Thread by @sarah2020

With trees down around the city, and power going out for many of our neighbors last night, we should all hope that EMTs can reach those in need, that elders in need of AC stay cool, and that people who need oxygen have battery-powered backup.

Portland is living through several concurrent disasters. Our preparation level was inadequate before COVID and not enough progress has been made to protect our children from the next crisis, whatever it may be.

Disaster response & climate resilience are linked. We must build local solar energy infrastructure to meet carbon goals, but also because community-located energy systems are far more resilient in inclement weather events like last night. sarah2020.com/greennewdeal

In the coming years we will see the @PDXCleanEnergy fund get to work building local energy systems for Portland. Wheeler opposed PCEF, and I hope voters remember that when they pick a Mayor who aligns with their climate goals.

Community energy keeps the AC and oxygen on for elders when power lines are downed. It lowers utility bills, helping people stay stably housed. And the jobs we create will be sustainable into the future without relying on the fossil fuel economy.

I have proposed Community Safety Hubs for every neighborhood in Portland - locations of shelter, food and supply distribution where community can and should gather regularly. We can’t wait for the next disaster before coming together to fix our problems.
sarah2020.com/en/policies/re…

Incidentally this is how we can keep our parks budget from being gutted: link our green spaces to disaster resilience plans and offer disaster response classes, potentially even childcare in these places. Make the parks hubs for community cohesion - a trusted place to go in need.

Community-controlled municipal broadband would ensure that folks who are physically isolated dont have to be socially disconnected. The digital divide of less high speed internet access in lower income houses means poor kids don’t get equal social-distanced education,

while their parents are less likely to have the privilege of working from home. This is a perfect storm to worsen inequality and lower our already-abysmal graduation rates in communities of color. These students are not failing - our city is failing them.

Building food infrastructure in every neighborhood - with an emphasis on outer East Portland where food access is highly limited - will keep our city fed if there are disruptions to the food system. Hunger is an under-stated problem in Portland: our kids and elders need to eat!

Improving the tree canopy in East Portland can lower the temperature on the ground, clean the air in the neighborhood, keep rainwater from reaching the sewer, and make our whole city more resistant to flooding and mudslides.

A robust transit system with dedicated right of way can also help speed arrivals of emergency vehicles, even if roads are occupied. Transit can move people quickly and efficiently in event of evacuations. We don’t just love buses because they’re cool. (But: buses are very cool.)

Affordable housing is climate disaster relief infrastructure. Thousands sleeping on our streets last night faced punishing wind, ashy smoke, risk of illness, and lax sanitation: all of this can be prevented with community owned affordable housing for all sarah2020.com/housing

As Portland is not expected to see the worst impacts of climate change, our city is expected to become a refuge for people fleeing other areas. What then of renters? They will need protection, and options, to prevent mass displacement in the bidding wars for a home in our city.

We often think about earthquake retrofits and bridge repairs as the end of the conversation when it comes to disaster resilience. This tree came down outside my campaign office, reminding me that we have much more to do to keep community connected through crisis.

Who we elect matters in these conversations. Candidates who are aligned with big business will stand in the way of corporate accountability, local energy, and municipal broadband because they cut into corporate profits.

I’m proudly funded by small donors, not corporations. You can see in this graphic put out today by the city elections watchdog who is funding whom. Little green dots across the city are #TeamSarah. The yellow blobs are Ted’s huge donations, mostly downtown and in the Pearl.

Stay safe, Portland. That means sticking together. We are gonna get through this mess, and on the other side of it we are going to rebuild Portland even better - and more resilient to disaster - than before.