PORTLAND, Ore. — Congressman Earl Blumenauer has represented Oregon's Third Congressional District since 1996, and he's become a fixture in Portland over the years, known both for his signature bowtie and for his passion for bikes and public transit in the Rose City. There's even a local bike and pedestrian bridge named after him.
Rep. Blumenauer was a guest on this week's episode of Straight Talk to discuss the current challenges Portland faces with crime and homelessness, his vision for the future of the city and how his work in Congress will impact things back in Oregon.
Asked about the current state of Portland, Blumenauer described the city's outlook as very mixed, with serious problems and community struggles contrasting with good moments.
"If you go through the neighborhoods, as I do every week, you see people who take pride in their community, who haven't given up," he said. "They're fighting to move forward, to take advantage of opportunities, and to make sure that we're not going to be defeated by these circumstances."
Confronting Portland's challenges
Blumenauer recently convened a meeting of local leaders to try to address the city's struggles with addiction and behavioral health services. Voters have been very generous with resources, he said, so the big focus for local leaders needs to be making those investments and maintaining a sense of urgency.
He said he hopes to "shorten the timetable in terms of making things happen," because the bureaucratic process can cause officials to get tripped up and slow down implementation of essential programs and services.
"We've approved massive sums of money, and it's hard to get it out on the street," he said. "That's part of our challenge with both the city and (Multnomah) County and the state."
He praised the work of Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, calling her a "very aggressive partner" both in lining up state resources and coordinating with local officials like Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson.
He also defended Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt, arguing that some of the criticism against him has been unfair because his ability to prosecute cases has been hampered by Oregon's drastic public defender shortage as well as problems with jail space and enforcement, often forcing cases to be dropped when they could have otherwise moved forward.
"I think he has done a good job under difficult circumstances, and I think the more people understand the restraints he's got, I think they'd have maybe a little more sympathy," he said. "But I understand the frustration. I want people who break the law locked up, put away. I want greater reactions, and not let it drift away. But it's easier said than done."
Road safety improvements
Blumenauer helped secure a $20 million grant for the Portland Bureau of Transportation to help with safety improvements on 122nd Avenue, known as one of the deadliest roads in the city.
Wide urban corridors like 122nd and 82nd Avenue are "almost freeways," he said, making them unsafe for pedestrians to cross. They need better signals and in some cases the roads themselves need to be slimmed down.
"These are two of the worst streets in the entire region, and we're putting together partnerships to make a difference in terms of how they function, how they work, how they operate."
Blumenauer was scheduled to join U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg Friday afternoon for a tour of 82nd Avenue to discuss safety improvements. The corridor was recently transferred from state control to PBOT, paving the way for overdue safety upgrades.
He also discussed an $800,000 grant for Albina Vision Trust, which aims to reconnect communities on Portland's inner east side and repair some of the damage caused by the original construction of Interstate 5.
Supreme Court rulings
Blumenauer condemned several recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions including the decisions to undo Roe v. Wade and end affirmative action. He said colleges and universities will need to work harder to provide opportunities to improve diversity in admissions.
"I think this is an example of the Supreme Court taking a very narrow reading of the law and the opportunities that we've had to try and deal with problems. I think it's narrower than it should be; we're going to have to work harder to overcome it."
He said he also disagreed with the decision to strike down President Joe Biden's student debt relief plan, and said he hoped to see more action on the student debt problem not just from Biden, but from Congress.
"The burden of student debt is really tremendous on so many young people — and some people who aren't so young, including people who are parents and grandparents," he said.
He also criticized the decision in favor of a website designer who didn't want to make wedding websites for LGBTQ couples, calling it "a signal that people aren't being engaged and respected," and noted that the circumstances of the case were essentially hypothetical.
"It's an example of where the conservative majority of the court is reaching out, trying to chart their own path, and I think it's unfortunate," he said.
The future of cannabis
Blumenauer is the founder and co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus and a longtime leader in the movement for federal cannabis legalization, and he said there could be some important changes on the way in that arena too.
A bill to allow cannabis retailers access to banking services has passed the House multiple times only to fall short in the Senate in the past, but there's more support in the Senate now, he said, including from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, making it more likely to pass on the next attempt.
He also hailed the recent passage of a bill to loosen federal cannabis restrictions for research purposes, citing the need to develop more accurate cannabis detection technology for DUII investigations.
There's also still work to be done at the state level, he said, pointing to a push for legalization in Ohio.
The e-bike revolution
Blumenauer is known both at home and in Congress as a major biking aficionado, and that support extends to e-bikes. His own bicycle collection doesn't include an e-bike, but he said that's going to change soon.
"An e-bike makes everybody into a bike commuter if they want to be," he said. "It has tremendous opportunities in terms of energy conservation and expanding the range of people who are involved."
E-bike use is growing, but battery-assisted bikes are more expensive than their solely pedal-powered counterparts. Blumenauer talked about legislation he's been working on to try to lower that barrier through tax credits for e-bike purchases. But even before factoring in the incentives, he said people should give e-bikes a shot and try to keep the price tag in perspective.
"Consider how much people spend on their motor vehicles. We're talking about $10,000, $12,000 a year on average," he said. "An e-bike is $2,500, $3,500, the operating costs are minimal, there's no parking problems. It's a tremendous opportunity to make a difference."
He said he was happy to see the Blumenauer Bridge completed. The crossing has already increased bike connectivity on Portland's inner east side, he said, but it will have an additional long-term effect as one of the key pieces of the future Green Loop, a planned "linear park" around downtown Portland.
Straight Talk airs Friday at 7 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday at 6:30 p.m.