Mike’s First Priority

My first priority is to stop the proliferation of data centers and industrial sprawl in our city and to ensure that those already in place pay their fair share. To stop backdoor deals which harm our city. Once we deal with this clear and present threat, we work together to build a Hillsboro we can be proud to call home

Goal One

Stop data centers from building in our city. Take decision making power from the city staff and put the power back in the council’s, meaning the peoples’, hands

Goal Two

Rebuild trust between the city government and its citizens. Create an open forum where the people’s ideas and solutions lead the way.

Goal Three

Create a vision for the Hillsboro we want through collaboration and the free exchange of ideas. Use this vision to inform long-term decisions. A guidepost to ensure we don’t lose our way

I want to lead with an environment and people first agenda. We live in the environment – we breathe the air, drink the water, use the soil to grow our food. If we don’t care for the environment we will have nothing, an even more salient consideration in the PNW where wildfires are a clear and present threat to everything we love and hold dear.

I believe that caring for the environment organically leads to caring for the people of the city. Clean air and water helps with medical issues, reducing the burden on a broken health care system. Clean soil allows our children places to grow and explore and opportunities to build a local food system which reduces food insecurity and increases resilience.

I believe this ground up approach is also effective at dealing with the myriad of social issues we are facing now.

In the same way that clean air and water and soil are the base for a healthy environment, happy and secure and engaged people are the base for a healthy city. In the same way we care for the former, we have to nurture and care for the latter.

Creating a government which is proactive in meeting the needs of the people is essential, especially in these fraught times we are living through.

The city government should be the place people go when their needs are not being met by the state and federal government, responsive and open enough, that people feel assured that their voices are being heard.

I intend to lead from the power of the people: lean on them for ideas, rely on them to inform me of what is most important or scary or urgent to them, and then be a champion for their issues – fighting to make their lives better.

I do not support a city which bows to the whims of the powerful and few at the cost of its people.

I believe this ground up approach is also effective at dealing with the myriad of social issues we are facing now. In the same way that clean air and water and soil are the base for a healthy environment, happy and secure and engaged people are the base for a healthy city. In the same way we care for the former, we have to nurture and care for the latter. Creating an government which is proactive in meeting the needs of the people is essential, especially in these fraught times we are living through. The city government should be the place people can go to when their needs are not being met by the state and federal government, responsive and open enough, that people feel assured that their voices are being heard. I attend to lead from the power of the people: lean on them for ideas, rely on them to inform me of what is most important or scary or urgent to them, and then be a champion for their issues – fighting to make their lives better. I do not support a city which bows to the whims of the powerful and few at the cost of its people.

The need for efficient, affordable, weatherized, and cooler homes that are resilient to increased heat and wildfire smoke and provide healthy air while we’re inside remains an urgent need in Oregon. Equitable solutions to decarbonizing buildings – getting methane gas (AKA fossil gas or natural gas) out of buildings and making them more energy efficient – would help communities build resilience from future climate harms and improve public health. Read more on an equitable transition to electrification in homes and buildings that prioritizes the needs of renters and low-income households here. Hillsboro also implemented a Home Energy Score program (HES) several years ago. How do you think the HES contributes to reducing Hillsboro’s carbon footprint? Do you support transitioning our homes and buildings from fossil fuels like methane gas to be all-electric? What will you prioritize to ensure improved air quality and reduced climate pollution from homes and buildings? How will you hold yourself accountable to centering equity and racial justice in the transition to clean energy in homes and buildings?

I think the HES is a good addition, but in the same way that asking people to assess their carbon footprint it shifts the burden from large polluters to individuals. Knowing how efficient your house is, while a nice first step does little to move us towards a more sustainable future. Building programs to help people transition to all-electric appliances and utilities is more important. Making sure that those who need help the most is also important. Too often these programs are not equitable in their execution. Many people don’t have the time or energy to go through lengthy processes to take advantage of these programs; the programs themselves are often under advertised amongst certain communities and require too many hoops to jump through (including up-front investment in some cases) for people to feel it is worth it. Letting people know about these programs and streamlining the processes for enrolling is a priority of mine. My biggest priority is tackling some of the industrial and large building pollution we experience in Hillsboro. Dealing with that could significantly improve our air quality and climate pollution and take the burden off the individual and put it on those contributing the most to the climate issue. I can only hold myself accountable by thinking through each and every position I take, ultimately taking my cue from those I speak with in the community, reassessing and considering the impact of any program I support.
The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) released its 2021-2022 Climate and Action Health in Oregon Report. The report concluded that due to consistent rising temperatures, extreme weather patterns such as wildfires, heat waves and ice storms will be a new factor of life for Oregonians but praised the state’s investment in climate change adaptation programs and legislation. What would you prioritize to ensure community resiliency in the face of climate crisis? How would you hold yourself accountable to centering equity and racial justice in community resilience planning?

I think improving our air quality is an important step in providing resilience. Helping people with getting filters into their homes and in public buildings to help mitigate the effects of those bad air days. Perhaps enacting some kind of legislation that recognizes and allows for people to avoid bad air on those days where it would be hazardous to be outside.
Ultimately we need to address the source of these issues. The industry and wealthy who are responsible for the bulk of climate negative emissions.
I can only hold myself accountable by thinking through each and every position I take, ultimately taking my cue from those I speak with in the community, reassessing and considering the impact of any program I support.
A small group of high school students in the Metro area who are concerned about climate change drafted versions of this question for candidates at the state and local levels. Do you think that schools and other educational facilities are doing enough to teach students about the dangers our climate and environment are facing? What ideas do you have to ensure that youth have a reasonable understanding of these issues?

I hope so. But I suspect it is not enough. I know from working with teachers in the past that they are already overwhelmed by the amount of work they have to do, teaching for standardized tests that determine funding and salary and are limited by time and curriculum standards in what they can cover with their students. I also think the politicization of this topic isn’t helping, raising doubts and concerns about whether this topic is something that should be taught.
I stand on the side of science and sanity. We should encourage teachers to teach the science of climate change. The youth of today are going to live in a world dramatically altered by climate change and deserve the knowledge needed to help deal with and mitigate any effects that they can. Though it is not their actions that brought us to this point, they will be the ones dealing with the consequences.
I think education of adults is a huge step in taking this topic from the political side of things and putting it into a practical space. As a scientist myself, I know that we have a tendency to talk of things as uncertain (and with good reason), but this allows bad actors to twist our words and use them against us to spread doubt and misinformation. We have to level with people, point out the things they can see and feel and show how it is affecting their daily lives today. Changing the minds of those in charge could open up the space for topics like this to be taught and discussed more openly and in depth in the classroom.
Beyond that, I think encouraging students to take part in climate action outside of school is a good idea. Building community capacity to help fill in the educational gaps and teach youth about how they can be a force for positive change within the community with our adults and leaders acting as role models.
The transportation sector is the largest single source of both greenhouse gas emissions in the state and also air pollutants that cause immediate public health risks for all of us, and especially communities of color and low-income communities. How might Hillsboro incentivize greater use of electric cars? What measures would you see as needed to ensure equitable distribution of charging stations throughout the city?

Incentivization is tricky because most people don’t have the money to buy new cars, even with subsidies and incentives. Making it easy to charge electric cars by putting more charging stations in all communities would be a great first step. Taking the time to plan where to put new infrastructure and how to make sure incentives reach those they would most benefit is essential to rolling them out.
Two-stroke engines, such as leaf blowers, chain saws, lawn mowers, edgers, and tillers are significant contributors to GHG emission (read more here). California has recently passed legislation eliminating gasoline powered yard equipment by 2024, and Multnomah County leadership has voted to phase out gas-powered leaf blowers before 2025 (read more here). Would you favor city-wide regulation on these engines to reduce or eliminate emissions from gas-powered lawn equipment? How would you go about doing so?

I would favor regulations to limit the use and stop future purchases of these devices. I think that we could model regulations like those in California and Multnomah County. We could try and finds funds to help people transition, possibly in return for swapping out these polluting devices.
Oregon is unique for its Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) and our innovative land use planning system, which began in the 1970s to curb and prevent urban sprawl plus protect farm land and forests. Population growth in Washington County continues to climb, with significant urban development continuing in the cities of Beaverton, Tigard and Hillsboro. You can learn more about the benefits of Oregon’s land use laws here. What is your position on preserving the current UGB and use of infill and redevelopment to provide new housing especially near the MAX line and city center?

I find the current plan to work well in preserving these spaces. I am a proponent of condensing housing into land already developed rather than opening new land to development. Farms and forest are just as important as housing. They provide services that cannot be replicated or restored once they are lost. In the face of climate change the resilience and options provided by forests and farmland will be crucial in allowing the city to react to unforeseen effects. Having the food growing capacity of the farms and the ecosystem services provided by the forests could help our ability to adapt and continue in the future.
According to an Oregon Capitol Chronicle September 23, 2023 article, which you can read here, one-third of Oregon’s counties are in drought emergency. Yet in our wetter months we do experience heavy rain that can lead to flooding. As a city councilor, how would you work with Clean Water Services (CWS) to improve water management to mitigate the effects of drought, protect the Tualatin River, and keep Hillsboro’s drinking water safe and available? What are important infrastructure considerations for addressing storm water management, including severe flood mitigation in Hillsboro? Would you advocate for utilizing swales and other natural techniques to prevent pollution and mitigate flooding?

I would support any mitigation efforts CWS thinks are necessary. I would listen to experts and follow their advice if it seems sensible.
Keeping out water sources protected is the most important thing we can do to ensure people have drinking water. Making sure that industrial pollution is curbed is important. Making sure that storm water is being captured and treated is important. Making sure that the forests and land around watersheds are protected is important. Addressing climate change in whatever way we can is important.
I think natural systems to help manage storm water can be effective and cheap ways to mitigate storm water. Altering the urban landscape to better manage run-off could be something we could do without too much disruption to life in the city. There are numerous options to help the landscape better integrate rainwater, as well as helping to remove and sequester some of the pollution that inevitably gathers in storm water running off pavement. Ensuring that future development takes rainwater management into account is also crucial.
OLCV is committed to helping foster an Oregon where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. We believe our elected officials are models for their community and as such, should be held to the highest standards of conduct. We expect the candidates we support to share our commitment to respectful inclusion, racial justice and equity, and to creating a world that is safe and free from harassment, both in their words and actions. As an elected official, will you commit to serving as an example for your community and treat all others, including colleagues and staff, with dignity and respect? Please share your thoughts on your commitment to inclusion, racial justice and equity, and creating welcoming and harassment-free spaces.

I would most certainly commit to that. I want everyone to feel comfortable and safe. I don’t see why we can’t respect each other more, realize that we are all just trying to do our best in the world and help each other to make it through. Our society has many problems, historical structures in place that have held people down, pushed them to the side – as leaders we should work to dismantle these structures and pull everyone together. In the face of climate change we will all have to work together to ensure a positive future for ourselves and future generations. We are all equals, we all have a right to believe what we want, how we want to live our lives as long as we respect and honor others to do the same.