City Hall’s bustling these days, with lobbying back and forth on the Columbia River Crossing. Commissioner Randy Leonard met this morning with folks from the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), and I’ve heard that Commissioner Nick Fish is getting an earful from bridge critics as I type this.
Given Commissioner Dan Saltzman’s somewhat-wavering support of the bridge, where are his colleagues?
Leonard says that “on the condition that the conditions that I’ve laid out are still in the resolution” he’ll be voting for it. He’s long pressed for bike and pedestrian facilities and light rail.
Critics, however, have pointed out that once the council votes for the bridge this Wednesday, those conditions become advisements that ODOT can flat out ignore.
“And I have been following that up, meeting with ODOT folks,” Leonard says. “I asked for an amendment to the resolution to make sure they aren’t aspirational conditions.” According to Leonard, ODOT will work with resolution main sponsor Sam Adams to draft that amendment.
I’ve got a call in to Fish to see how his meeting went.
It’d be nice to see Randy Leonard vote against something without knowing full well that his vote wouldn’t mean anything, for once. Hold on. That makes no sense. But what I mean is: It’s all very well to vote against the sit/lie ordinance when you know it’s going through regardless. And I think Leonard can be a little cynical in his voting.
Council needs to send a stronger message than “following up with ODOT folks” that it’s concerned about the CRC. Right?
Why not vote against it and say he can’t be assured that the bridge is going to be built right, as the situation stands. And that he wants to be sure it’s built right, or he can’t support it.
Buck stops with you, sir. Buck stops with you.
“And I think Leonard can be a little cynical in his voting.”
You accusing someone of cynicism is a bit like the kettle calling the pot black, isn’t it Matt?
“And I think Leonard can be a little cynical in his voting.”
You accusing someone of cynicism is a bit like the kettle calling the pot black, isn’t it Matt?
So you’ll be voting against this bridge, then, in the interest of Portlanders, Randy?
It would just be a cynical vote if I did, Matt.
I’m sorry? Is that some kind of dig at Saltzman for having the guts to take a real stand on the issue.
You’re going to vote for a bridge with bike paths and light rail, knowing ten times over that the bridge won’t include them, just so you can say later, “well, hey, I said I wanted bike paths and light rail, but the big boys bullied me out of the conversation.”
That’s cynical politicking. You’re supposed to be the guy who stands up to the bullies.
Or, as he told me yesterday in closing our conversation, he’s the guy who’s “fighting for the people everyday.”
That old schtick? Puh-lease.
“You’re supposed to be the guy who stands up to the bullies.”
Hahahahahahaha…Politician standing up against powerful, law bending, moneyed interests? Hahahahahahaha