Metro: Who should you vote for? Bike Walk Vote says it ought to be these guys.
Carla Axtman
Yesterday, the active transportation advocates at Bike Walk Vote endorsed Dick Schouten for Washington County Commission. Today, they're tackling Metro.
The group has endorsed Bob Stacey for District 6, Sam Chase for District 5 and Craig Dirksen for District 3.
My favorite in this group is Bob Stacey, who most recently ran for Metro Chair. Stacey is a long time advocate for smart land use and transportation planning. Metro is in dire need of a strong voice on the council in this area to balance the onslaught of land use crazy coming from Washington County. Stacey should fit this nicely.
Read Stacey's Bike Walk Vote questionnaire here..
Sam Chase is running to fill the seat being vacated by Rex Burkholder. Chase, like Stacey, is endorsed by the Oregon League of Conservation Voters and should be a solid, progressive voice on the council, should he win. I've heard a lot of good things about Chase, but he hasn't held public office before. It will be important for Chase to be another voice for good land use and transportation. I'll be watching him closely, should he prevail.
Read Chase's Bike Walk Vote questionnaire here.
Craig Dirksen is the former mayor of Tigard and from most accounts I've heard, more conservative than the other two. He's expressed agreement with some of the stuff that Hillsboro has been wanting in terms of asking for more land to be brought in to the Urban Growth Boundary, so I'm personally skeptical. On the other hand, he's clearly open to hearing concerns and working with land use & transportation advocates or he wouldn't be getting endorsements. Fingers crossed, I guess.
Read Dirksen's Bike Walk Vote questionnaire here.
Bike Walk Vote is holding a candidate's endorsement party tonight from 7:00p.m. - 9:00p.m. at Crank Bicycles on SE 27th and Ash in Portland. All of their endorsed candidates will be there, so it's a good chance to ask questions and get to know them.
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1:51 p.m.
Apr 5, '12
I railed on Bike Walk Vote for their City Council endorsements earlier today, but I wanted to note not all of their endorsements suck. I donated to Stacey's campaign and Chase doesn't look bad.
But Dirksen I don't get. According to the questionnaire response, he wants to replace the gas tax completely with a Vehicle Mileage Tax. Carbon-specific taxes are absolutely crucial to funding alternatives to oxidizing carbon. A VMT along with a gas tax may make sense, but to completely replace it doesn't make any sense to me.