Pro-Active Climate Leadership
By Nick Caleb, Climate Activist
Jo Ann Hardesty has been the strongest and most effective ally in government in the struggle against the fossil fuel industry and the many threats posed by their dangerous infrastructure.
There is no one in government who has worked harder than Commissioner Hardesty to protect us from the fossil fuel industry and transition us to a clean energy economy. Unlike her predecessors, Hardesty did not shy away from the task of identifying the enormous risks -- oil train derailments, spills, explosions, earthquake vulnerability -- posed by fossil fuel terminals and oil trains and has done everything in her power to stop these unreasonably dangerous activities.
Her leadership is constant and enables us to keep winning important battles -- like rejecting land use authorizations for the Zenith oil trains and terminal -- that make Portlanders safer and reduce our collective impacts to climate change. We need to re-elect Jo Ann Hardesty to make sure that we continue this important progress and ensure Portlanders are safe.
Commissioner Hardesty stands strong with the community against risks from the fossil fuel industry and has done so since before she took office. She was the first commissioner to speak out against the Zenith oil terminal and their dangerous oil trains. She consistently supported neighborhood associations and coalitions who raised concerns and demanded action.
As Commissioner of the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management, she and her staff worked tirelessly to support community advocates who are seeking policy pathways to stop the fossil fuel industry from putting us at risk, including funding important studies, passing new local laws, and putting pressure on every level of government to do their part. Without her voice in city hall, we would not have made nearly as much progress as we have in the past four years, and it is vital to keep that voice on the Portland City Council, others will react when the heat is on, but Commissioner Hardesty is the proactive member.
