Earl Blumenauer

Class of 1970, J.D. '76

Earl Blumenauer was born, raised and educated in Portland, Oregon. He is currently serving as Congressman for Oregon's 3rd district. Mr. Blumenauer began his political career while still in college, spearheading a successful campaign to lower Oregon's voting to 18. He was 23 when he was elected to the Oregon State Legislature, winning every precinct in his district. In addition to chairing the Revenue and School Finance Committee, he played key roles in enacting Oregon's landmark land use and transportation planning legislation, both still national models today.

In 1978, Mr. Blumenauer was elected to the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners and in 1986 was elected Portland's Commissioner of Public Works. As a member of the City Council and County Commission for almost 20 years, he championed programs and policies that led to Portland's acclaim as one of the nation's most livable cities. Perhaps best-known for his efforts to provide Portlanders with a wider range of transportation choices - from light rail to bicycles to trolleys - Mr. Blumenauer also launched curbside recycling, worked to protect the Willamette River from combined sewer overflow, fought to confiscate cars of repeat drunk drivers, and led successful efforts to increase local funding of Portland's public schools.

First elected to the U.S. House in a special election in 1996, Mr. Blumenauer has carved out a unique role for himself as the Congress's proponent of Livable Communities. From his seat on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, he has focused on creating policies and partnerships that will make communities and the families that live in them safer, healthier, and more economically secure. Among his efforts are:

* introducing legislation to require the Post Office to abide by local land use and zoning regulations, something it is not currently required to do;

* working to overhaul of the nation's Flood Insurance Program, which now subsidizes people to live in places that are neither environmentally sound nor safe;

* leading the fight in Congress to protect the E-rate, which ensures low-cost connections to the Internet for schools and libraries.

Recognizing that the federal government, as the nation's largest employer, landowner and tenant, influences policy not only through regulation but through its own actions, Mr. Blumenauer has built strong partnerships throughout the executive branch, urging agencies from the Department of Defense to the General Services Administration to lead by example.

Mr. Blumenauer has been described as the "Johnny Appleseed" of livability. Since his election to Congress, he has traveled to over 100 communities throughout the country, working with local citizens and organizations on ways they can build more effective civic partnerships to improve land use, environment and transportation. He is equally committed to partnerships with his colleagues: he works with them through the Bike Caucus, which he founded, the Task Force on Livable Communities, which he co-chairs, and other member organization such as the House Sustainable Development Caucus.

In addition to being named a German Marshall Fellow in 1995, Mr. Blumenauer has won numerous awards from environmental, education and community groups. In 2000, he received two of the highest awards offered by the planning community: the National Building Museum's Apgar Award and the American Planning Association's Legislator of the Year Award. His academic training includes undergraduate and law degrees from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, and graduate studies at Portland State University, the University of Colorado at Denver, and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.

Congressman Earl Blumenauer's website

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