(Photo courtesy Watzig.com)
Meet Gerhard Watzig, a 50-year Portland resident, local flower shop owner, and son of a Washington turkey farmer.
Yesterday Mr. Watzig threw his hat in the ring to go up against City Commissioner Sam Adams in a bid to be Portland’s next mayor.
His announcement and his take on the issues has already caught the eye of the Portland Mercury and the Portland Business Journal.
On his website and at least one past comment left on Adams’ blog, Watzig makes it clear that he has a very different vision for Portland’s future than Adams, who remains the front runner.
Of particular significance is Watzig’s position on the role of bikes in our city’s transportation system. Here’s what he wrote in a comment on a post about the bike-sharing plans on Adams’ blog back in March:
“…you pander to the bicycle constituency as if they were a significant portion of the transportation system in this city. As much as the city exaggerates the bicycle commute numbers – it really doesn’t make it a fact. I am sick and tired of paying so much attention to so few.”
On his official campaign website, Watzig says he is “an advocate of bicycle commuting” and that he “supports bicycle boulevards and traffic mechanisms to improve safety”. But then, he calls for a “trade-off”:
“There are some major thoroughfares in the city that currently are just not conducive to bicycling safely. Bicycles need to be excluded from those streets.”
“My opponent proposed that an extra 24 million dollars be earmarked for bicycle path improvements. I propose the funds be instead funneled into a comprehensive program to facilitate the eradication of homelessness.”
–from Watzig.com
He even weighs in on a bicycle-related law, saying that the “passing on the right law” that was passed at the “behest of the bicycle community” is similar to “exiting a freeway from the center lane”. He says passing on the right has “led to some fatalities recently”, and that, “At intersections both vehicles and bicycles need to share lanes equally for right turns.”
He goes on to say that “bicycle advocates are over represented in city hall” and questions the accuracy of the bicycle trip counts done by the city.
Based on that, he writes that “Bicyclists need to share more responsibility for revenues toward their infrastructure. I propose bicycle licensing for all riders 18 years and above.”
It will be interesting to see what the media and Portlanders think about Watzig’s candidacy and ideas. Will the local media decide to focus on his not-so-bike-friendly (and somewhat misinformed) positions? Will he gain traction with a large number of Portlanders who don’t agree with the direction for bikes that Adams and PDOT have been pushing towards?
The Portland Mercury’s news editor Amy Ruiz wrote that Watzig, “…could present an interesting challenge” and that his positions “should make for some very interesting debates with Adams.”
If/when Adams and Watzig have a debate, I’ll be in the front row.