| Kitty Piercy | |
|---|---|
| Mayor of Eugene, Oregon | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 1, 2005 |
|
| Preceded by | Jim Torrey |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 6, 1942 Tampa, Florida |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | David Piercy (m. 1970) |
| Children | Andrew, Vincent, and Jessica |
| Alma mater | Western Michigan University |
| Profession | Politician |
| Website | www.kittypiercy.com |
Kitty Piercy (born July 6, 1942) is an American politician. She is the current mayor of Eugene, Oregon, sworn in January 2005 and re-elected to a second term in 2008. During the 1990s, she was Minority Leader of the Oregon House of Representatives.[1]
Mayor Piercy was elected state representative for House District 39 three terms (95,97,99). She served as both assistant caucus leader and Minority Leader.
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Kitty Piercy was first elected state representative for House District 39 serving West Eugene, River Road and Santa Clara in 1994. She was reelected two more times. Term limits were then 3 terms. She was elected assistant Democrat leader in her second term and leader in her third term.
Piercy has been a leader on the issues of sustainability and climate change, and she has repeatedly reached out to a wide variety of constituencies. Early in her first term, she assembled a broad group of stakeholders into a forum called the Sustainable Business Initiative. One of SBI's recommendations was to create the city's Sustainability Commission, which Council officially created in 2007.[2]
In 2005, Piercy became an early signatory of the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement.[3] Over 900 mayors have now signed the Agreement.
The West Eugene Parkway was the subject of a contentious community debate for many years. It is no longer under consideration by local, state or federal governments.
Councilor George Poling proposed renaming Beltline for Randy Pape in honor of his many years of work for transportation in Oregon and this was supported by the Eugene City Council in a letter to the (OTC) Oregon Transportation Commission.[1] The council voted unanimously in favor of the renaming.[2] Mayor Piercy asked the OTC to consider retaining Beltline as part of the name in order prevent confusion and to minimize costs of signage as much as possible. OTC made the decision to rename Beltline The Randy Pape Beltline. The Eugene city council were the only local officials to publically support the renaming.
Piercy supports the west Eugene extension of Lane Transit District's Bus Rapid Transit system having voted for it in her capacity as city representative to the regional Metropolitan Planning Commission.[3] All local jurisdictions have been proponents of the EmX system for over a decade. There are two segments completed and both have proven to be successful and meet local goals. This mass transit system is built into all local planning documents and is recognized both nationally and internationally for its efficiency, ability to carry more customers for less cost, it's ability to reduce fossil fuel consumption and co2 emissions and its light rail like comfort qualities.
Opponents to the project include concerned citizens and business owners who claim that the bus system is too expensive, not needed, and will cause many businesses to lose business or have to close because of the construction. Proponents include local elected bodies, Lane Transit District, community members and the Eugene Chamber of Commerce.
Piercy maintains that the West Eugene EmX is vital for the city and a crucial component of the regional transportation plan.
The City of Eugene has a sign code that is content neutral as required by state law. The code is about size and location of signs, not content. Upon receiving complaints about illegal signs, city staff will investigate. If they find the sign code is being violated, they will notify the violator and offer suggestions for changes. If the violation is remedied, the complaint is closed. If the violator makes no remediation, fines are levied. Among the many signs regarding EmX, there are a few that have drawn public complaints about code violation. They have been verified and remedies have been offered. These remedies have been refused thus far. The property owner has contended he has the right to have as many signs of any size on his property as he sees fit. A recent hearing official finding concluded that the city of Eugene showed no bias and treated these signs as it does all signs.
The ACLU has suggested some improvements to the city sign code. . At council direction the city is working with the ACLU on possible code improvements.
Complaints are anonymous. Mayor Piercy and Council do not know the identities of those making complaints and it is unclear how anyone would know.
4J School District owns Civic Stadium. This property is no longer being used for its historic baseball games purpose. There has been interest expressed in purchasing the property by Save Civic in order to save this historic stadium for the community and to repurpose it. There has been interest by Fred Meyer to purchase the property to develop a store. There has been interest by the YMCA to build a new facility on this property. All proposals have been rejected at this point by 4J as they reassess this property and others for future usage. The Eugene City council has taken the position that this is a 4J decision. Several City Councilors and Mayor Piercy, after meeting with community members, have been interested in a recreational use for the facility that will fit in with the surrounding neighborhood and benefit the city as a whole. The city of Eugene will continue to work with 4J as they assess their next steps regarding this property.
Civic Stadium is owned by the 4j School District. On October 1, 2010, the 4j School District put out a request for proposal for those who may be interested in acquiring the Civic Stadium property. [4] Three proposals were submitted. One was submitted by Steve Master, who would have created a Fred Meyer anchored shopping center that would have recycled and incorporated elements from the stadium into its design and created at least 200 living wage jobs during a time of recession [5], and would have also brought the most ongoing revenue to the financially-strapped 4j School District. The other two proposals would have relocated the YMCA to that property, or would have refurbished Civic Stadium with the hope of attracting a soccer team. Neither of the latter two proposals had the financial resources at their disposal and would have relied on fundraising efforts. On March 15, 2011, Kitty Piercy sent a private e-mail to YMCA Executive Director Dave Perez suggesting that the YMCA and the Save Civic Stadium groups join forces to "knock out Fred Meyer". [6] Ultimately, on June 1, 2011, the 4j school board voted 4-3 to reject all three proposals. [7]
School funding remains a challenging issue throughout the state of Oregon. Mayor Piercy and the City Council were approached by a number of school advocates to see if the city could be helpful in making more support available for schools. A well attended public forum was held give advocates an opportunity to provide suggestions to the community. They proposed a local income tax measure. The City Council referred such a measure to the public. It was defeated. Mayor Piercy is a strong public school advocate and has expressed her belief that a healthy community needs to have a great school system where all children can be well prepared for future employment and success.
Kitty Piercy endorsed proposed income tax measure 20-182 sponsored by Stand for Children and Strong Schools Eugene, that would have been levied by the City of Eugene to its citizens to help shore up the finances of the 4j and Bethel School Districts. [8] This proposed measure would have led Eugene to having one of the highest combined state and local income tax rates in the U.S. [9] Ultimately, this measure endorsed by Kitty Piercy was defeated by a nearly 2-1 margin on May 17, 2011. [10]
A proposal to have Eugene council members begin saying the pledge of allegiance prior to council meetings on days of national patriotic importance was passed. There was Fox news coverge that stimulated nationwide controversy, but little comment at the local level. Council recited the pledge at the next regular meeting to commemorate Memorial Day. When asked by a Fox news reporter if the consideration of the pledge would be divisive, Piercy stated it would likely be and added : "If there’s one thing the flag stands for,it’s that people don’t have to be compelled to say the Pledge of Allegiance or anything else.”[4] Jordan Sekulow, director of policy and international operations for the American Center for Law and Justice, cited this as a case of political correctness overruling American traditional values: "It vindicates all of us who say our Judeo-Christian heritage is under attack. Sometimes it’s in the courts, sometimes it’s elected officials and sometimes it’s the media.”[4]
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