City Council candidate Jim Middaugh (foreground) chats up the crowd inside Roots Brewing at the BikePortland Social Hour.
Council hopeful Chris Smith is in black on the left.
(Photos © J. Maus)
Council hopeful Chris Smith is in black on the left.
(Photos © J. Maus)
Local beer, smiles, friends, bikes, and a little politics — what’s not to like?
Thanks to everyone who showed up to the Social Hour last Friday night. It was great to welcome not one, but two City Council candidates into the fray.
For those of you that didn’t make it, you missed a chance to meet two potential City Commissioners in Jim Middaugh and Chris Smith, and a brewery full of your fantastic fellow readers.
Thanks also to Roots Brewing for putting up with us.
I think we should keep the election theme going. Who should we invite for next time?
(See a few more photos of the crowd here.)
Thanks for reading.
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Thanks for putting it together Jonathan. It was quite the crowd. Dat, where can we see all that video you\’ve been taking?
I can\’t wait till J heals up so we can go back to being matching bike dorks, instead of car poolers.
How about Barack Obama for the next political guest? I bet he\’d like the extra mention in the NY Times that we\’d be bound to get. Portland cyclists are hard to say no to…
Beer, political candidates, and bikes. All stuff wet dreams are made of in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Oh, well, at least we still got Santa on a bike willing to SING NAKED 4 $1 at the St. Paddy\’s Party. Still can\’t beat that, PDX.
I hope you continue to have these once the rain dies down Jonathan, I\’m some distance away AND I\’ll conveniently be 21 by then
I scooped up a sweater that was left behind. I\’ll gladly drop it off to whomever can describe it!
Very fun, but we need more room next time.
I think the next invitees should be the opponents of Middaugh and Smith. I\’m glad there\’s so much attention on the races. I\’d hesitate to jump and back any one candidate without hearing from the competition. I know Jim Middaugh personally, and I\’m positive he\’ll be a huge bike advocate. But I also know Nick Fish well and I think he\’ll step up to the plate and be there for cyclists when needed. The real question is how the two candidates approach ALL transportation and land use issues and how that approach will translate to their interactions with other council members and whomever is mayor.
\”I think the next invitees should be the opponents of Middaugh and Smith\”
I was thinking the same thing. I\’ve met with Nick Fish and still hope/plan to do a profile on him… and I also would like to get to know more about Amanda Fritz. Her campaign manager was at the Social Hour and I know she is sensitive and knowledgeable about bike and traffic/livability issues.
Any other ideas?
If Sho Dozono\’s campaign is reading this, I\’d welcome a chance to invite Mr. Dozono to join us…
We\’ve got a lot of great candidates out there. Bike. Walk. Vote. took the time to ask them to fill out questionnaires, and the time to interview them when our decision was tough.
We\’ve made endorsements in seven races (as BikePortland\’s page two story notes), including some legislative ones as well as the City Commission and mayor races.
If you\’re really into helping other cyclists support the most pro-biking candidates, we can always use more volunteers — visit our website and e-mail us.
I wanted to come, but when I discovered it was going to be a political hand greasing, decided not too.
Hey Brot and Jonathan,
Thanks for asking about other candidates who are very pro-biking.
Please know that though I am the Deputy Campaign Manager for Amanda Fritz, I am speaking for myself and not for the campaign. I very much appreciate the Social Hours where cyclists can have a two-way dialog with candidates and build political relationships that last ofter the campaign is over.
The reason I am a non-paid full time volunteer for Amanda is because I see qualities in her that I want to be reflected in our city. As an urban cyclists I have seen her listen to other cyclists and ask very detailed questions to best understand the issues.
All I ask is for Bikeportland.org readers to look at all the candidates and ask them directly about the issues that affect your life the most. Right now is their job interview and you are the hiring manager. So please do visit their websites, call their campaign office and/or email their staff.
Most of all go to public events like this and get them comment on what and how they will address your issues when office so that after the election we can hold them to their word.
Dabby,
It\’s too bad that out of an aversion to \”political handgreasing\” you decided to not attended.
For someone who has such specific opinions about what those in office do and have done, one would think that you\’d relish the opportunity to corner the candidates and ask them the tough questions BEFORE they got in office.
Worth mentioning also is that the \”political hand greasing\” probably amounted to 10 minutes. The other 2+ hours was beer drinking and people meeting. Good times!
What I am finding is that it will be a choice between multiple candidates that I like. I think when the ballot comes I\’ll be tough with so many great people.
Tony T,
That is why I did not go.
I am a little too interested in having the right thing done, and fear I will be a lot too out spoken at such an event….
Probably more than would be welcome…..Hence I stayed home. My ability to censor myself appears to be fading with age.
At least I am able to admit to that though.
Maybe next time..