Citing re-election concerns, Charlie Hales informs Port of Portland he will not support Pembina terminal.
BY JACOB PALMER | DIGITAL NEWS EDITOR
Citing re-election concerns, Portland mayor Charlie Hales informed Port of Portland director Bill Wyatt he is withdrawing his support for the proposed propane terminal operated by Canada-based Pembina Pipeline Corporation.
Willamette Week’s Nigel Jaquiss called the reversal a “death sentence for the massive project.”
Last September, Hales issued a statement calling the project a welcome investment in Portland.
But on Wednesday, Wyatt informed Port employees that Hales was reversing course.
WW published Wyatt’s email:
Mayor Hales called me this afternoon to let me know that he was withdrawing his support for the Pembina project. He cited concerns about the level of opposition and how that might affect his reelection as the primary concern.
This is deeply disappointing obviously, particularly because Pembina insisted on meeting with the Mayor prior to their announcement back in January. He could not have been more supportive, and said so on the front page of the paper, inducing Pembina to spend several million dollars doing the preliminary engineering and safety studies necessary to proceed.
On Wednesday, Portland Business Journal reported on a global campaign to end investment in fossil fuels gaining traction in Portland.
350PDX has met with Oregon Treasurer Ted Wheeler to press the state to disinvest in fossil fuels and is actively pushing Portland Mayor Charlie Hales to act on his 2013 commitment to do so. More than 300 supporters rallied outside city hall in support of a fossil fuel investment ban on Valentine’s Day.
350PDX is also in talks with Multnomah County, which reportedly divested from oil when a bond matured and it put its money in a separate industry. Polishuk said she was disappointed when the city made a $20 million investment in Exxon Mobil shortly after 350PDX first contacted it. The city has been reviewing the issue and has formed a committee to recommend which companies it should steer clear of in the future, Polishuk said.
