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Sunday, March 28, 2010

Politics Governors' Debate: Both Say 12 Lane CRC is Mistake

Posted by Sarah Mirk on Sun, Mar 28, 2010 at 2:02 PM

After throwing competing parties on Friday and Saturday night here at Rebooting Democracy in Bend, Gubernatorial candidates Bill Bradbury and John Kitzhaber faced off in a more formal forum on the last day of the progressive conference. The two long-time, left-leaning politicians took questions from the crowd as well as a panel of advocates and one thing is clear: the two candidates agree more than they disagree. Sigh. Boregon politics.

To a certain degree, this race comes down to personality. John Kitzhaber has the more go-get-em-tiger style, while all conference attendees I've spoken with agree that Bill Bradbury is a really nice guy. At the beginning of the debate, the two candidates got to choose their intro song. Kitzhaber chose Chariots of Fire. Bradbury chose Tina Turner's Proud Mary (Rolling on the River), making a pun about his Segway "rolling into the future." See what I mean?

The debate wrapped up with a straw poll of the crowd via text message (automatically disenfranchising anyone over 40), which was narrowly won by Bradbury.

Rebooting is wrapping up. I'm heading back to Portland. To see what went down to this weekend out in Bend, check out my photos below. Coverage of the big debate below the cut!


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Both candidates said they would repeal Measure 36, Oregon's constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, prioritize public education, push to reduce prison populations and support college scholarships for children of undocumented immigrants.

The candidates differ on Liquid Natural Gas siting (as I reported in January), with Bradbury saying he would veto any bill that sites LNG in the state. The two also disagreed on education funding sources. Bradbury wants a ballot measure that would tell the state to find $2 billion for education, Kitzhaber criticized the idea as "unsustainable."

The most dramatic point of the debate, for me at least, came when the pair discussed the Columbia River Crossing (CRC). Both candidates spoke out against the 12-lane plan for replacing the I-5 bridge to Vancouver. Bradbury won a big round of applause for his fiery criticism of the big bridge, arguing that the state should instead do seismic upgrades to the current bridge and build a second, smaller transit and big/ped bridge. "We need to plan for getting light rail across the river, we need to plan for getting bikes across, we need to plan for getting freight across, but that doesn’t require 12 lanes, that’s nuts," said Bradbury.

Kitzhaber did not propose any specific blueprint for the CRC, and argued in support of rebuilding the current bridge but that it be "built and financed in a way to addresses the transportation goals of the future."

Update 5:57 PM Ahahaha, I didn't even notice until now but the Bradbury campaign sent out a congratulatory press release approximately four minutes after the straw poll winner was announced. Glad they had that one in the bag. From the release:

The vote followed a debate between the two Democratic candidates with Bradbury earning 55% of the vote to 42% for John Kitzhaber.

Following the vote Bradbury said, “I am extremely honored to have won this straw poll. To have the support of the young activists of the Bus Project across the state who do so much to engage, energize and mobilize voters is a great boost to my campaign.”

 

Comments (7) RSS

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1
It's still SWAG, Mirk.
Posted by amazonfemme on March 28, 2010 at 3:04 PM · Report
2
I changed the name of Bradbury's song - I originally said it was Rolling on the River. The actual name is Proud Mary (Rolling on the River). If anyone cares.
Posted by s.mirk on March 28, 2010 at 5:34 PM · Report
3
I vote for Bradburys' idea about the bridge. At last, someone with a good idea. And it won't cost 4 billion dollars.
Posted by ujfoyt on March 28, 2010 at 11:38 PM · Report
4
Sarah Mirk - party girl, Party girl, or Party girl who likes to party?
Posted by multiple choice on March 29, 2010 at 7:48 AM · Report
5
Kitzhaber loses the straw poll by 13 points -- 42% to 55% -- and you write that it "was narrowly won by Bradbury"? Are you innumerate or just passing on spin from the Kitzhaber camp?
Posted by PDXDem on March 29, 2010 at 1:41 PM · Report
6
Mirk, I know you have a nice relationship with Jefferson Smith (and are therefore potentially a Kitzhaber supporter), but don't be silly. I didn't have a cell phone at the convention, I'm 34, and I still got to vote (for Bradbury). There were four or five polling computers set up for the fifty or so people that didn't have a cell phone, and we all got to vote.

And the margin was 13%. You are doing a disservice to democracy by working as Smith's and Kitz's mouthpiece on this one.
Posted by coatsies on March 30, 2010 at 12:16 PM · Report
7
Sarah, don't be silly. I didn't have a cell phone, and I voted. There were 4-5 computers set up for the fifty or so of us that didn't have phones with us. You're doing a disservice to democracy if you say otherwise.

To say that the Bus Project disenfranchised voters is a lie that not many who know the organization are likely to swallow: their organization is specifically designed to enfranchise voters.

I know you're tight with Jefferson Smith, but please don't shatter the truth on the ground like a forty of pabst.
Posted by coatsies on March 30, 2010 at 12:19 PM · Report

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