Dear Friends,
I am grateful to represent you on the Metro Council. After my first four months, I’m more confident than ever that together we can protect our farms and forests, keep our air and water clean, create good jobs now and in the future — and in doing so ensure that everyone regardless of race, disability or social status, has the economic opportunity to succeed and to access our region’s exceptional quality of life.
In my first four months on the job I’ve focused on three big things:
- Protecting our region’s clean water by taking care of our parks and natural areas
- Creating jobs in communities that need them most
- Ensuring that everyone in our community has an opportunity to enjoy our great quality of life
Here are some highlights:
Clean air and water
Metro owns or manages more than 16,000 acres of parks and natural areas, including 100 miles of stream and river frontage, wetlands, prairies, and forests! Metro’s parks and natural areas are visited by more than 1.3 million people each year for hiking, walking, fishing, bird watching, picnicking, weddings and special events.
On Tuesday, voters confirmed their support for a levy that will help ensure we can take care of our past investments in these amazing places. The levy will restore natural areas, protect water quality and provide people with more opportunities to enjoy nature. I deeply appreciate the confidence shown by our region’s residents, who value our natural areas and the fish and wildlife that depend on them.
Jobs in communities that need them most
Metro owns and manages several facilities including the Expo Center, the Oregon Convention Center, and the Oregon Zoo. As the Council liaison to the commission that oversees these venues, I bring to the table expertise in finance, operations, and construction to ensure we invest Metro and community resources in job strategies that truly result in stable, long-term growth. In the Convention Center Hotel project, I see an opportunity to grow jobs in North and Northeast Portland that benefit veterans, people with disabilities, and communities of color through apprenticeship opportunities and contracts for women and minority-owned businesses. I am fighting to ensure the minimal public subsidy in this project benefits the entire community by not only increasing conventions and tourism activity, but also creating ongoing living wage jobs that help historically underserved residents in our region.
Ensuring opportunity
We all have an interest in a community that provides opportunity for everyone. When everyone has a chance to succeed, our neighborhoods, our region and our state thrive. Unfortunately, too often income, race, or disability determines whether people can succeed. That is why I asked to serve as the co-leader of Metro’s new Equity Strategy Program.
I’ll use my leadership role to fight for strategies that help women and minority businesses, provide job training or hiring from communities of color, build affordable housing for hardworking families or other vulnerable populations, and invest transportation funding and other dollars that Metro authorizes in underserved communities.
I am also proud to have led the charge for Metro to endorse HB 2639, a bill that would remove barriers for tenants with Section 8 vouchers to renting homes in their preferred neighborhoods. I’d like to thank House Speaker Tina Kotek for her leadership.
In my district
In addition to my three big priorities, I’m focused on the needs of my district. Specifically, I chair the North Portland Enhancement Grant Committee, which oversees a community fund established to offset the impacts of the St. Johns Landfill, which was closed in 1991.
This fall, we will award capacity building grants for organizations that serve North Portland neighborhoods. We’re also working to build the North Portland Greenway all the way to Kelly Point Park, at the confluence of the Willamette and the Columbia Rivers. The greenway passes through Smith and Bybee Natural Area, which plays host to eagles, coyotes, wetlands and much more. The capacity grants and the trail will improve access and opportunities for some of North Portland.
Finally, you may not know it but Metro also runs the Portland Center for Performing Arts, our region’s solid waste and recycling programs, golf courses, cemeteries, and oversees our region's land use and transportation planning. It is critical work and I’m excited to be part of the Metro Council.
Sincerely,
Sam Chase
Metro Council District 5