David Bragdon

Last updated
David Bragdon
David Bragdon 2009.jpg
Bragdon in 2009
Born
David L. Bragdon

(1959-06-20) June 20, 1959 (age 65)
New York, New York, U.S.
Alma mater Harvard,
Reed College
Occupation(s)Politician, Civic leader
Father Paul Bragdon

David L. Bragdon (born June 20, 1959) is an American politician and civic leader in the U.S. states of Oregon and New York. From 2003 to 2010, he was the elected president of the Metro Council, a regional government in the Portland metropolitan area. He served as Director of the Mayor's Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability in the administration of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York City. [1] He is currently executive director of TransitCenter, Inc., a New York-based non-profit organization which commissions and conducts research and advocacy related to urban transportation. [2]

Contents

Personal

Bragdon is the oldest son of former Reed College president Paul Bragdon and educator Nancy Bragdon. [3] His brother, Peter Bragdon, is a sportswear executive who was Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski's chief of staff in the early 2000s. [4] His sister, Susan Bragdon, is an attorney specializing in intellectual property related for food and agriculture. [5]

Early life and education

Bragdon was raised in New York. He was 12 when his family moved from New York City to Portland. [3] He attended high school at Catlin Gabel School, graduating in 1977. [6] He graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor's degree with honors in government in 1982 and obtained a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from Reed College in 2009. [3] [7]

Career

Prior to entering public service, Bragdon worked in international trade and freight transportation in the private sector. He opened the first Nike office in Singapore where he oversaw the company's Southeast Asia shipping, worked as a maritime vessel agent at Columbia River ports, represented Evergreen Airlines, [8] in India and the Soviet Union, and worked as a marketing manager for the Port of Portland. [3] He also drove a taxicab in Portland for one year, in 2000. [8]

Bragdon ran for the Oregon House of Representatives in 1996, but lost to Chris Beck in the Democratic primary. [9] [10]

Bragdon was first elected to the Metro Council as a district councilor in 1998. He was elected by the voters regionwide as the first Metro Council President in 2002, with 58 percent of the vote [11] (taking office January 2003), and was re-elected in 2006 without an opponent. [12] His accomplishments in office included the passage of a $227.4 million bond measure in 2006 which allowed for the preservation of thousands of acres of natural areas in Oregon. Because of this work he was rewarded the National Arbor Day excellence in Urban Forestry Leadership Award in 2010. [13]

Bragdon was rumored to be a leading potential candidate for mayor of Portland in 2008, but in response to speculation that he would run, he issued a satirical press release disavowing intent to run for mayor of Portland or of any other city in the region that year. [14] He is a train enthusiast, [8] and as a kid wrote a booklet for TriMet about bus riding and how to use the TriMet bus system. [15] [16] He hosted a Sunday morning television show called "Outlook Portland" in 2008–09. He has also performed with Linda Austin's Boris and Natasha Dancers in "Catnip" as part of the Dance United benefit for Oregon Ballet Theater at the Keller Auditorium. [17]

In 2010, moved from Portland to New York City [2] to accept a job as Director of the mayor's Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability in the administration of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. [1] [18] He left that position in 2012 to become director of planning of a project to revitalize parkland around Jamaica Bay. [19]

Since 2013, Bragdon has been executive director of TransitCenter, a New York-based non-profit organization which commissions and conducts research and advocacy related to urban transportation. [2] [20]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portland, Oregon</span> Most populous city in Oregon, United States

Portland is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated in the northwestern area of the state at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, it is the county seat of Multnomah County, Oregon's most populous county. As of 2020, Portland's population was 652,503, making it the 26th-most populous city in the United States, the sixth-most populous on the West Coast, and the second-most populous in the Pacific Northwest, after Seattle. Approximately 2.5 million people live in the Portland metropolitan area, making it the 25th-most populous in the United States. About half of Oregon's population resides within the Portland metro area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beaverton, Oregon</span> City in Oregon, United States

Beaverton is a city in the Tualatin Valley, located in Washington County in the U.S. state of Oregon, with a small portion bordering Portland. The city is among the main cities that make up the Portland metropolitan area. Its population was 97,494 at the 2020 census, making it the second most populous city in the county and the seventh-most populous city in Oregon. Beaverton is an economic center for Washington County along with neighboring Hillsboro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MAX Light Rail</span> Light rail system serving Portland, Oregon

The Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) is a light rail system serving the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon. Owned and operated by TriMet, it consists of five lines connecting the six sections of Portland; the communities of Beaverton, Clackamas, Gresham, Hillsboro, Milwaukie, and Oak Grove; and Portland International Airport to Portland City Center. Trains run seven days a week with headways between 30 minutes off-peak and three minutes during rush hours. In 2023, MAX recorded an annual ridership of 23,446,700.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portland Streetcar</span> Streetcar system in Portland, Oregon

The Portland Streetcar is a streetcar system in Portland, Oregon, that opened in 2001 and serves areas surrounding downtown Portland. The 3.9-mile (6.3 km) NS Line runs from Northwest Portland to the South Waterfront via Downtown and the Pearl District. The Loop Service, which opened in September 2012 as the Central Loop, runs from Downtown to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry via the Pearl District, the Broadway Bridge across Willamette River, the Lloyd District, and the Central Eastside Industrial District and added 3.3 miles (5.3 km) of route. In September 2015 the line was renamed as the Loop Service, with the A Loop traveling clockwise, and the B Loop traveling counterclockwise. The two-route system serves some 20,000 daily riders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TriMet</span> Oregon government-owned corporation responsible for public transit in the Portland area

The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) is a transit agency that serves most of the Oregon part of the Portland metropolitan area. Created in 1969 by the Oregon legislature, the district replaced five private bus companies that operated in the three counties: Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas. TriMet began operating a light rail system, MAX, in 1986, which has since been expanded to five lines that now cover 59.7 miles (96.1 km). It also operates the WES Commuter Rail line since 2009. It also provides the operators and maintenance personnel for the city of Portland-owned Portland Streetcar system. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 62,055,600, or about 206,400 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willamette Shore Trolley</span> Heritage railroad/streetcar along the Willamette River

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metro (Oregon regional government)</span> Regional government agency

Metro is the regional government for the Oregon portion of the Portland metropolitan area, covering portions of Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington Counties. It is the only directly elected regional government and metropolitan planning organization in the United States. Metro is responsible for overseeing the Portland region's solid waste system, general planning of land use and transportation, maintaining certain regional parks and natural areas, and operating the Oregon Zoo, Oregon Convention Center, Portland's Centers for the Arts, and the Portland Expo Center. It also distributes money from two voter-approved tax measures: one for homeless services and one for affordable housing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MAX Blue Line</span> Light rail line in Portland, Oregon

The MAX Blue Line is a light rail line serving the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon. Operated by TriMet as part of the MAX Light Rail system, it connects Hillsboro, Beaverton, Portland, and Gresham. The Blue Line is the longest in the network; it travels approximately 33 miles (53 km) and serves 48 stations from Hatfield Government Center to Cleveland Avenue. It is the busiest of the five MAX lines, having carried an average 55,370 riders each day on weekdays in September 2018. Service runs for 221⁄2 hours per day from Monday to Thursday, with headways of between 30 minutes off-peak and five minutes during rush hour. It runs later in the evening on Fridays and Saturdays and ends earlier on Sundays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MAX Red Line</span> Light rail line in Portland, Oregon

The MAX Red Line is a light rail line serving the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon. Operated by TriMet as part of the MAX Light Rail system, it is an airport rail link connecting Hillsboro, Beaverton, Portland City Center, and Northeast Portland to Portland International Airport. The Red Line serves 37 stations; it interlines with the Blue Line and partially with the Green Line from Hillsboro Airport/Fairgrounds station to Gateway Transit Center and then branches off to Portland Airport station. Service runs for 22 hours per day with headways of up to 15 minutes. The Red Line carried an average 17,390 passengers per weekday in September 2024, the second busiest after the Blue Line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MAX Yellow Line</span> Light rail line in Portland, Oregon

The MAX Yellow Line is a light rail line serving Portland, Oregon, United States. Operated by TriMet as part of the MAX Light Rail system, it connects North Portland, Portland City Center, and Portland State University (PSU). The line serves 17 stations; it runs north–south from Expo Center station to PSU South/Southwest 6th and College station, interlining with the Green and Orange lines within the Portland Transit Mall. Service runs for 21 hours per day with headways of up to 15 minutes. The Yellow Line is the fourth-busiest service in the MAX system; it carried an average 12,960 riders per weekday in September 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington Park station (TriMet)</span> Light rail station in Portland, Oregon, US

Washington Park is a light rail station in Portland, Oregon, United States, served by TriMet as part of the MAX Light Rail system. Situated between Sunset Transit Center and Goose Hollow/Southwest Jefferson Street station, it is the 17th and 3rd station eastbound on the Blue Line and the Red Line, respectively. The station's two tracks and island platform are part of the Robertson Tunnel beneath Portland's West Hills. Its head house and surface-level plaza occupy the middle of a parking lot surrounded by the Hoyt Arboretum, Oregon Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Oregon Zoo, and World Forestry Center. Washington Park is the only completely underground station in the MAX system. At 260 feet (79 m) below ground, it is the deepest transit station in North America and in the western hemisphere. It is also the seventh-deepest in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willow Creek/Southwest 185th Avenue Transit Center</span> Railway station in Hillsboro, Oregon, US

Willow Creek/Southwest 185th Avenue Transit Center is a multimodal transport hub in Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. Owned and operated by TriMet, it is served by bus and light rail. The transit center is the ninth station eastbound on the Blue Line, the fifth station eastbound on the Red Line, and a hub for bus routes mostly serving Washington County in the Portland metropolitan area. It is located by the intersection of Southwest Baseline Road and 185th Avenue near the city's boundary with Beaverton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catlin Gabel School</span> Private school in Oregon, United States

The Catlin Gabel School is a private preschool–12 school located in West Haven-Sylvan in Washington County, Oregon, with a Portland, Oregon postal address. Annual enrollment is approximately 780 students from across the Portland metro area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MAX Green Line</span> Light rail line in Portland, Oregon

The MAX Green Line is a light rail line serving the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon. Operated by TriMet as part of the MAX Light Rail system, it connects Portland State University (PSU), Portland City Center, Northeast Portland, Southeast Portland, and Clackamas. The Green Line travels 15 miles (24.1 km) from the PSU South stations to Clackamas Town Center Transit Center and serves 30 stations. It is the only service that interlines with all of the other MAX services, sharing the Portland Transit Mall segment with the Orange and Yellow lines and part of the Eastside MAX segment with the Blue and Red lines. South of Gateway Transit Center, the Green Line branches off to Clackamas Town Center. Service runs for 21 hours on weekdays and 20 hours on weekends with headways of up to 15 minutes. It is the third-busiest line in the system with an average of 13,030 riders per day on weekdays in September 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MAX Orange Line</span> Light rail line in Portland, Oregon

The MAX Orange Line is a light rail line serving the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon. Operated by TriMet as part of the MAX Light Rail system, it connects Portland City Center, Portland State University (PSU), Southeast Portland, Milwaukie, and Oak Grove. The line serves 17 stations and runs for 201⁄2 hours per day with headways of up to 15 minutes. It averaged 3,480 daily weekday riders in September 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rose City Transit</span> Defunct mass transportation company in Portland, Oregon, United States

The Rose City Transit Company was a private company that operated most mass transit service in the city of Portland, Oregon, from 1956 to 1969. It operated only within the city proper. Transit services connecting downtown Portland with suburbs outside the city but within the Portland metropolitan area were run by other private companies, mainly a consortium of four companies known collectively as the "Blue Bus" lines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Hughes (Oregon politician)</span> American politician (born 1943)

Tom Hughes is an American politician and former educator. He was the president of Metro, a regional government in the Portland metropolitan area, from 2011-2019, and was the mayor of his home town of Hillsboro from 2001-2009. He also on the city's planning commission and city council. During his time a mayor, the city built the Hillsboro Civic Center as the new city hall, with the exterior plaza then named in his honor after he left office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Bus lines</span>

The Blue Bus lines were a group of four affiliated privately owned companies that provided bus transit service in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area in the 1950s and 1960s. The name was unofficial – no company using this or similar name existed in the Portland area – but was in common use in the 1960s, and variations included "Blue Bus lines", "Blue Lines", "blue bus" lines and "blue buses". The Blue Bus companies provided service only between Portland and suburbs outside the city, or within such suburbs, as transit service within the city of Portland was the exclusive franchise of the Portland Traction Company or, after 1956, the Rose City Transit Company (RCT). The "blue buses" were prohibited from making stops inside the city except to pick up passengers destined for points outside RCT's service area. The "blue" name was a reference to the paint scheme worn by most buses of the consortium. By contrast, city transit operator Rose City's buses wore a primarily red paint scheme.

<i>Kvinneakt</i> Statue in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Kvinneakt is an abstract bronze sculpture located on the Transit Mall of downtown Portland, Oregon. Designed and created by Norman J. Taylor between 1973 and 1975, the work was funded by TriMet and the United States Department of Transportation and was installed on the Transit Mall in 1977. The following year Kvinneakt appeared in the "Expose Yourself to Art" poster which featured future Mayor of Portland Bud Clark flashing the sculpture. It remained in place until November 2006 when it was removed temporarily during renovation of the Transit Mall and the installation of the MAX Light Rail on the mall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A and B Loop</span> Streetcar circle route in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

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.

References

  1. 1 2 Navarro, Mireya (August 11, 2010). "Bloomberg Appoints Environmental Aide". The New York Times . Archived from the original on February 24, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Mesh, Aaron (April 3, 2013). "David Bragdon Takes Transit Job in New York City". Willamette Week . Portland, Oregon. Archived from the original on October 24, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Crombie, Noelle (August 11, 2010). "Metro Chief David Bragdon Leaving for Top New York City Post". The Oregonian . Portland, Oregon. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Neil's Network". Portland Tribune. May 21, 2004. Archived from the original on March 31, 2012.
  5. ↑ Mortensen, Eric (June 22, 2009). "Puzzling personnel battle brews in Portland-area's Metro". The Oregonian. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  6. ↑ Kaye, Ted. "Catlin Gabel School". The Oregon Encyclopedia .
  7. ↑ "DJC Newsmaker Award Winner, David Bragdon: Transportation Keeps". Daily Journal of Commerce . March 11, 2010. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
  8. 1 2 3 Korn, Peter (April 9, 2009). "In Character with David Bragdon". Portland Tribune . Archived from the original on February 13, 2012. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Oregon Secretary of State: Election History". oregonvotes.org. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Oregon Secretary of State: Election History". oregonvotes.org. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  11. ↑ "November 5, 2002, General Election – View Race Results". KATU. November 8, 2002. Archived from the original on November 25, 2002.
  12. ↑ "An interview with Portland Metro Councilor David Bragdon". Daily Journal of Commerce . Portland, Oregon. December 15, 2006. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
  13. ↑ "National Arbor Day Awards" . Retrieved August 27, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Bragdon not to run for mayor of any city in 2008" (Press release). BlueOregon. December 1, 2007. Archived from the original on December 13, 2007. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  15. ↑ "14-year-old authors Tri-Met rider aid". The Oregonian , June 20, 1974, p. 18.
  16. ↑ The Bus Rider's Manual, or Everything you always wanted to know about Tri-Met, but didn't know who to ask listing at Amazon.com.
  17. ↑ Ames Carlin, Peter (May 26, 2009). "Taking modern dance to a place it's never been before". The Oregonian . Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  18. ↑ "Metro Council President David Bragdon Selected to Guide New York City's Urban Transformation" (Press release). Metro. August 11, 2010. Archived from the original on October 4, 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
  19. ↑ Navarro, Mireya (October 23, 2012). "A New Sustainability Chief for New York". The New York Times . Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  20. ↑ "David Bragdon". TransitCenter. 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.