“After careful consideration, we believe that no other candidate in the race is as poised as Rubio to advance the The Street Trust Action Fund’s mission.”
— The Street Trust Action Fund
Leaders of The Street Trust Action Fund say they are “disappointed” and “dismayed” in City Commissioner Carmen Rubio, but they will not rescind their endorsement of her for Portland mayor. The organization says Rubio has made several policy promises in order to keep the endorsement.
“While this incident is disappointing,” reads the statement from The Street Trust Action Fund shared on Instagram Monday night. “We believe that Carmen Rubio remains the best candidate to deliver on the transportation safety issues that matter most to our community. We continue to support her candidacy because we know that her leadership will make Portland’s streets safer for everyone.”
The Street Trust Action Fund is the political (501c4) arm of The Street Trust, a nonprofit that advocates for transportation and road safety issues. Rubio announced the endorsement just days before a story in The Oregonian reported that the vehicle registered to her name had amassed 150 tickets since 2006 and that her license had been suspended six times for failing to pay fines and/or not showing up to a court date.
Here’s the statement from TST Action Fund:
The Street Trust Action Fund is disappointed by the news of Carmen Rubio’s traffic infractions, and we are equally dismayed by her failure to disclose this issue to us during the endorsement process. This behavior falls short of the safety, transparency, and accountability we expect from leaders we endorse. However, after careful consideration, we believe that no other candidate in the race is as poised as Rubio to advance the The Street Trust Action Fund’s mission or the urgent transportation safety reforms Portland needs.
While we do not in any way excuse Rubio’s behavior and we unequivocally condemn her repeated infractions, we believe that her life experiences can teach her directly (albeit the hard way) the urgent need for reform and significant investment to ensure safe, equitable, mobility for our most vulnerable system users, and how we can adopt a more equitable approach to transportation justice.
Moving forward, Carmen Rubio has committed to creating safer streets for all Portlanders and has made it clear to us that she understands that Portland’s traffic fatality crisis requires bold, immediate action. In response to this incident, she has committed to leading by example, not only by improving her personal behavior but through concrete policy measures.
To maintain The Street Trust Action Fund’s endorsement, Carmen Rubio has pledged that she will:
- Prioritize full funding for street safety and active transportation through her role as mayor;
- Engage directly and in an ongoing basis with vulnerable street users and victims of traffic violence to better understand their experiences and system needs;
- Implement critical safety initiatives within the first 100 days of her administration including daylighting intersections (as promised by previous administrations), fully fund the Bicycle Plan for scheduled completion by 2030, and reducing speeds to 20 MPH 24/7/365 around schools and parks.
A closer look at Rubio’s record (view it below) shows that since being hired to work in Portland City Hall as a staffer for a former mayor and city commissioner in 2006, she has racked up 150 citations. Of those, 116 appear to have been issued because Rubio (or someone driving her car) parked too long in a spot and didn’t pay the required fee. 20 of the citations are related to overdue registration tags, five are for “failure to obey a traffic control device” and just one was for speeding. Since becoming a city commissioner in 2021, Rubio has been ticketed four times: one for parking in a “No Parking Anytime” zone, two for outdated registration tags, and one — on July 18th of this year — for parking in a loading zone.
In an answer to a question about how she’d help Portland reach Vision Zero that was asked in a candidate questionnaire by BikeLoud PDX earlier this summer, Rubio was strong on traffic enforcement and personal responsibility. In order to reduce fatal collisions between drivers, walkers, and bicycle riders, Rubio said, “… there must be… responsibility by drivers.”
“To that end,” Rubio continued, “I would favor increasing camera enforcement along problem traffic corridors – and some patrolling to educate, but also to hold frequent speeding/reckless violators accountable.” Rubio stumped for stronger action from the District Attorney to prosecute drivers for serious crimes like vehicular homicide or assault. “I recognize the fear of prosecution can be a strong deterrent. These crimes are rarely prosecuted, giving the impression that reckless driving is a victimless crime,” she wrote.
Rubio is a leading candidate for mayor. One of her competitors in the race, fellow City Commissioner Rene Gonzalez, also has a long record of driving-related infractions. Trucking company CEO and transportation advocate Keith Wilson, who rounds out the top three in current polls, has four (or five) tickets since 2004, all related to overdue parking meters.
If you’re curious what Rubio’s perspective is on all this: Stay tuned. I have an interview scheduled with her tomorrow (Wednesday).
UPDATE, 6:05 pm on 9/18: The Street Trust Executive Director Sarah Iannarone stopped by Bike Happy Hour and shared that, given news today that Rubio hit a parked car and walked away, the organization plans to rescind their endorsement. Expect an official statement Thursday morning.