In an email to supporters Thursday afternoon, District 1 City Council candidate Terrence Hayes addresses what he calls “Portland’s war on cars.” The email then plays into the narrative that bicycling is a privileged pursuit for the upper-class while driving is working class.
It’s a classic attempt to create a false “us versus them” dichotomy and it’s very clear who Hayes aligns with.
Hayes is running to represent east Portland. On his bio page Haves says he was born into poverty and was formerly incarcerated for attempted murder. He’s one of the top contenders in his race and currently has the fourth most approved matching donations out of all the candidates. Hayes has been endorsed by City Commissioners Rene Gonzalez, Mingus Mapps, and Dan Ryan, as well as the Portland Police Association, and District Attorney-Elect Nathan Vasquez.
Here’s more from Hayes’ email:
“We all know that Portland is a big bike-riding city, and that’s really great, but we have to recognize that the majority of East Portlanders have to drive a lot more than the rest of the city [emphasis his]. It seems like no one told City Hall, and they make it as difficult as possible for those of us trying to get around and live our daily lives. The roads are a mess, and the traffic often makes us late for our jobs…and East Portland doesn’t usually have the luxury of working from home.
Our highways have the same problem; they simply haven’t kept up with the increase in population, while the activists constantly push back on any efforts to make it easier to get around. They don’t see their own privilege [emphasis his], a privilege that negatively impacts the working class.
Can we talk about Division Street and the awful divider in the middle of the road? It seems like it was purposely put there to tick off drivers, and it’s hurting businesses that didn’t want these changes…”
Hayes goes on to say he’s not “going to war with” bike culture, but that, “District 1 is pragmatic and blue collar. “We’re not software engineers working from our home office,” Hayes continues. “We’re doing the hard work that the upper middle class in the city pays others to do.”
Hayes also says he thinks we should keep the bike infrastructure we already have “clean and clear from camps, trash and overgrown vegetation” on the I-205 and Springwater paths.
When it comes to neighborhood greenways, Hayes appears to be a big fan. He says he and his supporters whant them to “remain safe as the city converts houses to multi-family and bring even more vehicle traffic into our neighborhoods.”
Then Hayes writes, with an underline for emphasis: “We just want to be able to get around safely, efficiently, and with less hassle.”
I know a lot of folks who agree with that.
