Gerritt Rosenthal, the Right Experience for Portland Metro
Portland metro plays an important role in our region because there are things that can fall through the cracks between the counties and the cities. It is Metro’s job to help us continue to move forward in a seamless way. The Council works with community leaders and constituents across city and county boundaries to shape the future of greater Portland.
The Councilor, District 3 seat has opened up on the Metro board, and this is an opportunity to solidify the board as fully Progressive. The current occupant of the seat has been often pulled to the left because our other board members are very Progressive, but the best-case scenario was always taking someone from the right, and pulling them left.
Gerritt is a lifelong Progressive and environmental activist. Adding him to the board will create a solid foundation to help Metro continue to keep our region strong and healthy, take care of the less fortunate, and keep their eye on the environment.
Gerritt has served as an environmental consultant for over 40 years throughout the Pacific Northwest. The duties of the Metro board will find his specific experience enormously valuable. His resume is literally perfect for this position.
If you want someone in this seat who really understands the needs we have in today’s environmental crisis, Gerritt is your candidate.
Here is a synopsis of the candidates – You be the judge!
Tom Anderson – a new member of the Tigard City Council, former Planning Commission member & head real estate professional for Tigard Realty- his campaign is funded by Portland realtors and developers. How can we trust Tom to make the best choices for the environment, and for the residents of the greater Metro Area? Support from these vested interests means he will not make choices that represent the will of the residents of the greater Metro Area.
Tom’s interests coincide with developers who want to maximize profits on housing developments, not the greater community.
Patricia Kepler – an accessibility specialist with experience on the Oregon Disabilities Commission, and Commission for the Blind – no listed experience in land use planning, housing, transportation, parks, open space, or solid waste. She has a limited campaign and no endorsements listed. Patricia could bring a unique viewpoint to local government with her focus and experience in the area of disabilities, but, the focus of Metro is primarily around land planning, housing, and the needs of the environment. Patricia simply doesn’t have the best-matched skillset.
Alison Balbag – a PhD gerontology Professor, and music. Formerly at USC in California; on the Beaverton Arts Commission. No listed experience in land use planning, housing, transportation, parks, open space, or solid waste; and no endorsements listed. Alison filed to run 2 days before the deadline, and while she brings a strong concern for expanding Metro’s support of the Arts Community, her background does not speak the main needs of the District #3 seat.
Gerritt Rosenthal – a longtime rural Tualatin resident and environmental activist with significant relevant experience in land use planning, solid waste, natural resource protection, climate advocacy, and tax policy. Gerritt worked for the Lane Council of Governments (L-COG) close to 7 years. L-COG is a regional planning agency in Eugene/ Springfield conducting regional planning for waste management, housing, and transportation.
Gerritt is endorsed by
Willamette Week
Senator Mark Hass
Senator Rob Wagner
Oregon League of Conservation Voters
The Washington County Democrats
For the Washington County Democrats, we feel that climate change is one of the most critical and impending issues we face, and Gerritt Rosenthal can bring deep expertise to the table. Gerritt is very passionate about serving multi-ethnic communities, creating better representation in rural areas, and focusing on issues regarding housing and homelessness, Most importantly, Gerritt will bring compassion to the seat.
Gerritt Rosenthal is a true champion of the environment, and the people. 
Gerritt says: “I am running because I care about our region – it’s housing, it’s economy, it’s transportation, it’s the natural environment, and it’s quality of life. I have lived in rural Tualatin for over 28 years and am deeply committed to solving our common regional problems fairly and wisely.
My background in environmental and solid waste assessments, land use planning, and my experiences working for both a regional government and for municipal and county governments provides me with a broad regional perspective that all Metro councilors need to serve the entire region.
We need better representation of the rural areas – everything that happens in Beaverton and Portland affects so many other communities. As our region continues to grow, it’s important that all of our diverse neighborhoods and governments work together.
We’ve become a much more diverse cultural region, and equity issues have become a much more important aspect of our regional government. That means serving multi-ethnic communities (including Latinx or black neighborhoods), and other times it means helping to assist areas where some of the people are much poorer than in other parts of the region. This has become a much larger, and growing challenge.
All of this means that equity issues are much more important, and serving all of the communities needs to be more of a focus.”
If any of our endorsed candidates excite you, please volunteer!
With the COVID-19 pandemic, these are very strange times, and it is hard for the candidates to get the word out. Normal canvassing activities have come to a halt, and it is up to us to help the candidates that inspire us. Help them by volunteering to get the word out as best we can.
Fellow Democrats, help these candidates get elected so we can continue to keep Washington County bright blue!
