For mayor, an environmental champion: Eileen Brady

By Sen. Jackie Dingfelder and Rep. Jules Bailey of Portland, Oregon.

On this 42nd Earth Day, we celebrate the beauty and bounty that nature provides us - and consider how to protect the air we breathe, the water we drink, and all the things that make our city and our state a great place to live. In Portland, that abundance is especially visible, from the majesty of Mt. Hood to the serenity of Forest Park. We are fortunate to live surrounded by such an incredible range of wilderness and to have some of the cleanest drinking water in the nation.

Today we are writing to urge you to support the one environmental champion in the Mayor's race - Eileen Brady.

This past fall, we were named Environmental Champion of the Year and Environmental Innovator of the Year by the Oregon League of Conservation Voters. In the Oregon Legislature, we are the Chairs of the Senate and House Environment Committees - on the front line of the fight to protect the environment in Oregon. We support Eileen Brady because we know that she will join us every single day to promote environmental protection and build a sustainable, clean economy.

As we lead the environmental fight in Salem, we need a Mayor of Portland that will be a strong partner. That leader is Eileen Brady.

Eileen has shown strong leadership on the environment, climate change, and sustainability throughout her life and career.

Eileen has been an environmental activist for 25 years - demonstrating working models for more a sustainable, green economy. From her early anti-nuclear activism to her leadership in the natural food business, Eileen has lived sustainability, and practiced it in her daily life. She has taken leadership in building many landmark environmental programs in our city, such as Zenger Farm, Ecotrust, and the Chinook Book. Some believe in the old myth that protecting the environment is at odds with economic growth and job creation. Eileen's accomplishments are proof that they, in fact, go hand in hand.

Eileen is the ONLY candidate in the Mayor's race to offer a specific plan for protecting our environment. As Mayor, Eileen will:

Eileen has our support because we've seen the positive impact she's already achieved through her leadership. Please join her grassroots, people-powered campaign. Eileen has nearly 2000 donors - an extraordinary accomplishment for a first-time candidate.

On this Earth Day, let's pledge to work together for a clean, healthy environment and to elect Eileen Brady, our next environmental champion.

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          Ross, I don't understand your argument.

          On the one hand, you say that the bridge won't reduce congestion.

          On the other, you say that the bridge will just encourage more people to commute from Clark County.

          Seems to me that the only way it encourages more people to commute from Clark County is if it reduces congestion. If the congestion is the same as it ever was, how would it impact where people want to live?

          You may be right about one or the other, but I don't think it can be both.

          (And for what it's worth, I still think this is much ado about nothing -- there ain't going to be any money for this.)

          Full disclosure: My firm built Eileen Brady's campaign website. I speak only for myself.

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            I see Kari supports Jefferson's position: where's the money coming from?

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            Kari -

            They not only are not in conflict, they are mutually the same. There will more people commuting, they will all end up sitting on the bridge and there will be the same congestion. This has been the universal pattern of suburban road development.

            To use an analogy. Lets say you have a supermarket check out and once it reaches 10 people waiting, customers just leave instead of waiting. So you open a second check out. Customers still leave when both lines reach 10 people. But there are now 20 people waiting in line, instead of 10.

            With congestion that latent demand is almost always there. If its not there immediately, it will soon be created.

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          Oh, yes, disclaimers: I've done some paid work on the CRC mega-highway issue. I served as the Legislative Affairs Director for OLCV for a couple years. I speak only for myself.

          Finally, I think Jefferson's position on the CRC is very far from how you portray it.

          Among other things, he asks: is this our highest priority and best use of limited resources? and, Is the money actually there to build it? Two central questions that the mega-project has never answered.

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          I personally trust the abilities, focus and record of Charlie Hales. Jefferson is good non profit leadership material but the environment, and our City need a proven leader who has navigated the complex city silos and produced winning successes for the environment.

          I saw what Charlie was able to do in his decade leading on the environment and balancing that with our economic needs. The Willy Week was on the money about painting the urgent need for a proven leader in these times.

          I look forward to the results after the primary. That said, as a 20 year plus Environmental Law Enforcement professional, I'm for HALES. Looking forward to watching the results with you Evan. :)

          HALES YEA!!!!!

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        Almost always, the most environmentally favorable thing is to re-use, not to build new. That aside I don't think the CRC does much for any of your priorities. We for sure need a better way to move freight, but that doesnt mean new freeway How about if people just commute less by living near where they work?

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      Eileen Brady has been known to many people as a persistent and plain-spoken advocate for the environment.,

      Throughout the years she has campaigned for good water quality and good development practices along the banks of the creeks and the Willamette River. She promoted sound growth management as a Ecotrust VP county commissioner and as a representative to the regional sustainability council.

      Over the years Eileen Brady has been a staunch friend to Sierra Club,Ecotrust and other Environmental issues in the NW assisting us in our endeavors and offering her home for benefit fundraisers. Her decades of work for the environment make her a real champion to us.

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      I agree 110%

      As an actual career Environmental professional I have little trust in anything other then clear corporate "GREENWASHING" from Brady. Almost every environmentalist I respect has offered public and or private support for Hales and Jeff.

      Sustainability and marketing Chinook Books and New Seasons products is not the key to protecting the environment. Protecting the actual environment through saving open spaces, reducing transportation related pollution, and especially through environmental enforcement is what progressive Portlanders need. I am happy the Willy Week and the Oregon have now both Endorsed CHARLIE HALES , not corporate Greenwasher / Portland Business Alliance favorite Brady.

      HALES YEA

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    Jules & Jackie, thanks for speaking up. thanks for letting Portland know where you stand on who you think should be your next mayor. your credibility will go a long ways in helping undecideds what the right choice is.

    (disclaimer: i work part-time for the Brady campaign. and when i say, "i'd vote for her anyway", i'm speaking only for myself.)

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      I respect the position of those who oppose the CRC. I don't think it will be an "environmental catastrophe", however, because I think it's largely a fictional idea.

      But curious about the implicit message in your comment that the CRC is the only environmental issue that matters in the Mayor's race.

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          Evan, perhaps you haven't been paying attention to the very real problems created by the city mandating composting. And by that, I don't mean the problems of the end "user" -- the dumpsites, but the problem created when you tell citizens to do something and they refuse. As I understand it, a good amount of the green bins are full of non-compostable material.
          All of which is why the compositing program should have been rolled out as a voluntary measure, so that those of us who are dedicated to complying can reap the benefits for our community (perhaps incentivized?).

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            The composting program is voluntary - have you seen anyone penalized for not composting? Is that anywhere in the code?

            It sounds like a conservative conspiracy theory to frame it as other than voluntary (or polled talking point, as another Brady supporter talked about it that way recently).

            When you use such vague measurements as "a good amount" I don't have much to respond to. I'm well aware that programs take time to settle in, and our recycling program still has non-recyclables in it, etc. Learning new habits can take some time.

            For now, our landfills are benefiting from a lot less non-trash being added to them.

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          As for campaign contributions, I agree that it doesn't look like Eileen Brady has a lot of non-local Harvard Law School grads donating to her campaign.

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        Considering the magnitude of the issue and the difference in candidate's positions, functionally, it's the primary environmental issue in the race.

        Hopefully it is a fiction - if by that you mean it won't really get built because the design is bad and the money's not there - all the more reason your candidate shouldn't support it.

        In the unfortunate event the bridge does get built, it absolutely will be an environmental tragedy - investing $4-10b in a major highway system encouraging suburban sprawl is not a future worthy transportation investment. Further, projections don't show it'll cut commute time much, and in all likelihood will result in more pollution for the neighborhoods I-5 runs through.

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          The issue is big, but the difference in the candidates' positions are smaller than advertised, and the power of the next mayor to do anything about it is very small.

          This is an issue that will largely be resolved between the Governors who run the DOTs, and the members of Congress and state legislators who will fund it.

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