One of the most important races on the ballot this year is the one for Metro Council President. Metro is the regional government that plays a key role in determining land use issues, managing growth and maintaining open spaces. We often see Metro candidates who are pushing an anti-land use, growth-at-all-costs agenda. For once, we have three top-notch candidates for Metro President and can choose the best one, rather than a lesser of evils.
My vote is going to go to Rex Burkholder . Rex has been my Metro Councilor and I’ve been impressed with his ability to create an agenda, gather support and get that agenda through. And he knows that issues don’t just affect his North and Northeast Portland district. Metro stretches across the entire region of Washington, Multnomah and Clackamas counties. That’s a diverse area with wildly different perspectives and interests. When Rex was elected to Metro in 2000, frankly the agency was not well-respected. But that’s changed and Rex has been at the forefront of that change, supporting current Metro President David Bragdon. I believe Rex is the candidate that can ensure that Metro truly represents the entire region by crafting strong policy that has a broad-base of support.
Another key issue that has impressed me in listening to Rex is his knowledge of the details, whether about policy or running the agency. Rex not only has a vision of sound land use policy, he has the nuts-and-bolts knowledge to implement the policy in a way that makes sense. Rex will be able to hit the ground running to actually administer the agency, protect its workers, and make sure that its wide-ranging responsibilities are well-managed.
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