Go Fish...

So I finally made it out of the house and to one of the parties - Nick Fish for City Council. As some may know, I was supporter of his a few years back when he ran and this time have run the web activities for the campaign.

A small crowd has already arrived and is eagerly awaiting results of the night. Those of us with laptops have hidden ourselves in the restaurant at Kennedy School so that the entire party isn't the crowd surrounding the laptops instead of enjoying the party.

I'm pretty optimistic about Nick's chances tonight. The campaign worked hard to be out in the community talking to people, and I think that he's the best person to fill Erik Sten's former seat.

Many people have wondered why I'd get so involved in a city of Portland race when I live in Gresham. But to me, the answer is obvious - whatever the city of Portland does affects the cities around it. When Portland's rental and housing prices grew out of reach, Gresham saw its population quickly increase as people searched for cheaper housing. When neighborhoods began gentrifying, low income families were pushed into east county. And when the city began pushing its crime problems further and further out instead of dealing with them, we saw our crime levels increase.

It things are going bad in Portland, they're even worse in the surrounding cities.

I think that Nick is the best candidate to help solve some of these issues, especially those surrounding housing. I also believe he's someone who is willing to work with other governmental entities, such as the surrounding cities, to help craft solutions that not only help inner Portland, but east Portland, east county, etc.

Now it's just a matter of waiting these last 29 minutes as the polls close and the numbers come in...