KEYNOTE PRESENTATION

Maintenance Is Not Sexy — But It’s Mission-Critical: Why It Loses, What Legislators Hear, and How We Fix the System

Tuesday, April 14
1:15 pm
Pacific Room

Public infrastructure rarely fails because of a lack of engineering expertise. It fails because maintenance competes in a political and budget environment that rewards visibility over preservation. In short, maintenance loses—not because it is unimportant, but because it is structurally disadvantaged.

In this keynote, Representative Cyrus Javadi examines why governments chronically underfund maintenance and what that costs taxpayers over time. He explores deferred maintenance as a budgeting pattern, the political incentives that favor new construction over preservation, and how bonding can shift financial risk into the future rather than resolve long-term funding gaps.

Drawing from his experience in the Oregon Legislature and his background in accounting and small business, Javadi will also explain what actually moves legislative decision-making. What kind of data resonates? How can field conditions be translated into risk statements that survive committee hearings? How can lifecycle costs compete with ribbon cuttings?

The session concludes with a forward-looking discussion of what a rational maintenance-first system might look like—one that aligns incentives, protects long-term assets, and builds public trust.

This presentation is not technical. It is systemic, practical, and designed to help bridge maintenance professionals better navigate the policy environment their work depends on.

2025 Keynote Speaker:

Cyrus Javadi
Oregon State Representative HD32

Cyrus Javadi serves as an Oregon State Representative for House District 32, representing communities along Oregon’s North Coast. In addition to his legislative work, he is a practicing dentist and small business owner.

With a background in accounting and economics, Javadi brings a systems-oriented perspective to public policy. His legislative focus has included transportation funding, healthcare reimbursement, rural infrastructure stability, and fiscal accountability. He has written extensively on the structural challenges facing Oregon’s transportation system, including deferred maintenance, bonding practices, and long-term sustainability of infrastructure funding.

Javadi approaches infrastructure policy through the lens of incentives, lifecycle costs, and public trust. He has worked across party lines to examine how budgeting practices influence maintenance outcomes and how legislators can better align long-term asset management with short-term fiscal realities.

He lives on the North Coast with his family and remains actively engaged in both his professional practice and public service.