Tom Hughes

I'm pleased to announce the launching of the Portland Metro Export Initiative, a new project to double the region's exports in five years.

A proposal in Congress would undermine the Portland area's ability to build a balanced transportation system that provides travel options and protects air quality, Metro Council President Tom Hughes said today.

On Nov. 2, I shared my thoughts with The Oregonian on urban renewal as a tool for infrastructure and livability improvements in our communities. My guest column points out that some of our country's great achievements have come from public investment, and we should continue to invest in our communities so they can all prosper.

Read the guest column "Urban renewal's power: Public investments boost prosperity for all"

I look forward to an ongoing conversation with the region about how to make all of our communities great places.

I'm pleased to announce I have nominated Martha Bennett to be Metro's next chief operating officer. It is my hope that the Metro Council will approve her nomination on Thursday, Sept. 8.

On Friday, Aug. 19, the Oregon Land Conservation and Development Commission approved the urban and rural reserves map for Washington County, which was approved by the Metro Council and the Washington County Board of Commissioners last spring.

This decision, combined with LCDC’s decision last year to approve the urban and rural reserves for Multnomah and Clackamas counties, completes four years of collaborative effort to provide significant protections for farmland and natural areas while supplying enough land for good jobs and vibrant neighborhoods for the future. No other metropolitan area in the United States has ever attempted — let alone achieved — such a thoughtful and far-reaching plan.