With a last "all aboard" call on the Oregon Zoo and Railway's steam engine, outgoing Metro Council President David Bragdon bade staff, colleagues, family and friends goodbye before leaving for a new job in New York City.
"As some of you know, I have a special fondness for this train," Bragdon told the gathering. "On June 19, 1959 the zoo train took its first run through Washington Park. On the same day, my mother entered the hospital to give birth to me, and I arrived the next day," he said. Nodding to his mother Nancy, Bragdon noted his love of trains and invited all to board the "Oregon" steam locomotive for a ride with him at the controls.
In mid-September Bragdon begins his job as director of long-term planning and sustainability in the office of Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He'll be responsible for the creation and implementation of PlaNYC, the city’s long-term vision for a greener, greater New York.
During nearly eight years at the helm of Metro, Bragdon focused on protecting natural areas and the environment, transforming the way the region plans for growth and making the agency more collaborative and financially responsible. He ends nearly a dozen years at the regional government. First winning a council district seat in 1998, he was elected council president in 2002 and 2006.
Bragdon, who moved to Oregon with his family at age 12, was born in New York City. In his new job, he’ll lead sweeping initiatives to improve his hometown’s urban environment and establish New York as a global environmental leader.