"And I believe the Mayor was also wrong to use this issue to pit one part of Portland against the other."
No, the Mayor did not use the issue to pit one part of Portland against the other.
YOU, Commissioner Sam, did.
That's because YOU, Commissioner Sam, spent far more time and effort on this ONE project, that benefits ONE SMALL PART of Portland (largely inhabited by well-to-do folks who have already received far more public attention and subsidy), WITHOUT providing any benefit to the rest of Portland.
Only now do you bring up some of the other projects that you've tried to get done. Never mind that you had years to correct the imbalance of attention towards East Portland - a part of Portland that was begged to annex into the city with promises of investment that the city then reneged on its promise and have left to flouder. Never mind that there are still streets in Southwest Portland that are unpaved, lack sidewalks, and have bus stops located directly in the middle of intersections.
Shouldn't maintaining what we have so that ALL OF PORTLAND has a basic level of service come first, instead of giving more handouts to wealthy Pearl District residents who already get tax breaks and city streets that were paid for by taxing everyone else in the City? When I build a street in SW, the city makes me pay for the street - AND build it to city standards.
In the Pearl and in SoWa, who built those streets? Were they built to the same standards or did they get exemptions from the standards (i.e. less parking, narrower streets)?
The Mayor was right to call you on your unfair treatment. Don't blame him because he is the Mayor of ALL OF PORTLAND. If you think he's wrong, then maybe you should prepare a document that shows the amount of money spent by PDOT for each neighborhood - and do it retroactively for each year that you were the PDOT Commissioner. That way you can prove that every neighborhood received the same amount of money (either equitably amongst the neighborhoods, or based upon population).
"And I believe the Mayor was
"And I believe the Mayor was also wrong to use this issue to pit one part of Portland against the other."
No, the Mayor did not use the issue to pit one part of Portland against the other.
YOU, Commissioner Sam, did.
That's because YOU, Commissioner Sam, spent far more time and effort on this ONE project, that benefits ONE SMALL PART of Portland (largely inhabited by well-to-do folks who have already received far more public attention and subsidy), WITHOUT providing any benefit to the rest of Portland.
Only now do you bring up some of the other projects that you've tried to get done. Never mind that you had years to correct the imbalance of attention towards East Portland - a part of Portland that was begged to annex into the city with promises of investment that the city then reneged on its promise and have left to flouder. Never mind that there are still streets in Southwest Portland that are unpaved, lack sidewalks, and have bus stops located directly in the middle of intersections.
Shouldn't maintaining what we have so that ALL OF PORTLAND has a basic level of service come first, instead of giving more handouts to wealthy Pearl District residents who already get tax breaks and city streets that were paid for by taxing everyone else in the City? When I build a street in SW, the city makes me pay for the street - AND build it to city standards.
In the Pearl and in SoWa, who built those streets? Were they built to the same standards or did they get exemptions from the standards (i.e. less parking, narrower streets)?
The Mayor was right to call you on your unfair treatment. Don't blame him because he is the Mayor of ALL OF PORTLAND. If you think he's wrong, then maybe you should prepare a document that shows the amount of money spent by PDOT for each neighborhood - and do it retroactively for each year that you were the PDOT Commissioner. That way you can prove that every neighborhood received the same amount of money (either equitably amongst the neighborhoods, or based upon population).