Our older son, Luke, played center on the Wilson High School varsity football team that was the undefeated champion of the Portland Interscholastic League in 2003. Luke and I both learned that winning the games was the direct result of training hard and faithfully over the summer. Football coaches all over Oregon are currently pushing their teams in "Daily Doubles", with practice and weight-training sessions both early morning and late into the evening, to get their players game-ready for September and October.

I've been running Daily Doubles this month, too, finishing up a summer of rigorous, diligent grassroots organizing in every area of Portland. This past week, I worked more than 50 hours on the campaign. That included three 12-hour days of no-breaks campaigning criss-crossing all over Portland, plus Sunday with three hours in neighborhoods followed by 8 hours nursing at OHSU. Over the course of the week, I met with Portlanders in 15 neighborhoods, including attending three Business Association meetings and two Union events. Thank you for your support, Laborers Local 483 and National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 82!

At the Letter Carriers' Stewards' Barbeque:

Tom Chamberlain, my neighbor from West Portland Park. Evidently his Fire Fighters jacket is still one of his favorites - I noticed it particularly, since Portland Fire Fighters Local 43 has endorsed me.

Photograph by Jamie Partridge

A particularly sweet memory for the week came on Thursday, when a woman came up to me in the evening twilight after the delightful concert at Ventura Park, in the Hazelwood neighborhood of East Portland. "You were at the business meeting in Westmoreland early this morning," she said. "I am certainly going to vote for you now I see you here too!" It's very meaningful to everyone involved, making connections like that. And the more I weave around Portland, the more I'm able to create partnerships between folks working on similar issues in different areas. I intend to keep doing that if I'm elected.

On Saturday, I volunteered all morning in Eliot (North Portland) and South Tabor (Southeast) at two Portland Public School sites on Community Care Day (separate post on that later), knocked on doors in Rose City Park (Northeast Portland) near Providence Hospital in the afternoon, and enjoyed a well-attended house party in the Sunnyside neighborhood off Hawthorne (Southeast) until late into the evening.

I am also working on preparing to be in office, as well as getting elected. This past week, I met with Mayor-elect Sam Adams, a member of the Portland Development Commission, program directors at the Partnership for Safety and Justice, a Multnomah County leader, a SW neighborhood advocate for electoral reform, and Portland Business Alliance staff. I participated in the City's Health Care Policy Committee, which met in the Planning Commission's room in the 1900 SW 4th building. That place elicited both fond memories of meeting there twice monthly while serving on the Commission (I missed only three meetings, in seven years), and renewed determination to win the election. I want to have a binding vote on the Council when I voice the concerns of working people living all over Portland, especially after the Planning Commission forwards its recommendations on the Portland Plan.

I couldn't do all these meetings and events without support from dozens of volunteers, and Ellen, Amanda M, and Ted, our excellent staff. To continue the football analogy, I am the quarterback of our team, but I certainly rely on coaches, linebackers and receivers, and cheerleaders all over Portland. Maybe even a few of those curmudgeons who yell advice like "Catch the ball!" from the bleachers can be helpful, too.

Our campaign team is game-ready for September and October. We have put in the necessary time, training, organization, and hard work over the summer. Join us! As with high school football, everyone is welcome on the squad, everyone can contribute. See the Volunteer page for options for how you can help push towards our winning season.