I don't have a TV so I missed KGW's interview with exiting Metro President David Bragdon this weekend, but I just watched it online now and it includes some priceless parting shots.

KGW asked Bragdon exactly what he meant in his quotes from my story about Portland suffering from complacency and a "paralysis of analysis." Here's his response:

We have not been creating jobs in the core area of portland for a long time, the vacancy rates for offices and retail is alarmingly high... some of these fundamental indicators for our city and our state are heading the wrong way. And I think that's often masked by things that I consider to be more superficial. You know, like the fact that we have great food carts. Well, that's terrific, but a lot of third-world countries have great food carts, too, it's an indication that people can't afford restaurants.

THANK YOU for hitting that home. In the media coverage of Portland ranking as the best city for street food in the world, the popularity of Portland's cheap food was portrayed as part of the, you know, funky bohemian appeal of Portland rather than an indication of its massive unemployment.

Toward the end of the interview, Bragdon also says the leaders of the Columbia River Crossing project should be fired. This is nothing too new, but I don't think Bragdon's ever said before that the CRC leaders should be straight up replaced. From the show:

The project management team needs to be replaced. They have failed. This has been managed unilaterally by the two state freeway divisions. The expert panel of engineers and bridge people from around the country have pointed out that the finance plan does not add up and that the environmental work is very shoddy and is going to take another year. The two highway divisions have bungled this incredibly important job. There needs to be a project manager who can make decisions but do it in an inclusive and trustworthy way.

Full (21 minute!) video below the cut.