Vera Katz
OCCUPATION: Mayor, City of Portland, Oregon
OCCUPATIONAL BACKGROUND: Director of Development, Portland Community College
educational background: B.A., M.A. studies, Brooklyn College, New York
PRIOR GOVERNMENTAL EXPERIENCE: State Representative (1973-1993); Speaker (1985-1991)
"Katz offers ambitious vision…she laid out an activist agenda for a third term…"
The Oregonian, January 29, 2000
Dear Portlander,
We have a lot we can and must do to make our city even greater, including:
• More life-long learning with better public schools, job training and higher education opportunities;
• An end to youth gun violence with continued tough law enforcement and effective youth gang prevention programs;
• The creation of more living-wage jobs for Portland's families;
• A renaissance of the Willamette River that links together more natural areas and cleaner wildlife habitat with sustainable business and neighborhood districts;
• Good design and smart planning for our changing and growing city that will protect and improve our unique neighborhoods;
• A fight against gentrification by funding more affordable housing to increase homeownership and supporting our locally-owned neighborhood businesses;
• Stronger civil right protections for all Portlanders;
• Continued support for the arts and cultural life of our city;
• An expanded, more frequent and fareless transit system; and,
• A continuously improving city government that offers the best services to Portlanders and is efficient and effective.
This will require innovation, energy and determination and all of us working together. I look forward to each challenge and opportunity.
I invite you to join us. Learn more about each of these issues, email me with your ideas and thoughts, or sign-up to receive regular updates about our work:
Thank you for your support.
Vera Katz
(This information furnished by Friends of Vera Katz)