Good evening, everyone:

Sorry to come into your boxes early, but I’m traveling this afternoon to Portland, Oregon, at the invitation of Earl Blumenauer, a legendary force in both Oregon and the U.S. Congress for his work on environmental sustainability, sustainable regional planning and growth, enhanced public health, cannabis reform, historic preservation, and public transit innovation (particularly street cars and bicycle infrastructure), among many other issues.​. We’ll have conversations with Portland business leaders, philanthropic representatives, faculty and administration at Portland State University, and nonprofit organizations.

Earl retired from Congress at the end of 2024, bringing to a close nearly three decades of congressional service, where he represented Oregon’s 3^rd congressional district, comprising most of Portland. Before being elected to Congress, he served in the Oregon House of Representatives, to which he had first been elected at the age of 24.  And before that, he attended Lewis and Clark College, leading the campaign to lower Oregon’s voting age to 18 – that effort is seen as contributing significantly to the passage of the 26^th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which extended the younger voting age to all fifty states. He also served on the County Commission and on the Portland City Council.

When I last visited Earl in D.C., I noticed tons of young people wearing large, brightly colored, plastic neon lapel pins in the shape of miniature bicycles – the moment I arrived in his office, it was clear that I had located bicycle-pin central, with baskets of the pins on the front desk. Indeed, Earl founded the Congressional Bike Caucus, promoting in every venue and way he could cycling as a sustainable mode of transportation. Dedicated to “safer roads, more bikeways, convenient bike parking, and increased recognition of the importance of cycling for transportation and recreation,” the Caucus has 143 members from 40 states.

One Capitol Hill publication noted:

The U.S. Capitol just wouldn’t be the same place without the neon bike pins. They are a Capitol Hill institution.

For those of you who live outside of the Beltway, allow me to explain the legend of the bike pin so that we all might appreciate this piece of Americana.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) is the chairman of the Congressional Bike Caucus and a self-described bicycle evangelist.  He rides his bike to and from the Capitol every day, and champions the cause of two-wheeled transportation enthusiasts everywhere.  And in keeping with his chosen crusade, he always wears a hot neon bike pin in one of the standard highlighter colors making the pins synonymous with the name Blumenauer.

To spread his message far and wide, Blumenauer generously bestows his trademark pins on visitors and staff alike. And getting pinned by Blumenauer is a Capitol Hill rite of passage.

By the way, Earl was also immediately recognizable for his bow ties, which he has worn as long as he can remember.

During that visit, Earl said that after leaving Congress, he wanted to address the issues facing his home city. We talked about Kresge’s work in cities, our desire to share learnings across cities, and some of the experiences we had navigated in Detroit. Earl said that he would be taking a position at Portland State University’s Institute of Metropolitan Studies and asked if I would be willing to visit Portland after the turn of the year to discuss some of these issues. So here I am – or will be later tonight.

I’ll try to report back on what we see and discuss. There is only one Earl Blumenauer, and it will be a privilege to see Portland through his eyes.

Rip

‍