A new day

By this morning the tears of joy have dried from my cheeks, and so have my slippers after jumping up and down outside on the rainy streets of Portland beside my apartment.

Barack Obama is president-elect of the United States of America. And our long national nightmare is all but over. Or at least it will be on January 20, 2009.

Now that I've expressed my biased opinion about the election, though, it seems more fitting for an architecture blog to ask how various local and national election results will affect our built environment here.

With Obama in the Oval Office, I'm imagining a better chance for mass transit projects like streetcars getting federal funding. George W. Bush favored buses. If we're not waging unjust pre-emptive wars that cost trillions of dollars, there also might be a lot more funding for education and alternative energy. And I love imagining Obama on Day 1 going, "Where's that Kyoto Accord? Somebody give me a pen!"

Locally, we have the Bill Sizemore-sponsored ballot Measure 63 going down to defeat, which would have allowed building projects under $35,000 to go forward without permits. This seemed like a ludicrous idea to me, but it also speaks to the building industry's frustration with how much red tape there can be. This issue probably still needs to be addressed, but by somebody other than Darth Sizemore.

There's also one new City Council member: Amanda Fritz. She is a longtime citizen activist with passion, integrity and smarts. However, her TV commercials also used the OHSU aerial tram as an example of the kind of folly she would fight. And I disagree. The tram may have been approved under the auspices of a much lower cost than would ever have been, Ms. Fritz, but this is no boondoggle. How will Amanda Fritz approach design and architecture: as someone who appreciates that good design is essential to the health of a city and society, or one willing to go on the cheap with Portland's future in order to balance a budget?

Meanwhile, as I bask in a newfound sense of patriotism missing in my heart since Bill Clinton's impeachment, how are the rest of you awaking to the realities of the election and how it affects Portland?

Comments

[Dennis H. Coalwell]

I hope President Obama considers Rep. Earl Blumenauer for Secretary of Transportation. If he does I hope he accepts.

[robert]

I thought the "building industry" was against measure 63. If you don't need a permit or inspections, why hire a licensed and bonded contractor to build that new porch, garage, restroom, etc?

[ws]

Until it was confirmed otherwise, I was scared McCain might actually get elected. Him and Palin...disaster...for the U.S., for the world.

I think it's going to be tough for Obama. Having good, visionary ideas is one thing. Accomplishing them in reality is another. As he works to do this, he has to somehow reconcile the concerns of conservatives in this country whose needs will not be met as readily as they might have been with a republican president. I have the feeling though, that he'll be able to do it.

[Douglas K.]

I'm hoping for a REAL economic stimulus package in the form of immediate major federal investment in public works. Yes, that means road, bridge, and rail projects. It also could mean federal funds for renovated or new schools and public universities, libraries, courthouses, parks and community centers, police and fire stations, and public office buildings. The short-term benefit is massive job creation in design and construction. The lasting benefit could be restoration of historic buildings and some striking new public buildings, bridges, and parks.

[edward]

outside of the presidental election, there were huge victories for transportation. CA approved high speed rail, both los angeles and seattle approved big transit measures, honolulu approved an elevated rail line, sonoma and marin counties in california approved a commuter rail line and sacramento approved a Portland-like streetcar. the vote for bart to san jose has 66.2% and needs 66.6% to pass.

[Diana Kurth]

RE: Measure 63

Even if a building permit is not required,
wouldn't it be in the best interest of the property owner to employ a licensed and bonded contractor to do any construction or skilled labor?
When the property is to be resold, the purchaser will definely want to know what has been altered and was the work done "according to code" or "properly and professionally"! Otherwise, the purchaser may not be able to be approved for a loan to purchase the property, IF it doesn't pass a property and building inspection.

[srj]

Lets be serious, if the average middle class homeowner wants to construct a new bathroom and doesn't have to have a licensed contractor, they are going to call their cousin Mike who "has done tons of these before". With the option to have work done under $35k without jumping through hoops and relying upon outside services for construction, I feel like most people will do the easy, short-sighted thing. Although this proposal would definitely streamline the permittal process, for good or bad, most people will not contract out their work.

[Geoff]

I'm a libertarian, let's get that out front.
[rant]
Where is the justification for the federal government to spend billions on "public works" projects, especially in a financially grave climate? I believe the expression "trying to dig one's self out of a hole" comes to mind. How have we as a country come to place so much trust in Big Brother government; blindly following a few hundred bought-and-sold politicians from DC with their giant grinding bureaucracy in tow, hoping they somehow tax and spend us into prosperity and national success?

And both parties are grossly guilty of this behavior. Obama's election will only mean a shift of the billion dollar payouts from Republican beneficiaries to those of the Democrats. Perhaps that is the Change he speaks of; the same that occurs every 4 or 8 years, yet consistently adding to the burden of the common citizen.

True change is going to come at the local, micro-level, with individuals, professionals, charities, and the general just-minded folk putting in a great deal of hard work and time for the betterment of themselves and their communities. It is most certainly not going to come in the form of a magical General Bond or Federal Public Welfare check from the "Almighty Congress" back in DC.

Let us not be fooled, the Federal government is the Problem, not the Solution (no matter who is at the helm).

[/rant]

[robert]

Geoff:
The justification is the govenment's obligation to "promote the general welfare". It's in the constitution. People having jobs promotes the general welfare.
The federal government can be part of the solution.

[Nikos]

Regurgitating Ronald Reagan drivel such as "the government is the problem" does not make it so in 2008. Also, the country's infrastructure left to "charities" and the pettiness and cluelessness of the "microlevel" is a scary thought. As a pehaps irrelevant aside, the rights of minorities should not be put up for vote by the "general folk" either.

[Robert]

I guess Geoff still trusts the "invisible hand of the free market" to take care of everything. I think we have seen the result of that.