Tuesday, May 17th is Election Day in Oregon and voters in the City of Portland will cast their votes to select a new mayor. The results may determine who the next mayor will be or if no one candidate gets the required 50% of votes, the top two candidates will face off again in November.
Crossing the street shouldn’t mean crossing your fingers. Yet every two hours, a pedestrian in the United States is killed because a street or crosswalk is unsafe. Children, seniors, people of color and the low-income are disproportionately the victims of these fatalities. According to the 2015 Oregon State of Pedestrian Safety Report, Oregonians 65 years and older are four times more likely to be killed walking on our streets than any other age group. That is why AARP Oregon supports Measure 26-173.
On Saturday, April 2 nd AARP Oregon hosted a Portland Mayoral Candidate Forum at the DoubleTree Lloyd Center. Mayoral Candidates Ted Wheeler and Jules Bailey participated in the forum which was moderated by Laural Porter, KGW-TV Anchor and Straight Talk Host. The forum included audience polling, moderated Q& A with the candidates and also questions from the audience.
Sitting at a conference table, I wrestle alongside my AARP Oregon colleagues with deciding which questions to ask Portland mayoral candidates, and how to word them.