Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 3hThere was just a total lack of interest from left groups about the school board race. At the point candidates have declared, it's too late maybe, we need more than endorsements; have to think about drafting people with a vision. 120
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 3hBillions of dollars that could have been transformative, that went to a single program. Was it worth it? I don't know! But we certainly didn't discuss "how can 5 billion dollars in capital expenses transform public education"! 110
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 3hI have been thinking about this a lot but you mention "transformative efforts" and it kicked something off. I saw something recently about the left's lack of vision for public education and it seems to really resonate in Portland, which in so many parts of city gov are coming up with 110
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 3hIf you're not sure if you should rank @tomforpdx.bsky.social above Torres or at all, I have a pretty simple test: do you think he will be better than Dan Ryan? Torres seems about as close to Ryan as you can get, and since Dan is by far the worst councillor, the answer is an easy "yes" IMO. 020
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 7hGreat thread, I think I mostly have my voting order at this point. 070
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 07/10/2026Perennial campaign finance hawk, among other things. Basically like an unpaid auditor. 020
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 06/10/2026It might be possible. I'm very skeptical it would deliver the raw number changes we need and would likely have unexpected impacts, but unfortunately PPS doesn't seem to have explored it. 000
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 06/10/2026That is to say, the tsp process isn't about "complexity," it's about laundering bureaucratic dysfunction through a community body. 130
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 06/10/2026The tsp is not the place to reclassify streets, you have to get it into an area plan, which come along once every... no one knows since there has only ever been one in a given area and even then only for less than half a city. Anyway I'm very salty about the tsp and I'm not done. 120
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 06/10/2026You should try to get the i5 removal into the tsp because I'm truly curious what sort of kafka-esque hell they would send you down, without ever telling you how you could get it into some sort of plan. 120
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Lol I can't even get them to reclassify an unscheduled, unbudgeted Greenway, to move it from 62nd to 61st, after 6 months of advocacy and a letter with a dozen orgs in support, just so it's in the plan with a better orientation just in case. 130
Reposted by Rob Galanakisben fryback @bfryback.bsky.social · 06/10/2026the ideal condition for NIMBYS is >wants property values to go up >property taxes to go down >housing to be more affordable >sell their home for maximum profit >no new housing 2142
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 06/10/2026I haven't looked too closely but at first glance the proposal seemed pretty decent. bsky.app/profile/robg... 010
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 06/10/2026It is actually quite different. The issue is not just the river, it's that the river is very offset from population and activity centers (Cincinnati is very central). It's those two things acting together that are unique to Portland. 000
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Very cool that you picked up on it though! It was actually the Pittsburgh comparison/differences that made me believe this Portland theory holds up. 010
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Yeah the main difference with Pittsburgh was the midpoint between population pairs goes largely through downtown. It was otherwise the only other city with downtown so isolated by a river. 110
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Basically nothing! Or a lot of things that have done nothing. Depends on who you ask. They haven't done the things that would work. Or they've done everything that won't work. 010
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Like, more residents and density and tax base is good, we'll take it wherever we can get it, the spillover effects are positive, it just won't help directly in the geographic sense, imo. 010
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 06/10/2026I could very well see them as hurting. They would be East side destinations and their residents would not help the midpoint issue. That said I think the development would be a tailwind in very real ways so would still help downtown. I don't want to overstate the claims/effects of this theory. 110
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 06/10/2026I really want him to keep screaming about this because it will make opposition increasingly toxic. 050
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Uh okay aside from any argument of the proposal's merits, this person is obviously very dumb and cannot make a coherent argument? I don't think I've read anything he's written other than his text messages, this does not help him beat the accusations. 2180
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 05/10/2026For sure, almost certainly this is another heap of evidence that I-5 on the east bank needs to go away. 1370
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Exactly the type of stuff we may need to do. We really need to lean on the fact that most of 'downtown' is incredibly transit-rich and the destination of all lines; push people to park & ride as a model by giving them something worth riding to. 120
Reposted by Rob GalanakisMatthew Lewis -- living in the era of cults and consequences @mateosfo.bsky.social · 05/10/2026You can't have functional cities dominated by cars, car culture, and driver violence. Conservatives and Republicans know this. They defend violent car culture as a primary, root source of political conservativism/fascism. The fact that there are still folks on left who defend it is ... weird. 1282
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 05/10/2026We actually have a district 3 candidate who has this as part of his platform, not sure if he realizes that's what the curb cut is. 030
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Los of small businesses in Portlands downtown 010
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Join the strong towns pdx zulip! The main danger in this argument is you find facts that fit the situation so you can reason whatever your theory is. But I did try to disprove it and believe this holds up. Obviously it isn't on its own the cause but it is meant to inform the remedy. 140
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Sure but it's still the tax base and there are many people who will suffer without fixes. We do need to stop what do amount to cash transfers though, like the grants that can only be used for tenant improvements 110
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 05/10/2026It means downtown will basically not come back on its own- it will require a massive activation, and a much larger population will really only backstop the struggles. The idea of continually activating downtown is one we need to take seriously though, to make it a place to go for unique reasons. 291
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 05/10/2026I did some research (suggested by @strongtownspdx.bsky.social) and there is evidence that Portland's downtown is hurt by a unique geography: far offset from population centers AND separated by a river. I haven't been able to find similar geography. It is possibly a significant structural issue. 9342
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 05/10/2026I have read a decent amount of civil war era history but I feel like I don't have a real understanding of grant the person. So this will be a good augmentation. 180
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Just borrowed from the library, thanks for the rec! 140
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Wait did pbot suggest this? Can you tell me who? 120
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 05/10/2026What if that's what I've done and all of this is post facto justification to persuade others 120
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 05/10/2026At this rate I'm going to run into campaign finance limits 120
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Thanks for putting it so clearly. I am predicting more novick/morillo ballots than novick/tkl so that's why I am ranking tkl first. Now that I think about it some more I can totally see novick losing to Torres. 110
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 05/10/2026This is grassroots sewer socialism and ime helps activate people who want to get their hands dirty, and creates incredible goodwill with the types of people (older, whiter, wealthier) DSA might struggle with. 121
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 05/10/2026I suspect you can do this for stuff like a stop bar too, but pbot may not be happy with that so you'd want to be clear with them this is renegade members (neighbors also love stop bars). 121
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Ok related to this, here's an idea I had. When I have been painting yellow curbs, neighbors always ask if we can paint their driveway throats and curb lines. They're so thankful! You could do this and have a little "Portland DSA" stencil as some leftover branding. 110
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 04/10/2026I am not sure but the one we had at the Greek festival was average at best. I bet one of our local publications has some lists. @portlandmercury.com have you ever done gyro week? 000
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 04/10/2026I don't think anyone knows. My anecdotal experience with middle age and older people is morillo is a very good speaker and they respect her fire and expertise. Tkl comes off less so and they are not impressed. I suspect morillos haters are louder is all. Look at the recent Green "scandals" 020
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 04/10/2026Actually I only went to see if they had paximade (twice baked barley rusks, mostly a cretan thing) they used to have, but no longer. Also the roast lamb might be worth it, hard to find that sort of thing otherwise. 110
Rob Galanakis @robgalanakis.bsky.social · 04/10/2026That gyros are not worth it at all. In fact if you live close to Greek fest the food is not worth going to Greek fest, cheaper and better elsewhere. There are a few good things hard to find elsewhere, like the chocolate bars and the olive oil is a good price, some pastries, but most isnt worth it. 110