Too often people complain about the divisiveness of today's politics when, in truth, the majority of the issues addressed in our legislative process — both in Salem and Washington, D.C — are neither divisive nor partisan. Today, we want to highlight one such issue: restoring fairness to the state’s annexation laws so we can retain and attract jobs.

As members of opposing political parties, we share a unique perspective. We think Republicans and Democrats should unite when it comes to creating a positive environment for Oregon businesses and protecting the rights of citizens from unfair government decision-making. Specifically, we are concerned about the impact on our state’s business environment if the Nike World Headquarters is forced into the city of Beaverton without Nike’s consent. Regrettably, the actions by Beaverton officials have laid the groundwork to do just that to Nike and thousands of other county residents.

Why does this matter? Because Nike is an economic engine for our state and is a valued and responsible corporate citizen. As Oregon’s only Fortune 500 company, Nike is a homegrown operation that employs more than 6,100 people in Washington County alone, pays more than $1.5 million in property taxes to Beaverton schools and has a $2 billion impact on our state economy.

In the past few years, while state employment has stagnated, Nike’s Oregon employment has grown by about 14 percent. Without Nike, Portland wouldn’t have nonstop airline service to Europe or Asia and we wouldn’t have nonstop air cargo service to Japan, South Korea and China. Hundreds of community and charitable organizations across the state would be without a remarkable source of financial and volunteer generosity.

Nike has plans for new buildings on its headquarters campus to accommodate current and future growth, including two new office buildings and another child-care facility. In other words, Nike wants to continue growing here in Oregon.

Unfortunately, recent dramatic changes in the city of Beaverton’s annexation policies jeopardize Nike’s ability to expand by creating uncertainty in planning for the future. Already, Nike has been forced to place a moratorium on investment and other property transactions near its headquarters campus, including the sale of a 50-acre parcel to a leading heath-care provider. All businesses, large and small, need certainty in government regulations to plan effectively for future growth.

Even more disturbing is the unfair way Beaverton officials have gone about this annexation process. Over the past few years, Beaverton has annexed streets and other public lands without notifying adjacent land owners, thereby creating fictitious “islands” — property entirely surrounded by land within the city — that allow the city, under current state law, to annex these properties without the owners’ consent. These unfair forced annexations violate the spirit of the law and create a negative climate not just for Nike, but for all businesses in the area.

We hope legislators, both Democrats and Republicans, understand that Nike and other Oregon businesses need long-term certainty to plan effectively for growth. We hope legislators are prepared to reform state annexation laws.

Lawmakers are considering legislation to clarify that Nike is protected from unfair annexation. This will allow the company to keep growing here in Oregon, and will send a positive signal to other companies looking to expand in Oregon. Further, and perhaps most important, this legislation will protect significant employers from unfair annexation without their consent. Current law already provides certain property owners with this protection. We think it’s critical to build on this law by providing long-term certainty so Nike can continue to grow and help our economy.

Vic Atiyeh, Republican, is a former governor of Oregon. Bill Wyatt, Democrat, is executive director of the Port of Portland.