Meet the people on the City’s most powerful transportation committee

11 of the 17 members of the PBOT Bureau and Budget Advisory Committee are new this year.(Photos: PBOT)
11 of the 17 members of the PBOT Bureau and Budget Advisory Committee are new this year. Their perspectives will inform how the city spends $300 million in transportation funds and what kind of bureau PBOT becomes.
(Photos: PBOT)

Portland city government is not lacking in advisory committees. It’s the butt of frequent jokes among local insiders that once an issue gets controversial or politically difficult, the response is to just form a committee while things calm down.

Joking aside, not all committees are created equally. Their influence on policy and projects varies greatly and some have more teeth than others. Some have teeth that belong to smart and engaged citizens and agency staffers who know where to find the levers of power — and more importantly — are not afraid to pull them.

“We want to better understand the people we serve and their concerns.”
— Leah Treat, Director of PBOT

One such committee is the Bureau of Transportation’s Budget Advisory Committee. These fine volunteers meet monthly to make sure PBOT’s $300 million (give or take) annual budget is spent in the wisest way possible. In the summer of 2015 this committee gained even more influence when PBOT expanded the committee’s mission to include general bureau governance and policies, not just the budget (which was only a seasonal assignment).

The newly renamed 2016-2017 PBOT Bureau and Budget Advisory Committee now meets year-round and has 17 members — 11 of whom are rookies this year. As we continue to cover PBOT in the coming months, we figured you should know a bit more about them. Before we share brief bios, here’s the committee’s current list of key responsibilities supplied by PBOT):

1. inform PBOT’s annual transportation budget
2. review program priorities and capital project lists;
3. provide input on the strategy for incorporating equity into PBOT’s work and direction on the inclusion of communities have been traditionally underserved by PBOT; and
4. think critically and strategically about the complete transportation system and provide input that champions the success of both the whole transportation system and the City of Portland and all of its residents.

With a plate that full, you won’t find any slouches on this committe. And that’s by design, according to PBOT Director Leah Treat. “PBOT believes that smart policy and programs start with the community,” she said in a prepared statement last week, “That is why we seek a diversity of voices. We want to better understand the people we serve and their concerns.”

And with that, here are there names and bios as supplied by the City of Portland:

Arlene Kimura
An East Portland supporter/activist since 1992. Arlene initially became involved through the neighborhood system with land use planning, transportation issues, including urban trails, and environmental concerns. As East Portland has changed, Kimura has also become interested in health and economic development opportunities.

David McCune
David has been working for PBOT for the last 22 years as a surveyor, which gives him a unique view of our city’s infrastructure. He has been serving as an officer for AFSCME Local 189 for the past 8 years.

David Sweet
A resident of Cully, David Sweet focusses on projects to make his neighborhood, the city, and the region more equitable, sustainable and resilient. I have been a neighborhood advocate on land use and transportation issues for some years. A co-founder of Portland For Everyone, a coalition advocating for diverse, abundant and affordable housing in all Portland’s neighborhoods, Sweet is also active in the Central Northeast Neighbors coalition.

Elaine O’Keefe
Elaine O’Keefe worked in local government for more than two decades. Including over a decade with Portland Fire and Rescue. Currently, she is a board member of the Sellwood-Moreland Improvement League (SMILE), a member of the SMILE Transportation Committee, and a member of the Portland Pedestrian Advisory Committee.

Heather Bowman
Heather Bowman is a partner with the law firm Bodyfelt Mount where her litigation practice includes employment discrimination and professional liability defense. Bowman’s practice includes engagement in civil rights issues and other volunteer work includes examining equity issues in legal practice. She uses all forms of transportation, and particularly appreciates transportation cycling.

Heather McCarey
Heather McCarey has a master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from Georgia Tech and works with Transportation Management Associations in urban, suburban, and park settings. McCarey is currently the Executive Director of Explore Washington Park, one of the first Transportation Management Associations in the nation created to address transportation issues both to and throughout a city park.

Kaliska Day
Kaliska Day, is a native Oregonian and an Alaska Native of the Tligint/Haida Tribe. With a degree in Construction Management from Arizona State University, Day has multi-year experience in the construction management sector, including serving as a construction management consultant for various public works agencies in California and Oregon.

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Laura Becker
Currently the Operations Manager at Northeast Coalition of Neighbors, Laura Becker has more than 15 years of nonprofit and public sector experience. She is Board Secretary of Oregon Walks, a non-profit membership organization dedicated to promoting walking and making the conditions for walking safe, convenient and attractive for everyone. Oregon Walks has been working on bringing Vision Zero to the Portland metropolitan region as well as statewide since 2013.

Meesa Long
A resident of Southeast Portland, Meesa Long is a Reading Specialist in an East County Middle School and is also passionate about serving her community and neighborhood. In her work with transportation issues in Portland, Long’s main goal has been to increase safe pedestrian travel for children and families within under-served neighborhoods, and to think outside the box to create positive and equitable transportation improvements within the city.

Momoko Saunders
Momoko Saunders is an software engineer at Rigado and resident of East Portland. She is on the board of the non-profit Bike Farm, which she co-founded in 2007. Momoko is also an active volunteer for App Camp 4 Girls and Portland Society.

Orlando Lopez Bautista
The son of migrant farmworkers, Orlando Lopez Bautista worked side by side with his parents and other migrant workers during summers growing up in Woodburn. Bautista’s parents were some of the first members of Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN), helping organize other Mixteco farmworkers to improve pay and working conditions. A Bus Riders Unite organizer with Organizing People/Activating Leaders (OPAL), Bautista will soon receive an interdisciplinary degree in Political Science and Sociology from Western Oregon University.

Pia Welch
Pia Welch began her career with Flying Tigers in California which was later acquired by FedEx Express. She has since worked for FedEx for close to three decades. Welch has served as President of Portland Air Cargo Association, Board Member American Association of University Women, and member and Vice Chair of the Portland Freight Committee. She is currently the Chair of the Freight Committee. She has been involved in city projects including; The Comprehensive Plan, Airport Way Project and various sub-committee groups when topics required more in-depth study.

Ruthanne Bennett
An civil engineer with PBOT, Ruthanne Bennett represents PTE Local 17/COPPEA Chapter. She has been a union member for 20 years and a COPPEA Steward for five years. She has consistently advocated for transportation priorities, including supporting the Fix Our Streets package and the COPPEA Value Capture program. She was instrumental in creating the COPPEA Value Capture program, which is an innovative program to encourage and fund the construction of safe street infrastructure during development projects. In addition to her B.S. in Civil Engineering she has a B.S. and M.S. in Mathematics from Portland State University.

Ryan Hashagen
Ryan Hashagen is a volunteer with Better Block PDX. A Professional Tricyclist, he has founded and run several tricycle based businesses in Canada & the U.S. Hashagen won the Cargo Messenger World Championship in 2003 & 2004 in Seattle & Edmonton. He enjoys working to connect, collaborate, and facilitate tactical urbanism projects with a wide range of organizations, businesses, and agencies.

Samuel Gollah
Sam Gollah has over a decade of experience in entitlement processing, including land use and permit compliance as a public and private planner throughout the Willamette Valley. Gollah has also provided zoning and equity consulting services for the City of Portland’s Comprehensive Plan update (2035). He currently serves as a member of the City of Portland’s Transportation Expert Group (TEG).

Thomas Karwaki
Thomas Karwaki chairs the University Park Neighborhood Association, an organization with over 9,000 members and that includes the University of Portland. Karwaki coordinates land use, public safety, emergency response, communication and public relations efforts of the UPNA.

Tony Lamb
Tony is a graduate of Portland State University’s Community Development program with a focus on community empowerment, economic development and the creation of a livable community for all without displacement. He currently serves as the Director of Economic Development for The Rosewood Initiative. Tony has served on numerous social justice and economic development initiatives including among others: Social Justice and Civic Leadership Cohort with the Urban League of Portland, East Portland Action Plan Economic Development Subcommittee, and PBOT’s Transportation Expert Group.

If you’d like to be a fly-on-the-wall or even share a comment at their next meeting, the public is encouraged to attend. They meet in the Rose Room of City Hall (1221 SW 4th Ave) on the third Thursday of every month.

— Jonathan Maus, (503) 706-8804 – jonathan@bikeportland.org

BikePortland is supported by the community (that means you!). Please become a subscriber or make a donation today.

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Founder of BikePortland (in 2005). Father of three. North Portlander. Basketball lover. Car owner and driver. If you have questions or feedback about this site or my work, feel free to contact me at @jonathan_maus on Twitter, via email at maus.jonathan@gmail.com, or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, please become a supporter.

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Adam
Adam
7 years ago

Is it bad I thought for one brief second Carrie Brownstein had joined this committee?!

Mossby Pomegranate
Mossby Pomegranate
7 years ago
Reply to  Adam

Destroyer of feminist bookstores apparently.

Middle of the Road guy
Middle of the Road guy
7 years ago

wasn’t that place set to close before Portlandia came along?

Scott Kocher
7 years ago

So many good folks–thank you for your service!

Andy K
Andy K
7 years ago

Hashagen FTW

wsbob
wsbob
7 years ago

Impressive, or at least extensive resumes. Exactly what is this story saying the committee, beyond advising, has power to do? If PBOT staff likes some of the ideas the committee comes up…maybe some of those ideas will be used; …how close to ideas PBOT staff likes, must committee ideas be, in order for committee’s ideas to be used?

David Hampsten
7 years ago

I served on this committee for 6 years (2009-2015). Part of its purpose is to try to persuade city staff to not screw up, and to catch administrative screw-ups before they go public. Given that most people serving are volunteers for their various organizations, this is not always easy or even possible. Its a thankless task.

wsbob
wsbob
7 years ago
Reply to  David Hampsten

You and Leifsdad’s comments seem to confirm what I suspected…that the committee has no real power to initiate, introduce and implement any changes to infrastructure that paid PBOT staff hasn’t already drawn up.

I don’t say it’s a waste of time for the advisory committee to be reviewing, and perhaps offering a few suggestion, or catching errors to plans PBOT is preparing to move forwards with…but those actions don’t seem to represent much in the way of power.

What about these recent additions of separated bike lanes to Downtown’s streets such as on SW 3rd, or other parts of town? Was that or any other related types of changes by any chance, an advisory committee idea? It’s nice that these people are willing to volunteer their time, for whatever it is they’re getting out of the effort…but I have to wonder some about just what it is they actually are able to get done.

David Hampsten
7 years ago
Reply to  wsbob

We, including the community that worked the politicians, got about $100 million in bike, ped, and roadway projects that we wouldn’t have gotten otherwise for East Portland. Is that “power” enough for you? In advocacy, you use the tools you got; the tools you don’t got are useless.

Eric Leifsdad
Eric Leifsdad
7 years ago

Spending money in the wisest way possible… like closing 90% of roads to through auto traffic and buying electric bikes/trikes for every citizen or more like patching potholes and re-painting the same continually worn-out bike lane stripes as cost-effectively as possible?

I’ll agree it’s a thankless job. The planning and public process in this city has burned many decades of advocates’ time on incrementally failing to move forward while constantly re-prioritizing capital projects waiting for state and federal godot funds instead of fixing the situation on the ground.

We’re now going to invest in bike/walk/transit/carpool equal or greater to our mode-share goals to address how far behind we’ve fallen, right? Or just parking and freight, because those things can’t happen without public support?

Planet Bike Beamer
Planet Bike Beamer
7 years ago

Full page story (almost) In the Saturday, October 1, 2016 Oregonian on page A11:

http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2016/10/car-hating_portlands.html

Title is: “Car-hating Portland’s ‘dictatorial-inspired social engineering’ fails”. Written by a Terry Parker.

Don’t shoot me – I’m only the messenger. 🙂

wsbob
wsbob
7 years ago

Don’t waste time getting wound up about what Terry Parker says. Parker knows his rhetoric and how to sling it loose and fast in order to get supportive responses from people not interested in thinking through the accuracy or validity of what he says. A bit in some ways, like the guy running for the top office of the land.

Some of you might also be interested in reading the steve duin column that parker links in his opinion piece…presenting a viewpoint likely to be more acceptable to many bikeportland readers than is parkers…but it seems to me that duin too, misses some fundamental issues associated with the city’s transportation infrastructure…streets to be specific.

Planet Bike Beamer
Planet Bike Beamer
7 years ago

That was a cheap shot at DJT running for the top office of the land, so I’ll set the record straight for you. DJT loves his country, has run many successful companies, employs many thousands of Americans, understands how government regulations are destroying jobs in America, understands how the D party has run every major American city into the ground ever since they started running those cities in the 1960s, understands how D policies are destroying the lives of minorities in those cities, and will work to improve things for all Americans. That is a stark contrast to the criminal nominee on the D ticket who, with the DNC, was caught cheating in the primary to ensure she beat Bernie, then was caught in the first debate last week cheating by giving hand signals to the debate moderator Mr. Holt, and that does not count the crimes she is guilty of but which she will never be charged with because investigation of those crimes would implicate BO in the White House, and although she has had nice job titles such as first lady, senator, and SOS, she has accomplished absolutely nothing in her 69 years on the planet. Contrast that with DJT who knows how business works, runs many businesses, hires thousands of people most of whom will speak highly of him; where as the D candidate has many people who have testified about her uncontrollable rage episodes, her cursing at the people charged with protecting her, etc, etc, etc. The choice is clear – she is a disaster by any measure.

Planet Bike Beamer
Planet Bike Beamer
7 years ago

That was meant to be a reply to wsbob above.

Ted Timmons (Contributor)

I looked at all of wsbob’s comments. I looked at the op-ed and the Duin op-ed. I see no mentions or side-comments about Trump. What am I missing?

Dave Thomson
Dave Thomson
7 years ago

No relevance – just another gratuitous regurgitation of alt-right mythology.

Planet Bike Beamer
Planet Bike Beamer
7 years ago

I figured he was referring to DJT in this sentence, found in his 11:01 AM comment: “A bit in some ways, like the guy running for the top office of the land.”

Perhaps he was referring to Johnson – I assumed he wasn’t referring to the D candidate as a “guy”.

Ted Timmons (Contributor)

Yep, that’s who/what. I missed that.

Note, as always, any personal attacks or insults will be deleted. Planet Bike Beamer hasn’t attacked anyone. Have a semi-reasonable discussion, people.

dwk
dwk
7 years ago

**snipped comment that personally attacks** -ted

dwk
dwk
7 years ago

**deleted comment with personal attack** -ted

dwk
dwk
7 years ago
Reply to  dwk

Completely disappointing, Donald Trump has got a pass from the MSN in this campaign, this site does not need to join the chorus.He is a FLAT OUT RACIST, there are HUNDREDS of examples. He should have been shamed and laughed off the national stage but he gets ratings. **snipped attack**

Planet Bike Beamer
Planet Bike Beamer
7 years ago
Reply to  dwk

Not true in any way: calling him the R word. He hires people of all colors, etc. He wants to lift up people of color, not keep them impoverished the way the D party policies have done since the 60s. The D party policies have destroyed a fair chunk of an entire race of people in this country.

**removed some offensive bits, this conversation is excessively divisive** -ted

Dwk
Dwk
7 years ago

**Comment deleted. OK folks, either keep the discussion civil and focused or this comment thread will just be closed. — Jonathan **

Angel
Angel
7 years ago
Reply to  dwk
Kevin
Kevin
7 years ago

People, please take it somewhere else.

dwk
dwk
7 years ago

Delete the propaganda post by mr. Beamer.

dwk
dwk
7 years ago
Reply to  dwk

Or you can leave it up for the rest to laugh at……

soren
soren
7 years ago

The comments here exemplify why I am taking a very long break from BP’s comments section.

Ted Timmons (Contributor)
Reply to  soren

I’m sorry to hear that, Soren.