Bike Walk Vote: Nolan
Evan Manvel
Rep. Nolan at last night's event. Photo: Spencer Burton.
Just in time for National Walk to Work Day - tomorrow, April 6th - sign up here) - Bike Walk Vote PAC held its "4/4 Forward" event, introducing six key candidates to supporters, and encouraging them to get involved in the campaigns. (More on the event here.)
The most notable endorsement not previously covered on Blue Oregon is Rep. Mary Nolan, who's running for City Council. From the press release:
"[2013 will see] a change in which Commissioner to oversees both Portland’s Bureau of Transportation as well as the city’s Police Bureau. With countless critical concerns falling under the city’s management, including short term projects like North Williams, long term projects like the Bicycle Plan for 2030 and the Pedestrian Master Plan, as well as ongoing issues like collision responses and traffic safety enforcement, the constituents represented by Bike Walk Vote will pay close attention to the campaigns for City Hall throughout the 2012 election year.
Bike Walk Vote endorses Mary Nolan for City Council Position #1. “Mary Nolan is an award-winning leader in the protection of Oregon's environment and land use planning system. Mary Nolan has taken tough positions in support of green and active transportation. In the legislature she took courageous votes against highways-heavy transportation plans, and she opposes the current CRC proposal. Mary Nolan’s experience managing Portland city bureaus under then-Commissioner Earl Blumenauer makes her uniquely qualified to serve on the Council and actively manage the budgets and personnel that make this city work,” said Evan Manvel, Bike Walk Vote Co-Chair.
The endorsement was covered at BikePortland and over at the Portland Mercury.
Bike Walk Vote also endorsed Steve Novick for Portland City Council. We are particularly impressed by his understanding of the value walking and biking have in saving other people money in health care costs.
Disclaimer: I co-chair Bike Walk Vote PAC, and serve (completely separately) on the Board of the Willamette Pedestrian Coalition, which is promoting Walk to Work Day.
UPDATE: To hear the candidates yourself, meet them at the Council transportation discussion on April 11th from 7 to 9pm at Someday Lounge. Organizational sponsors: 1000 Friends of Oregon, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, Coalition for a Livable Future, OPAL, Ride Connection, Upstream Public Health and Willamette Pedestrian Coalition. To check out their responses in advance, visit here.
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1:16 p.m.
Apr 5, '12
Two staunch opponents of Democracy and the initiative system, Novick and Nolan. Courageous vote against highway transportation? You mean the one where the news articles predicted that the vote -- a break from business as usual -- probably meant she was posturing to run for a city office? The vote that had been decided by prior vote counting anyways and she likely would have made in opposite if it were close?
Why does Evan not see past the ruses? Everybody opposes the current CRC proposal and wants to downsize it, even Hales. Bike Walk Vote makes endorsements based on posturing and pandering in favor of partisan candidates run through the Democratic Party connections mill. Novick is quoted as opposing Riverkeepers in the cleanup of the Willamette River. Does that mean since we do not walk or bike in the river that bicyclists and pedestrians do not care about the quality of our fish? Fritz, Teressa, and White are all better candidates with holistic approaches to community involvement and have no inherent investment in the status quo. A small PAC that raised a few thousand at a party or two wants to endorse candidates that don't appear to bike or walk to work and basically say, yeah, it is more healthy, yippee. You were impressed by understanding that walking is healthy? What year is this, 1912? Do either of these candidates have a real plan to break us beyond seven percent cycling or will they just say follow the plan others already made without reading it? Did Novick go after Love Canal because it was just another paycheck like he went after campaign finance reform as a campaigner against it? At the Green Progressive Occupy forum Novick seemed to be completely clueless about city issues and what he would do was not clear either in vision or specifics. I will be voting for Fritz and White who understand real community involvement as I know anybody will be able to have a dialog with them where you know you are being listened to. If we are not going to get the support of direct democracy from either Novick or Nolan, how about what can be done to increase participation in politics where we know we rather than Blumenauer will be heard?
8:59 a.m.
Apr 7, '12
I like Amanda a great deal. I think she's been a decent city councilor (except IMO she's too caught up in process sometimes and unnecessarily slows things down). But as an impartial observer reading this stuff, this does nothing but make me sympathetic toward Nolan & Novick.
This comment comes across as bordering on unhinged--Novick & Nolan are "opponents of democracy"? I've known these two for awhile and closely observed their work. To label them "opponents of democracy" is flat out ridiculous, at best. Slander at worst.
This over-the-top rhetoric is not helping Fritz, I can promise you that.
1:12 p.m.
Apr 8, '12
Agreed. Lumping Nolan with Novick is an "insult" I'd happily embrace if I were in her shoes. Calling either out as anti-democratic or by implication some sort of establishment tools is pretty hilarious give their respective...you know...actual overall records.
1:31 p.m.
Apr 5, '12
Amanda Fritz is often the lone voice of sanity in otherwise chamber of insanity.
She has my vote to continue being the closest thing the city has in terms of a fiscally responsible and prudent elected official.