Signaling a new era of serving as the regional facilitator, Metro Council President Tom Hughes emphasized protection of natural resources, recruitment of new jobs and fostering growth of existing companies in his inaugural address.
Hughes, 67, was sworn in as Metro’s second council president at 4:38 p.m. Tuesday, the oath of office administered by Washington County Judge Gayle Nachtigal. The inauguration took place at the Dolores Winningstad Theatre at the Metro-managed Portland Center for the Performing Arts.
In a 15-minute inaugural address, Hughes, a former Hillsboro mayor, praised the region’s successes in smart growth and resource protection, and said those are key assets in the city’s recruitment of employers.
The message that the Portland region is open for business will be delivered with optimism, Hughes said.
“We are the descendents of pioneers. We can grab ourselves by our bootstraps and make this region a better and more prosperous place,” Hughes said. “I believe that, I think you believe that and that’s the message we’re going to deliver to one and all as we go forward.”
But optimism alone won’t create jobs. Hughes said he’s planning on spending time with the region’s chambers of commerce, hearing what small and mid-sized businesses need to become more viable.
“We are going to create jobs in this region through helping small companies grow to be midsized companies, and helping midsized to become large companies,” Hughes said. “Seventy-five percent of all new jobs we’re going to create are from companies that are already here.
“I want to partner with chambers from around the region, to work with them and say ‘What do you need to grow from a 10-person office space to a 50-person office space,’” Hughes said.
Hughes also said he had two international trips lined up in the first quarter, one to Japan in February and another to Germany in March. The Japan trip is to recruit solar, battery and fuel cell manufacturers to Oregon; the European journey is to work with German manufacturers, many of whom already have operations here, and convince them to expand.
And while he pointed out that Portland’s traffic is better than most places – a reason Genentech located to Hillsboro, he said – the Columbia River Crossing is a priority he’d like to see addressed in 2011.
“The CRC has to move forward, and we have to show progress in that this year if we’re going to hope to have, anywhere in the foreseeable future, an end to that gridlock that is rapidly causing our opportunities in Rivergate and the Port of Portland to disappear,” Hughes said.
In the audience were at least six mayors, including Portland’s Sam Adams, Hillsboro’s Jerry Willey, Beaverton’s Denny Doyle, Tigard’s Craig Dirksen, Forest Grove’s Pete Truax and Troutdale’s Jim Kight. Also on hand were Portland city commissioners Nick Fish and Amanda Fritz, Clackamas County Commissioner Jim Bernard, Multnomah County commissioners Diane McKeel and Judy Shiprack, newly-elected Washington County Commissioner Greg Malinowski and his immediate predecessor, Desari Strader. Statewide officials in attendance included Rep. Mitch Greenlick (D-Portland), Sen. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Beaverton), and Rep.-elect Matt Wand (R-Troutdale) along with Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian.
And then there was the Metro Council, three members of which took their oaths of office — Carlotta Collette and Kathryn Harrington, who were re-elected, and Shirley Craddick, who begins her first term as the replacement for term-limited former Councilor Rod Park.
The councilors took their oath simultaneously, leading to some light comedy as they tried to recite the oath while hearing each others’ voices attempting to do the same.
After their oaths, each of the councilors gave brief remarks.
“There is a critical need for government and businesses to work together,” said Craddick, whose district includes east Multnomah and Clackamas counties. “The challenges we face transcend the cities in District 1. Collaboration and partnership in the face of those things is critical to the future economic development throughout our region.”
Councilor Collette, who served as council president since David Bragdon’s resignation in September, said she was relieved to be handing over the reins to Hughes and returning to represent her district, which includes central Clackamas County. And, she said, she’s learned a lot from her first inauguration two years ago, when she was sworn in as a mid-term replacement for former Councilor Brian Newman.
“My goal is to make sure we achieve all that we try to achieve for everybody in our region, and that’s the most difficult part of what we do — the issue of equity,” Collette said. “I love working as a district councilor and I look forward to four years serving my district.”
Harrington, who begins her second four-year term on the council representing northern Washington County, said her first election campaign was a job interview. Her 2010 re-election campaign was a performance review, she said.
“I believe that a new council provides an opportunity for renewed energy for Metro’s ongoing work of shaping the communities we want and the economy we need,” she said. “I intend to seize the opportunity for renewed energy and complete the transition to collaborative problem solving.”
Also taking the oath of office Tuesday was Metro Auditor Suzanne Flynn.