Wheeler Says “I Know We Can Do Better” in Campaign Announcement Speech
Thursday, September 10, 2015
During the speech, Wheeler attacked current Mayor Charlie Hales’ credentials as a progressive and his effectiveness.
“It’s not enough to call yourself a progressive…or a leader when so many of the basic things that make a community thriving and successful aren’t getting done,” Wheeler said. “And you can’t say you are accountable as a leader when too much of the city’s business is being conducted behind closed doors, in secret, accessible only to the well-connected and highly paid corporate lobbyists.”
Wheeler promised “real progress” repeatedly during his speech.
“Real progress will be making sure that every part of our community has a voice in our government– not just those that can afford to buy a seat at the table,” Wheeler said.
Infrastructure Issues
Wheeler criticized Hales for failing to repair the city’s streets, which have been the subject of many complaints.
Our streets are crumbling beneath our feet,” Wheeler said. “Even basic things like filling potholes, repairing roads and making our sidewalks safer aren’t getting done the way we expect them to be done.”
Wheeler said he thinks his administration can rebuild the city’s roads, improve street safety and “finally do what’s seemed to defeat too many administrations-fill those potholes.”
When asked how he would pay to repair the city’s roads, he cited a gas tax. He acknowledged that it may be unpopular but said “the decision must rest with the taxpaying public…we’re gonna put it to a public vote.”
Helping the Homeless
Wheeler also criticized Hales’ inability to stem the problem of homelessness in Portland.
“We have nothing short of a crisis on the streets of our city. The homeless are not getting the housing or the help they need,” Wheeler said.
He referred back to his time as Multnomah County Chair, where Wheeler said he “showed that one of the most progressive things we could do was to spend tax dollars more responsibly so we could use the savings to protect services for the homeless, the elderly and those most vulnerable in our society.”
“I was able to show again and again that we can do more than just talk about progressive values – we put them into action in our government and in our communities, for those who were left out and left behind,” Wheeler said. “And we made things better."
He said it was time to “stop talking” about services that are needed by those in East Portland and other economically depressed areas in the city and “start delivering them.”
Affordable for Everyone
Wheeler said it was important to make the city more affordable for Portland’s middle class.
“Housing is a problem for the middle class, too,” he said. “It is increasingly unaffordable for working families. Wage earning Portlanders are falling farther behind.”
He said it was time to make housing more affordable so that lower-earning workers like “nurses, firefighters, men and women who are carpenters, plumbers and electricians can continue to live and prosper in Oregon.”
Related Slideshow: SLIDESHOW: Ted Wheeler Announces Portland Mayoral Candidacy on Rooftop of Revolution Hall
Oregon Treasurer Ted Wheeler was joined by the press and many close friends, family members, and supporters on the rooftop of Revolution Hall off of SE Stark so that he could officially make his candidacy announcement for Portland mayor in the 2016 mayoral race.
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