Nolan and Novick Win "Bike, Walk, Vote" Endorsement

Portland Mercury:

Endorsement season is definitely upon us. Bike, Walk, Vote—the alternative transportation PAC—has rounded out its slate of preferred Portland City Council candidates, announcing endorsements last night for Mary Nolan, looking to unseat Commissioner Amanda Fritz, and Steve Novick, looking to replace the retiring Randy Leonard. Previously, the group had endorsed Jefferson Smith for mayor. But unlike with the Smith endorsement, which saw the group spend some time explaining how close Eileen Brady came to getting the nod, Fritz enjoyed no such tribute. Nolan, whose questionnaire (PDF) was attached to the PAC's statement, received high marks from Bike, Walk, Vote co-chair Evan Manvel. (Manvel later sent me Fritz's questionnaire (PDF), for comparison's sake.) 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 tough votes against highway-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. Novick's laudation (here's his questionnaire (PDF)) came from Peter Welte, the group's other co-chair: Steve Novick has been a champion of public health for decades, first as a federal attorney forcing big polluters to pay in the famous Love Canal case in New York, and now as a health insurance reformer working to increase access for those in need and cut costs for all of us. Steve deeply understands the intersection of community health with healthy transportation & land use planning, and will make an excellent addition to our city council. The group also endorsed three candidates for Metro: Bob Stacey, Craig Dirksen, and Sam Chase. [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

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