During the first Portland City Council meeting since Commissioner Nick Fish’s death, his chair and nameplate remained in their usual spot on the far right side of the council dais.
His four colleagues held a 20-second moment of silence to honor him Wednesday, then shared their memories of working alongside him. The commissioners posthumously appointed Fish as council president, a rotating position he had been next in line to receive before he died of abdominal cancer Jan. 2.
Commissioner Amanda Fritz said she knew Fish for 12 years and that it was still hard for her to put into words how large of a lost his presence is to her and all of those who knew him.
She said most people wouldn’t have known how sick Fish was over the last two years because he was present so often. Fritz thanked Fish’s family for sharing him with the city and said he often was open to hearing from constituents whenever they spotted him in public and “went out of his way to let people know that he’s been listening.”
Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty said she’ll miss Fish and his tenacity, noting he ran for Portland City Council three times until he was elected and that he personally insisted on being on the campaign trial in 2018 despite his illness.
“Sometimes he sent surrogates, but most of the time, he showed up,” said Hardesty, who was running for city council herself at the time. “I told him, ‘People will forgive you for not being here.’ But it was important for him, wanting to be reelected, that he showed up in public forums.”
Hardesty was named council president Thursday after commissioners briefly appointed Fish to the position.
Fritz and Mayor Ted Wheeler said that before Fish died, the four members of the council had planned for him to be council president for the first half of the year as part of their regular rotation. The commissioner who holds that six-month designation acts as the de-facto mayor if Wheeler is absent.
Commissioner Chloe Eudaly said she wasn’t able to meet with Fish in the time shortly before he died because she was in a hospital over the holidays with her son.
“I was still hoping against hope that he would be coming back to us or that he would finally take the break that we all encouraged him to take to focus on himself,” she said. “He carried himself with such strength and dignity through this illness that I don’t think even people quite close to him realized how dire his condition was.”
Eudaly said she’ll never forget showing up to her first council meeting in 2017 after being elected and Fish being the first to welcome her. She said he left his mark on Portland’s affordable housing, environmental services, parks and cleanup and restoration of the city’s waterways. She said Fish brought institutional knowledge, humor, civility and a willingness to compromise to the council.
Wheeler said he appreciated Fish’s intelligence, thoughtfulness and humor. The mayor said Fish introduced him to some of his best and closest allies and that he “really embraced the good things a politician should be,” including meeting with supporters and opponents.
Fish could have been in any political office in the country, but he chose to be a Portland city commissioner, the mayor said.
“He gave the best years of his life in that seat over there,” Wheeler said gesturing toward Fish’s empty chair. “And he did it because he loved it. He loved this city. He loved you. And it was genuine.”
Wheeler said he often saw Fish meeting one-on-one with constituents at Caffe Umbria in downtown Portland. The mayor vowed to hold one-on-one meetings with constituents to honor the late commissioner.
-- Everton Bailey Jr; ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 | @EvertonBailey
Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
"fish" - Google News
January 09, 2020 at 11:12AM
https://ift.tt/2T7i5Q0
Portland City Council honors late Commissioner Nick Fish in first meeting since his death - OregonLive
"fish" - Google News
https://ift.tt/35JkYuc
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Portland City Council honors late Commissioner Nick Fish in first meeting since his death - OregonLive"
Post a Comment