Portland's Mayor

P

Patrick

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There are a lot of really interesting possibilities. Thoughts?
 
One possibility is a streetcar line being proposed by one of the candidates. I forget the candidates name...but if im not mistaken, he wants to run a streetcar down forest ave from woodfords corner to congress st
 
toddc said:
One possibility is a streetcar line being proposed by one of the candidates. I forget the candidates name...but if im not mistaken, he wants to run a streetcar down forest ave from woodfords corner to congress st
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That's Marshall.
 
I haven't personally picked out one or two candidates to support yet. It's hard when there are so many choices. I like Marshall in general and I like Jed Rathband's website and social media savvy, but I need more to go by. I hope they do some more debates.
 
Anybody but Jill Duson, I mean she's the worst of the worst.

Should be you Patrick. Get your campaign prepped for the next election.
 
How does Portland elect its mayor, and what power does the mayor have? I was under the impression that the mayor is relatively weak, and I thought for some reason elected by the city council. Am I wrong about either of those things? I think even with weak powers, a motivated mayor can be persuasive and important in promoting things like that streetcar line. I'd also love to hear more about that if anyone has any info.

It sounds like a much more exciting race than in Manchester, where the incumbent (who, in my opinion, lacks the vision necessary to push for a more robust urbanism) appears to be coasting to re-election), or Cambridge, where the mayor is a ceremonial post elected by the city council and all power seems to be rested in an unelected and overcompensated city manager.
 
FrankLloydMike said:
How does Portland elect its mayor, and what power does the mayor have? I was under the impression that the mayor is relatively weak, and I thought for some reason elected by the city council. Am I wrong about either of those things? I think even with weak powers, a motivated mayor can be persuasive and important in promoting things like that streetcar line. I'd also love to hear more about that if anyone has any info.

It sounds like a much more exciting race than in Manchester, where the incumbent (who, in my opinion, lacks the vision necessary to push for a more robust urbanism) appears to be coasting to re-election), or Cambridge, where the mayor is a ceremonial post elected by the city council and all power seems to be rested in an unelected and overcompensated city manager.
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You are right that is how it used to be. But, the City Charter was just amended to allow Portland residents to once again popularly elect a mayor, for the first time in almost 100 years. The problem is, it didn't go far enough in creating a strong mayor. It is a position that has, for the most part, policy persuasion because they speak for the city of Portland, who elects the position popularly and therefore gives it a mandate. Dave Marshall, one of the candidates, has told me personally he is interested in planning for a streetcar line. There isn't really information to post on this, because it is an idea not a plan. But it wouldn't be the first time someone in Portland suggested the idea...there seems to be plenty of momentum for it, but not enough key political power....maybe this will change things if he is elected.
 
I interviewed Dave Marshall a couple years ago [http://walkaroundportland.blogspot.com/2009/06/portland-profiles-david-marshall.html] and he indeed seems to be the most pro-public transportation type of candidate running. He's certainly a down-to-earth type of person who wants to see Portland thrive. I have a feeling that a large portion of voters would be very much against a streetcar line (or any public transportation improvements in general) so I would hold onto that idea until after I was in power.
 
Corey said:
I interviewed Dave Marshall a couple years ago [http://walkaroundportland.blogspot.com/2009/06/portland-profiles-david-marshall.html] and he indeed seems to be the most pro-public transportation type of candidate running. He's certainly a down-to-earth type of person who wants to see Portland thrive. I have a feeling that a large portion of voters would be very much against a streetcar line (or any public transportation improvements in general) so I would hold onto that idea until after I was in power.
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You may be right, Corey, but I hope you are wrong. I think a lot of people like Portland for its walkability, and would be more likely to support transit here than other suburbs in the area. Of course, that doesn't mean it isn't controversial, but it does mean that it is worth running on as part of a platform--pardon the semi-pun (train passenger loading platform...).

Also, the great thing is that although this position lacks real power, it is an indication of what people want. If he runs without mentioning a streetcar, he can't later say its what people want. I hope we get some sort of transit service like this, even if only around the downtown. I think Brighton ave would be the best place for it, because of its connectivity to Westbrook.
 
A recent email from the Jed Rathband campaign had an interesting segment regarding the former Adams School site on Munjoy Hill where Avesta is building 16 townhouses:

...Joined by neighborhood leaders, business owners and members of our community on Munjoy Hill, I spoke about the wasted opportunity to have more affordable housing in the city by only approving 16 housing units on nearly two acres of land on the most densly populated piece of real estate in the city. The underutilization of this valuable piece of land just underscores the poor planning process and lack of visionary leadership at City Hall.
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I'm still undecided about where my vote(s) will go, but the above quote sounds pretty positive to me.
 
Corey said:
A recent email from the Jed Rathband campaign had an interesting segment regarding the former Adams School site on Munjoy Hill where Avesta is building 16 townhouses:



I'm still undecided about where my vote(s) will go, but the above quote sounds pretty positive to me.
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Jed, Markos, they both have good ideas. But I see Marshall as the one with most power to achieve something really exciting from an urbanism standpoint -- a streetcar network around the city that will lead to increased walkability, lower parking ratios, and economic development.

Also, while I agree in general with Rathband, what about the rest of the city? Let's introduce some density in the lightest-density neighborhoods....the hill has its fair share and more units might be more feasible and make more sense elsewhere. That's the only way the city is going to grow by about 30,000 people, which is what I'd like to see (at least).

In fact, if the people hadn't fled the city in the 1950s-70s, the city wouldnt have had to chase federal dollars that paid for franklin and spring. Let's bring them back, and extend urban core of Portland to the outlying neighborhoods.
 
I just opend up my email and saw the latest email from the David Marshall campagin. The subject line of the email is simply: Are You Ready for Streetcars? The email can be read here. I got a little chuckle out of it since we had just talked about Dave and streetcars here.

Part of the email:


As Mayor Dave will work on 5 goals:


Invest in our schools to create state-of-the-art learning facilities.

Spread out our tax burden by growing our population.

Get the majority of our buildings off oil.

Use transit as an economic development tool.

Institute a 24-hour pot-hole guarantee.

Over the coming weeks he will expand on these goals in a series of videos. In the first of the series he outlines his plan for developing our economy with sustainable transportation. As Mayor Dave Marshall will invest in a modern streetcar line, upgrade our bus lines, improve infrastructure for bicyclists and pedestrians, and develop regional transportation service.
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http://www.youtube.com/user/marshalldistrict2#p/a/u/0/8c3AbmlNUHk
 
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I offer a (rare) kudos to the Press Herald for today's story about the mayoral race and public transporation.

City bus system needs fixing, say mayor hopefuls


http://www.pressherald.com/news/city-bus-system-needs-fixing-say-mayor-hopefuls_2011-10-05.html

Some of the story:

PORTLAND - Nearly every candidate at Monday night's mayoral debate at the State Theatre agreed that the city's public transportation system is broken or inadequate.

But of those who spoke on the issue, each had a very different proposal for improving the Metro bus system. Ideas ranged from high-tech upgrades to doing away with fares.
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Candidate Markos Miller said the way to improve the city's Metro system is to make ridership free. He pointed to Boulder, Colo., -- a city with many similarities to Portland -- as an example.
Free ridership would reduce revenue in the short-term, Miller said, but increasing ridership would attract more federal dollars in the long run, which is how Boulder pays for its system.
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My thoughts on the matter, as also posted on Christian's website:

I think the candidates are all right. The transit system needs to be fixed. However, I support the streetcar idea because this option will both fix the transit system and also promote economic development in the form of adding to our unique character (whereas a bus wouldn't, no matter its cost or lack thereof). In Maine, the primary industry is tourism. If we can sell an experience (historic charm) to the rest of the world, while simultaneously achieving better transit for residents, we should, in my opinion. A streetcar seems best able to do this. Moreover, the initial track line wouldn't cost $20 million, probably more along the lines of $2-$5 million (if other cities which have embarked upon this type of investment are used for comparison). Lastly, the national streetcar coalition indicates that in all cases where modern streetcars have been instituted, hundreds of millions in property development within 2-4 blocks of the line is the result. This would align perfectly with the city's current planning effort along Forest Ave, where development within this range is needed. One last thing, actually, is that Marshall, like all of the candidates, will only be a policy leader, trying to persuade the council that his idea is one worthy of examination and study, to lay the groundwork for an actual system, funding for which would need to be determined later. It has been done elsewhere, though, and should be possible here (especially since the city has already had such a system before). Moreover, the Fee in Lieu ordinance could perhaps be extended to cover the Forest Ave corridor, thereby extending the ability of the city to pay for sustainable transportation of this sort beyond the downtown.

(I should also note that I have been helping look into the matter of the financial feasibility of a streetcar line, and the evidence seems overwhelmingly positive).
 
If we can sell an experience (historic charm) to the rest of the world, while simultaneously achieving better transit for residents, we should, in my opinion.
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This is right on.
 
Does anyone think Rathband makes sense? I was just reading his ideas on economic development.,...he says "the vast majority of new jobs will be in small and medium sized businesses...."

Well, if that's what you prefer, yes, but that is not how it has to be. Portland has done a good job at attracting large scale employers before, and need not change now. Rathband also says that they can occupy pre-exisitng office space that is now unoccupied. Well, sure, this makes sense, but it is phrased in a way suggesting he is anti-development. If the space fits a use, use it. If not, then don't. Moreover, its not Portland's "build it and they will come" mentality that causes empty office space, as he writes on his website....its a global recession. Moreover, Portland's stance on development is the exact polar opposite of build it and they will come. There are cities like that, and Portland aint one of them. Who is this guy?
 
Patrick great point about this Rathband character. Portland, ME is not Portland, OR or Houston, TX when it comes prodevelopment. Sounds like Rathband belongs in some stuffy and phoney college town pontificating about globalization.
 
Absolutely! Burlington, VT? If Portland is going to act like this, at least give us a better college! And one downtown! Ha!

I couldn't believe it when he said the "build it and they will come" attitude....I wish Portland had that attitude. The exact opposite, though. "They'll come even if we sit on our hands, so that's exactly what we're gonna do..."
 
I'm still undecided about how I'll vote. Is anyone really committed to a candidate or two yet? I could use some inspiration.
 
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