worked on. The experience from grass-roots projects during college days were utilized again in 1994 when Jeff jumpstarted the Oregon Telecommunications Forum. In the mid-90's it became clear to the state and communities such as Klamath Falls that new telecommunications infrastructure would be needed to meet the demands of modern businesses. The project was envisioned to create a customer-driven model for deploying telecommunications infrastructure statewide--and that is exactly what it accomplished. The Forum utilized a 68-member advisory committee to sponsor a series of facilitated meetings throughout the state. The inputs were aggregated and presented at a statewide conference. The stakeholders in the process created overwhelming pressure for the Legislature to take action. The final report led to legislation mandating an ongoing forum process. Interestingly, the Governor (who Jeff technically worked for) didn't want anything to do with the telecommunications services that were so important to rural economies. He certainly didn't care about the subject, but the process led the legislature to force his involvement. Jeff essentially forced the Governor do something he didn't want to. It proves that being skilled in building consensus combined with solid strategies can accomplish great things, even if some people who should be leading don't want to. Jeff's timing in creating the Telecommunications Forum benefited Klamath Falls in a number of ways. In sum, Jeff's work culminated in a $8 million fiber optic route from Medford that was a requirement of Sykes Enterprises, a call center initially employing 800 people in Klamath Falls that Jeff worked very hard to recruit here. Retaining Sykes also required an additional fiber optic route utilizing Jeff's new method of better managing and aggregating government rights of way as an incentive for investment. The $68 million route provided Klamath Falls with opportunities on par with any big city in southern California. Family Heritage Jeff is the sixth generation progeny of settlers that established agricultural roots in the Oregon Territory in the 1850s. His family has historically been active in building the northwest's economy and political structure, engaging in farming, dairies, and public offices. Jeff's grandfather was a boxer, then a railroad engineer with Burlington Northern before being killed by two runaway freight cars: an accident that could have been avoided with better technology in place. The Ritter family loves the outdoors and has always enjoyed hiking, hunting and fishing, which led to Jeff's appreciation for nature's beauty at a young age. As the family was for many years dependent upon agriculture and wood products, he was imparted with a sense of balance between human needs and nature. Many cousins lost their jobs with the closure of lumber and plywood mills in the late 1970s and struggled for many years to recover.. A major family line traces to the Ryan family, owners of Ryan Aircraft, the company that built the Spirit of St. Louis for Charles Lingbergh's historic non-stop solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927. Parents Gene and Janet Ritter still live on the same acreage Jeff grew up on. They have retired from their appraisal business. Gene remains an avid outdoorsman and Janet Ritter is a member of the Daughters of the Pioneers. Jeff's younger sister, Susan is an accomplished music composer and teacher. |
 
| |
