Charlie Hales | |
---|---|
52nd Mayor of Portland, Oregon | |
In office January 1, 2013 –January 1, 2017 | |
Preceded by | Sam Adams |
Succeeded by | Ted Wheeler |
Portland City Commissioner | |
In office January 1993 –May 2002 | |
Preceded by | Dick Bogle |
Succeeded by | Randy Leonard |
Personal details | |
Born | Charles Andrew Hales January 22,1956 Washington,D.C.,U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Nancy Hales |
Children | 5 |
Alma mater | University of Virginia |
Charles Andrew Hales (born January 22,1956) is a former American politician who served as the 52nd mayor of Portland,Oregon,from 2013 to 2017. He previously served on the Portland City Council from 1993 to 2002. [1]
Charles Andrew Hales was born in Washington,D.C.,in January 1956. [2] His father,Alfred Ross Hales,Jr.,was a structural engineer for the United States Navy and his mother,Carol Hales,was a homemaker. He had two older siblings but,at nine years younger than his brother,grew up "virtually as an only child." [2]
Hales attended public schools in Alexandria,Virginia,and graduated from Thomas Edison High School in Fairfax County,where he participated in band and drama club. He graduated from the University of Virginia in 1979 with a bachelor's degree in political theory. [2] He took graduate studies in public administration at Lewis &Clark College in Portland. [3]
Prior to being elected,Hales worked as a lobbyist,working for the Oregon Mobile Home Park Association and for the Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Portland, [2] where he was the vice president. [4]
Hales was elected to Portland City Council in 1992. He was sworn in as a City Commissioner in January 1993. [4]
During his tenure on the city council,Hales conceived of and won voter approval for the first parks bond measure in over 50 years,funding construction of two new community centers and over 100 park improvement projects across the city. [5] Hales completed the first phase of the Portland Streetcar system,the first urban streetcar in the US in almost 50 years. [6] He also completed the planning of the Pearl District and South Waterfront redevelopment areas,which were designed as dense,transit-oriented "new urban" neighborhoods. [7] [8] Hales' advocacy for transportation —summed up in his stated goal to make Portland "the best European city in America" for non-auto transportation [9] —earned him the nickname,"Choo-Choo Charlie". [10]
One of Hales' more controversial initiatives as a city commissioner was diversifying Portland Fire Bureau workforce. He hired the first chief from outside the Bureau ranks, [11] and created an apprenticeship program that added over 80 women and people of color to what had previously been a 99-percent white,male organization. [12] He also became the only Portland politician to vote against Joint Terrorism Task Force involvement. [13]
Hales' attendance declined in 2001 during his campaign for the executive director position of the Port of Portland. [13] At the end of May 2002, [10] part way through his third term,Hales left to take a position with HDR,Inc.,an engineering firm,where he managed planning and design of new streetcar lines in cities across the country. [5] Following his departure from City Council,Hales told Willamette Week that he considered the 1994 parks bond measure and the streetcar to be his greatest achievements while in office. [5]
In 2011,Hales announced that he would be a candidate for mayor in 2012. On November 6,2012,he defeated challenger Jefferson Smith, [14] receiving 61% of the vote. [15] He assumed office on January 1,2013. [16]
During the first two years of his tenure as mayor,Hales confronted the city's largest-ever budget shortfall —$21 million [17] —and emerged with a balanced budget, [18] as well as conservative budgeting practices that allowed in enough revenue for supplemental budgets. [19] [20] Hales also reformed police practices,prioritizing community policing through walking beats [21] [22] and his choice in police chief, [23] the community-minded Larry O'Dea. [24] [25] Along with Commissioner Steve Novick,Hales in 2014 proposed $46 million in new fees to pay for street maintenance and safety improvements,such as filling pot holes and building sidewalks. [26]
On March 6,2015,Hales announced he would seek reelection for the 2016 mayoral election. [27] [28] In September,State Treasurer and former county commissioner Ted Wheeler announced his intention to run a well-funded campaign against Hales. [29] A month later Hales abandoned his reelection bid,stating,"So when confronted with a choice between giving my full effort to the job of being mayor and spending that energy on a long and consuming re-election campaign,it's an easy choice. Therefore,I have decided not to file for re-election." [30] [31] [32] Wheeler won election in May 2016 with token opposition. [33]
On November 3,2015,Hales and the city government passed a resolution opposing the local expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure. [34]
Hales faced controversy over his decisions regarding Portland's homeless issue. Hales initially declared a housing emergency in 2015 [35] before experimenting with a "Safe Sleep Policy" which promoted non-enforcement of anti-camping laws on sidewalks and rights of way,which was promptly met with lawsuits from local businesses and neighborhood groups. [36] He was protested by residents adjacent to the Springwater Corridor Trail. [37]
Hales was criticized as failing in oversight of the Portland Police and effort to gain accountability. In an editorial summarizing his single term,The Oregonian called Hales "imperious and clueless" and wrote Hales squandered opportunities to support public oversight,picked an unwinnable fight with a Federal judge,failed to streamline the city's "byzantine" police-accountability system,and failed to discipline police chief Larry O'Dea,who while drinking and playing with a gun,shot an acquaintance. [38]
Hales received public criticism during his 2012 campaign for voting eight times in Oregon while a Washington resident. From 2004 to 2009,he claimed tax residency at his wife's Stevenson,Washington home. Oregon taxes income in Hales' bracket at 10.8 percent,while Washington has no income tax. [2]
Hales married his second wife Nancy in 2004. [2] An avid backpacker and sailor,he spent a month sailing around the San Juan Islands after his term as a city commissioner,and then went to work for HDR,Inc. [5] After his mayoral term,he spent 18 months sailing and then returned to HDR. [39]
The Willamette Shore Trolley is a heritage railroad or heritage streetcar that operates along the west bank of the Willamette River between Portland and Lake Oswego in the U.S. state of Oregon. The right-of-way is owned by a group of local-area governments who purchased it in 1988 in order to preserve it for potential future rail transit. Streetcar excursion service began operating on a trial basis in 1987,lasting about three months,and regular operation on a long-term basis began in 1990. The Oregon Electric Railway Historical Society has been the line's operator since 1995.
The Burnside Bridge is a 1926-built bascule bridge that spans the Willamette River in Portland,Oregon,United States,carrying Burnside Street. It is the second bridge at the same site to carry that name. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in November 2012.
Samuel Francis Adams is an American politician in Portland,Oregon. Adams was mayor of Portland from 2009 to 2012 and previously served on the Portland City Council and as chief of staff to former Mayor Vera Katz. Adams was the first openly gay mayor of a large U.S. city.
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Steven Novick is an American politician,attorney,and activist from the U.S. state of Oregon. In 2008,he was a candidate for U.S. Senate for the seat then held by Republican Gordon Smith,but narrowly lost the primary to Jeff Merkley. He served as a Portland City Commissioner from 2013 to 2017. On the city council,he was in charge of the city's transportation department,among other responsibilities.
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Jefferson Smith is an American former radio personality and politician who served in the Oregon House of Representatives,representing District 47 in east Portland,from 2009 to 2012. He was one of two candidates for Mayor of Portland in 2012 to advance beyond the primary election,but lost to Charlie Hales in the November general election. He also founded Bus Project.
Jules Bailey is an American politician who served in the Oregon House of Representatives from 2009 to 2014,representing inner Southeast and Northeast Portland. Bailey also served on the County Commission for Multnomah County,Oregon from June 2014 to December 2016. In 2016,Bailey ran for mayor of Portland in 2016,losing to Ted Wheeler.
Charles Randall ‘Randy’Leonard is a politician in the U.S. state of Oregon. He was a member of the Oregon Legislative Assembly from 1993 to 2002 and served as a city commissioner in Portland from 2002 through 2012.
Edward Tevis Wheeler is an American politician who has served as the mayor of Portland,Oregon since 2017. He was Oregon State Treasurer from 2010 to 2016.
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Gail R. Shibley is an American politician who was the first openly gay person to serve in the Oregon State Legislature.
United States v. City of Portland was a lawsuit filed by the United States Department of Justice against the City of Portland,Oregon on December 17,2012,alleging a pattern or practice of unconstitutional use of force by the Portland Police Bureau against individuals with actual or perceived mental illness.
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The A and B Loop is a streetcar circle route of the Portland Streetcar system in Portland,Oregon,United States. Operated by Portland Streetcar,Inc. and TriMet,it is made up of two separate services:the 6.1-mile (9.8 km) A Loop,which runs clockwise,and the 6.6-mile (10.6 km) B Loop,which runs counterclockwise. The route travels a loop between the east and west sides of the Willamette River by crossing the Broadway Bridge in the north and Tilikum Crossing in the south.
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