He looks like a hippie who became a prep-school Latin teacher. For me, that was his charm.
And it probably helped him to be effective at his job.
Since 1996, he could be seen with a bow tie between the wings of his shirt collar—and a fluorescent bicycle pin on the lapel of his blazer.
Perhaps not surprisingly, he’s been the best friend cyclists have had in the US Congress in, oh, a century or so. In addition to crafting legislation that allocated money for cycling and pedestrian infrastructure, and for making his hometown the “poster child” for livable, sustainable cities—at least among US cities—he helped to expand healthcare coverage through the Affordable Care Act, save over 100,000 restaurants during the COVID and—in something almost un-heard of these days— worked with a member of the opposing party to create a pathway to permanent legal status for Iraqi and Afghan nationals who directly supported US military missions in their countries.
Perhaps it will not surprise you to learn that he has represented Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District—which includes most of Portland. In fact, he has been called “Mr. Portland.”
Earl Blumenauer has just announced that he is not running for re-election next year. I guess it is understandable: Not only has he spent 27 years in Congress; he is 75 years old.
He has not been specific about his “next chapter.” The Democratic legislator said, however, that he plans to continue his work to “make communities more livable, people safer, healthier and more economically secure…without the burden of day-to-day politics.”
Thank you, Earl Blumenauer, for all you’ve done. And I wish you well in whatever comes next.
