While mayor of Portland, Oregon, Sam Adams was known for his advocacy in the areas of civil rights protections, sustainable city planning, and arts education. In addition to these issues, Sam Adams also focused on ways to reduce Portland’s high school dropout rates.
One way to fight poverty and crime is to reduce the high school dropout rate. An average high school dropout earns just $20,241 annually, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is 30 percent less than a high school graduate and less than half of what someone with a bachelor’s degree earns. Unsurprisingly, dropouts have about a 30.8 percent poverty rate, which is more than double the poverty rate of those with a bachelor’s degree. Compared with college graduates, high school dropouts are 63 times more likely to be incarcerated, according to a study by researchers at Northeastern University. The data shows that the drop outs struggle to escape the socio-economic forces that lead to crime.
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As mayor of Portland, Oregon, Sam Adams led numerous initiatives to improve the city’s sustainability and cultural projects. Also a dedicated supporter of the Portland arts scene, Sam Adams cultivated an early appreciation for the arts through participation in classes at the Yaquina Art Association (YAA) in Newport, Oregon. The founding of YAA was nothing short of unlikely due to the time and place in which it came to be. In Oregon in 1947, not many people living on the coast showed any enthusiasm for the arts because the majority of their focus was on the fishing and logging trades. However, Newport was also home to a group of individuals who would convene in local homes to talk about their love for art. This group soon established the YAA, hoping to teach more members of the community about the arts. Nearly a decade after its founding, the organization obtained a building in the Nye Beach Area. This facility, which has served as a classroom, artist haven, and more, still serves as the YAA’s art gallery and gift shop today. It is here that the association hosts its various art classes, which welcome those of all skill levels and artistic inclinations. With a long career in politics including terms as a city councilmember and mayor, Sam Adams has helped shape Portland, Oregon, over the years. During his time as Portland’s mayor, Sam Adams incorporated sustainable development practices into city planning, including expanding existing bicycling paths.
Municipalities interested in promoting increased use of bicycles to reduce carbon emissions have several options for funding new or upgraded bicycle paths. For instance, some cities assess a System Development Charge (SDC), which is a one-time fee assessed to residents to offset the costs of bicycle path construction or renovation. A recent study found that almost half of cities surveyed had used a transportation-related SDC to fund a project. The cost for homeowners ranged from $300 to $6,665. Another option for funding bicycling improvements might be through a Local Improvement Districts (LID) process, which relies on property owners around the improved area to help fund the project. Urban Renewal Area (URA) financing is another option for funding transportation improvements in an under-developed area. In the case of URAs, existing property tax revenue is reallocated to improvements within the specific urban area. During his time as Portland’s mayor, Sam Adams advanced on his agenda to make improve the quality of public education, increase the sustainability of the community, and make the city more equitable and inclusive. One of the accomplishments of Sam Adam’s mayoral term was the partnership he established with General Electric (GE) Company executives to complete research on how to cost-effectively upgrade older city buildings with modern energy-saving technology.
The partnership agreement included the establishment of five "EcoDistrict" research pilot projects, meaning a specific municipal area that could independently manage its own energy, water, and waste, systems in an environmentally conscious and sustainable way. GE used its collaboration with Portland to inform its future sustainable development deals in other U.S. cities. As more and more cities become interested in using sustainable development practices, this research project helps support these municipal efforts to reduce carbon emissions and energy costs. GE foresees continued public-private analytical partnerships leading to expanded access to green energy eco-district features such as plug-in electric vehicle stations, advanced energy-monitoring systems for buildings, solar, geotheram, and other projects that drive innovation in sustainability, said Kevin Decker, GE's public-private partnerships coordinator. Sam Adams draws on more than two decades of experience in leading economic, educational and environmental improvement projects as a former mayor, chief of staff, and city commissioner in Portland, Oregon. During his time as former Mayor Vera Katz’s chief of staff, he led staff efforts on several initiatives benefitting the LGBTQ community. In 2003, Sam Adams co-founded the Q Center, a community center that offers services and programs for the city’s LGBTQ residents.
At that time, Portland featured nearly 140 centers that provided services ranging from health and legal assistance to educational programming and homeless outreach. However, few of these services offered LGBTQI-led and -focused programs, and the city’s former gay community center had closed in 1978. Over the years, multiple groups unsuccessfully attempted to open a new center, in part on account of intra-community disagreements and generational differences. In January 2003, Adams and a group of volunteers, started the nonprofit group called the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer & Questioning Community Center Fund undertook efforts to open a community center. These efforts included extensive polling within the gay community on to identify unmet needs and determining what potential users wanted in a local LGBTQ community center, something previous efforts had failed to do. Inspired by his own experiences as a gay youth in Newport without a community space from which to seek support, Mr. Adams championed the project, even after he left the board in late 2003 to campaign for Portland city commissioner. The first location of Portland Q Center opened its doors on SE Water Avenue in 2005 following two years of outreach, program design and fundraising. It moved into its permanent home in 2008 on 4115 N Mississippi Ave. The center operates with the mission of providing a safe space for the LGBTQIA+ community and celebrating diversity and visibility. The center provides an assortment of services and resources, including groups that address specific topics of interest. For more information: www.pdxqcenter.org/. Formerly the city commissioner and the mayor of Portland, Sam Adams has spent his career spear-heading efforts to develop policies and plans to promote arts, culture, and arts education in Portland, Oregon. Sam Adams was also one of the founding members of Oregon ArtPAC, established in 2007 to advocate for public funding for the arts. Oregon ArtPAC, or Oregon Arts and Culture Political Action Committee, is inspired by one of Franklin Roosevelt’s sayings--“Art is not a treasure in the past or an importation from another land, but part of the present life of all living and creating peoples.” The organization’s sole mission is to promote and advocate for public funding for arts education, artists, and arts and culture institutions. Oregon ArtPAC also desires to raise public support for the arts in communities that partake in and enjoy the arts. To this end, ArtPAC supports candidates for public office who are committed to adequate public funding for arts and music education, local artists and art institutions. Driving Oregon ArtPAC’s mission is its recognition of the many benefits of arts and culture, including encouraging children’s confidence and creativity as well as enhancing their academic performance and promoting their critical thinking. The group also believes that the arts promote overall acedmic sucess, cultural tourism, stimulate economic development, improve the overall quality of life, and encourage innovation. Sam Adams of Portland Oregon has spent more than 25 years advocating for the city’s artists, people who lack have easy access to arts and culture offerings, and arts education. As mayor, a city council member, and government staffer. While serving as chief of staff for then-mayor Vera Katz, on her behalf, Sam Adams initiated an effort that led to repatriation of, giving back, a Native American artifact owned by the City of Portland. Since 1910, the large stone covered with ancient petroglyphs had sat outside an entrance to Portland’s city hall, accompanied by a plaque stating it had been a gift to the city from a local railroad. Suspecting that the stone had not been given freely by whoever it originally belonged to, Mr. Adams dug into the historic mystery. He learned that the artifact was actually a sacred stone belonging to the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) and immediately initiated a plan to return it to its rightful owners. With the strong support of Mayor Katz and work of the mayor’s ombudsman, and under the aegis of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the city returned the stone to the CTUIR in a 1996 ceremony. Today, the stone is the centerpiece of the Nix-Ya-Wii Warriors Memorial on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Mission, Oregon. With two decades of experience in community development and local politics, Sam Adams is the former mayor of Portland, Oregon. Committed to sustainability projects and environmental protection, Sam Adams enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking in the Portland area. Sam says some of his favorite hiking trails are in the Columbia Gorge along the Columbia River, which divides much of Oregon and Washington. “The variety of the terrain, the vistas and the number and lengths of trails are unmatched in the Colombia Gorge,” he says. “The great nearby food and drink also are great.” This link offers a good search engine to pick hikes: https://gorgefriends.org/hike-the-gorge/find-a-hike.html . Here are a few essential safety tips to make a hiking adventure more safe and enjoyable: 1. Create a list of the things you’ll need before you head out on a hiking trail. Essential items to take on a hike include a hat, a map, a compass, rain gear, bug spray and some food and water. 2. Bring a first aid kit and know how to use it. Invest in a lightweight and compact kit to take with you in the event of an accident or emergency. Additionally, consider taking a Red Cross first aid course or Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) wilderness medicine classes before the hike. 3. Recognize poisonous plants. Common toxic plants often found on the hiking trail include poison ivy and poison oak. Consider wearing long sleeves and long pants if you anticipate hiking where you might encounter these plants, particularly in areas with dense vegetation. Last year, the Eagle Creek fire, fueled by vegetation that had been without rain for 83 days, burned 48,000 acres of forests in the Gorge on both the Washington and Oregon sides. Adams supports the nonprofit Friend of the Columbia Gorge in their efforts to preserve, restore and enhance the Gorge. He invites you to join him in donating to support their efforts: https://gorgefriends.org/ways-to-give/donate.html Sam Adams has extensive experience in public service and has served as the mayor of Portland, Oregon, and as the United States director of the World Resources Institute. As mayor, Sam Adams developed plans to lower Portland’s emissions and transitioned the city to more sustainable sources of energy, including solar power. He led Portland’s efforts to create the City’s first Climate Action Plan, The Plan’s long-term goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. The Plan’s shorter-term objective is to achieve a 40 percent reduction by 2030. So far, the plan has been successful. In its first five years of implementation, efforts related the Climate Action Plan have helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Portland by 14 percent, despite population growth and a surging local economy. In 2013, Portland was recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy as a Climate Action Champion. One major aspect of the plan is increasing investments in solar energy. Solar energy is a renewable resource that will never be depleted and operationally doesn’t pollute the environment. Homeowners who power their homes with solar energy save money by using less electricity from the power grid. The federal solar tax credit also reduces their cost of buying a photovoltaic solar system. Recent studies show, that solar panels raise the value of a home more than almost any other type of home improvement. The panels require little to no maintenance once they have been professionally installed. A solar energy system with the addition of a battery backup unit offers the advantage of continuous power, even during a blackout. |
Sam Adams of Portland
Sam Adams has cofounded several charitable organizations dedicated to solving problems related to sustainability and education. Archives
August 2018
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