Two longtime Portland residents have submitted applications to serve as the next Metro Councilor from their district.
Alesia Reese, a Northeast Portland community activist, was the first applicant to replace Robert Liberty as the District 6 representative to the council. Liberty resigned in January to take a job at the University of Oregon.
The next day, another community volunteer, Martha Dibblee, submitted her application for the vacancy.
Reese, who said she's lived in District 6 for 23 years, is a Parkrose School Board member and the chair of the Woodland Park Neighborhood Association. She listed the Airport Futures Planning Group, the East Portland Parks Coalition and the board of East Portland Neighbors, Inc. Reese is a clerk for the U.S. Postal Service.
In her application letter, Reese said she supports the agency's efforts in recycling, environmental stewardship and inclusive government.
"Perhaps the most difficult measure Metro is facing is budgetary," she wrote. "As a member of the Parkrose School Board, difficult funding decisions have been made, based on sound educational practices and board priorities."
Dibblee, a retired health physicist from Eastmoreland, said she's lived in District 6 for 44 years. She listed volunteer work for Meals on Wheels, the state's Energy Facilty Siting Council and the board of directors for The Climate Trust in her application for the vacancy.
She said she'd like to see Metro take a more active role in governance issues, including using tolls to pay for the Sellwood Bridge replacement.
"Having lived on the East Coast, I have seen firsthand the advantages of streamlined toll systems," she wrote in her application. "Tolls need not be retired, however: tolls keep the facility maintained – by those who use it."
Applications for the Metro Council vacancy are due Feb. 9.
Full disclosure: The reporter and Reese both serve on the 13-member East Portland Neighborhood Chairs group.