Last night Salem Reporter published news that Councilor Andersen was resigning to focus on his campaign for House District 19.
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| via Facebook |
Councilor Andersen had a distinguished run!
A favorite moment here, though it was no policy matter, and also didn't seem to bear any fruit with Steve Powers, who never biked in any public way as a City Staffer, was equipping the new City Manager with a bike.
Councilor Andersen did bike to meetings in public and modeled a real transportation toolbox, driving when necessary, but preferring to bike frequently.
Councilor Andersen was also a consistent critic of the misguided and dishonest Salem River Crossing project and strengthened a Climate Action Plan process that seemed designed to be symbolic only and nugatory in action.
It was also a great moment in transparency when for a few months he published time sheets, accounting for his volunteer hours as Councilor. It averaged about 30 hours a week. 3/4 FTE. City Councilor is a lot of unpaid work.
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| The Nishioka Building nameplate |
Councilor Andersen's successor, Linda Nishioka, will add a kind of developer background to Council that will be useful as we start to enact changes in Our Salem and the new Climate-Friendly and Equitable Communities rules on transportation and land use. The Nishioka building is just the kind of walkable development we need more of.
Pro-development, pro-housing, pro-walking. That addresses our housing crisis and our climate crisis. That's a winning combo for our present moment.
This is is a propitious transition on both ends, going out, and coming in.
Cheers and thanks, Councilor Andersen!
4 comments:
Thank you Tom for being tenacious in trying to make Salem more livable. I know your dedication to our community and state will continue once you are elected to the Oregon House.
Had it not been for Councilor Andersen's leadership we probably would be trying to figure out how to pay for the billion-dollar Salem River Crossing which would have a "build' decision from the Federal Highway Administration now instead of a "no build' decision. And we might not have a Salem Climate Action Plan either which was opposed for years by the majority of the Council as well as by the City Manager. Both of those were uphill battles that Councilor Andesen fought and won. That will be his proud legacy on the Salem City Council.
Former Councilor Andersen here. Thanks for your kind comments. I truly enjoyed my time on the Council and am proud of what we accomplished during my eight years. I look forward to serving Salem and the state in the legislature; and to the same accomplishments, and more, on a broader level. Thanks for all your principled support over the years. electtomandersen
Councilor Andersen played a key role in stopping the ill-advised 3rd bridge project. What interested me the most is that, as a trial lawyer, he was able to shift gears and avoid being seen as one-sided. A lawyer has a duty to do whatever is ethically acceptable to promote his case (if the glove fits...), but it was his ability to present an objective perspective that won over the fence sitters.
This demonstrated flexibility bodes well for success as a legislator.
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