Metro councilor Rex Burkholder just sent out this surprising tweet:
- Metro
- Robert Liberty: Demure, bearded
Liberty was supposed to announce his resignation at noon today, but now the news is out: He's becoming the executive director of the Sustainable Cities Initiative at the University of Oregon. Liberty writes in a statement, "I worked hard to reform transportation decision-making, from the project level to the regional system level. My views did not always prevail, but I believe I have raised awareness. Perhaps in some modest ways, I prepared the ground for the reforms that I am confident we will have to make in a world of financial and environmental limits."
In this case, the Metro Council will need to appoint a replacement to Liberty. According to Metro's rules, that person will need to have lived in Liberty's district (which is district six, covering much of SE and SW Portland) for at least a year before taking office. Recent Metro President candidate Bob Stacey, who lost to Tom Hughes this November in a tight race, would be the obvious person to appoint—he and Stacey share similar politics, especially their ideas about growth and the Columbia River Crossing—but we'll have to see how it shakes out.
UPDATE 11:50 AM—Just talked to Bob Stacey and he confirms he will be seeking the seat. Stacey says he has already called and talked with President-elect Tom Hughes about possibly appointing him to the open seat and is currently phonecalling other Metro councilors to discuss the appointment.
Stacey says he found out about Liberty's resignation last night when he saw Liberty packing up his car for a trip to Eugene (the two are next-door neighbors) and stopped to chat.
The possibility of the new Metro president appointing his former opponent to the council would be funny... but such a classic Portland politics move, right? So would working with his former opponent Tom Hughes be too awkward to succeed? "It really is true that he's a very likable guy. It's probably an exaggeration to say that our positions converged during the election," says Stacey, of Hughes. "But one thing I take away is that he's a decent guy to work with, or run against at least."
UPDATE 12:45 PM— Hughes, in his characteristically affable way, says he "certainly wouldn't have any objection" to Stacey replacing Robert Liberty, but that he has to wait to see who else throws their hat in the ring before knowing who he would vote to appoint. As for Liberty's resignation, Hughes says, "I was absolutely stunned, it came completely unexpected to me."
Liberty's full statement is below the cut! It's nice and diplomatic, but it doesn't say much.