From Portland Afoot

Metro president-elect Tom Hughes, courtesy Hughes campaign

Tom Hughes is the president-elect of Metro, having won the 2010 Metro president election against Bob Stacey and Rex Burkholder. He previously served as mayor of Hillsboro.

[edit] Positions on Columbia River Crossing

Hughes has consistently framed the Columbia River Crossing plan to replace the Interstate Bridge as a project needed for the region's job growth.

[edit] In April 2010: Build 10-12 lane I-5 bridge with light rail before it's too late

Hughes told Think Out Loud in April 2010 that he favored a new I-5 bridge with a Yellow Line extension, six "through lanes" and four to six other lanes for traffic moving on and off near the river.

Hughes said he was worried that the project would not be built if agreement was not reached in 2010.

"If it hasn't moved forward by the time we get into office, it's likely not to move forward," he said in April 2010. "I can see a window closing at the end of this year. ... There's a potential that we won't be able to reopen it again certainly in my lifetime."

[edit] In November 2010: "We have to move forward"

At a November 2010 discussion of alternatives to the Columbia River Crossing including Bill Scott, Joe Cortright and George Crandall, Hughes called the self-described Common Sense Alternative to the CRC "food for thought."

He said he would support any plan that improved freight access to industrial areas near the bridge.

"I'm pretty much agnostic on how we move forward," Hughes said. "I just think we have to move forward. ... I think the most persuasive point that was raised tonight was that if we can't find a way to move forward on this [existing CRC plan], then I want to find a project that we can move forward on."

[edit] No discussion of transportation on website

During the primary and the beginning of the general election, Hughes's campaign website included no specific statements on transportation, focusing instead on his call for "an all-hands-on-deck effort at job growth."

[edit] Call for better suburb-to-suburb bus service

According to a friendly February 2010 guest opinion column in The Oregonian by Dave Lister, Hughes said TriMet should not focus entirely on light rail expansion plans and should step up bus services.

"We need other mass transit alternatives, and they need to revolve around bus service," Hughes told Lister. "Imagine being a worker who lives in Tualatin and works in Hillsboro," he said. "In order to utilize transit you first ride the WES, then transfer to MAX, then ride a bus that leaves you with a half-mile walk to work.

[edit] Defense of car drivers

In the Lister interview, Hughes also criticized Metro for seeming not to support automobile traffic.

"We can't lay down rail lines to every employment zone, and we certainly can't make light rail rapid, which MAX isn't," Hughes said. "Metro says it wants to provide transportation alternatives for everyone, but the only alternative they don't seem to support is driving an automobile."

[edit] Attempt to live car-free in Hillsboro

According to the Lister column, Hughes's family lived car-free in Hillsboro for nine months, but gave it up when the Red Line opened.

"Just before MAX came to Hillsboro," Hughes said, "we tried to become car-free. My wife worked downtown. She rode the bus to work and back, and we rode the bus for most trips.

"If we were going out of town, we rented a car. We did that for nine months even though it was a half-mile to the bus stop. Two weeks after the MAX came in, express bus service to downtown was discontinued and she couldn't get to work on time, so we had to buy a car."

[edit] See also

• 2010 Metro president election
• low-car voter guide
• Bob Stacey