Oregon’s new governor, Tina Kotek, faces an array of challenges but the news that one of her first actions as the state’s top lawmaker was to sign an executive order to set a goal of building 36,000 new homes per year was a hopeful sign for the future.

Hope, though, isn’t a method, and the proverbial proof will be in the pudding regarding whether the housing plan succeeds.

We agree with the governor’s statement that building more housing is important to create healthier and safer communities and we are also gratified to know she declared a state of emergency regarding the state’s homeless problem her first day in office.

As the newly-elected Democratic governor, Kotek realistically can’t count on much support from Eastern Oregon. That reality should be placed on the table and recognized, if only so the state can move forward with important work that needs to be completed.

In the current political climate, no Democratic governor will be popular in most of rural Oregon.

Yet we, as a state, face serious challenges. Those challenges can’t be overcome without a unity of purpose. Waving the bloody political shirt is fine during an election cycle, but once the voting is complete it is vital that lawmakers — and voters — find a degree of unity to solve our shared problems.

And homelessness is a shared problem. Few counties in the state can claim they do not have some type of homeless issue.

The governor said she also will ask the Legislature to approve a $130 million spending package to increase shelter space for homeless Oregonians. Lawmakers should approve the spending package as soon as possible.

The governor is new to the job and as such deserves an opportunity to show what she can do. No doubt, the jury is out regarding if she will, or can, help rural Oregon and counties in the eastern part of the state.

Yet before those in our region give her a shrug of the shoulders and state “She’s Kate Brown 2.0,” we need to see what, exactly, she provides for Eastern Oregon.

That should not mean the governor be granted a free pass for a lengthy period of time. There are serious issues — water availability, poverty, economic development — that haunt Eastern Oregon and we need her help to overcome these challenges.

We hope the new governor implements a specific blueprint to help rural and Eastern Oregon.

But we shall wait and see.