Less than 24 hours after Yi-Kang Hu was named City of Tigard’s new mayor, he was on the Metzger Elementary School bike bus and celebrating Walk and Roll to School Day by chalking bike symbols on the pavement at a local park. Yes, Tigard’s new mayor rides a bike — and not just for photo-ops.
A former Tigard city councilor, Mayor Hu was voted into his new role Tuesday night by fellow councilors after former Mayor Heidi Lueb resigned last month.
This morning I received a message from reader Shawne Martinez, a Tigard resident, member of the Tigard Transportation Advisory Committee and dedicated climate change and cycling advocate. “Mayor Hu has attended many bike events and community rides. It’s great to have a Mayor who will actually be on a bike often!,” Martinez shared (I could hear the excitement oozing from his words).
Mayor Hu’s Instagram account (@YiForTigard) is full of him on his Batch e-bike — from this morning’s Walk and Roll festivities at Metzger Elementary, to a post back in January after a cold ride into work when he shared, “What a gorgeous morning for a bike ride!” In October 2024, Mayor Hu posted a photo of thousands of bicycles parked in Taipei, Taiwan and wrote: “For the past few days, I’ve been traveling around the city solely by bus, subway, and train, and I absolutely love the clean, affordable, and stress-free experience.”
Mayor Hu was born in Taiwan and immigrated to the United States with his family as a child. He’s a lawyer with a B.A. degree from Reed College, a Ph. D. from Oregon Health Sciences University and a law degree from Lewis & Clark College. Hu will serve as mayor until the end of 2026. Learn more about him on the City of Tigard website.
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I appreciate all of the work that Tigard City Council has done to make our city more walkable and bikeable! I look forward to more safe, multi-modal transportation options under Mayor Hu’s leadership. It’s been great to have Yi on our community bike rides! Getting more people on bikes benefits everyone.