For this episode, host Jonathan Maus (BikePortland Founder and Editor) sat down with Yamhill County Commissioner and candidate for Oregon Governor, Casey Kulla. We first met commissioner Kulla in December 2020 when he was embroiled in a debate about the Yamhelas Westsider Trail, a rail-trail project he pushed for strongly, only to see it stopped in February of this year when he found himself on the losing end of a 2-1 vote, with his fellow commissioners fueled by the opposition of dozens of local farmers.
Kulla understands both sides of the issue, because he runs a farm himself.
Being a farmer in rural Oregon who supports public land access and rail-trail projects is just one of many facets of Kulla's background that give him a legitimate claim to being that rare Oregon politician who just might be able to bridge the much talked about urban/rural divide. From growing up in an evangelical household, to working at a bike shop as a teenager on the Oregon Coast and living carfree during his college days in Bellingham, Washington — Kulla owns a diverse set of perspectives that have helped inform his collaborative and respectful approach to politics.
We talked about how surfing defines his political style, the perils of "eco-fascism" when it comes to tackling climate change, the limits of being nice in the face of extremism, how the Yamhelas Westsider Trail is like critical race theory, his ideas for reforming the Oregon Department of Transportation, and much more.
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- Kulla for Oregon Campaign Website
- Casey Kulla on Twitter @CaseyKulla
- Friends of the Yamhelas Westsider Trail
- Amid opposition and delays, Yamhelas Westsider Trail planning effort chugs along (BikePortland, 12/20/20)
- How a trail in rural Oregon became a target of far-right extremism (High Country News, 07/01/21)
- Two Yamhill County Farmers Are Running for Governor. Casey Kulla Wonders Where the Other One Has Been (Willamette Week, 11/03/21)
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Our theme music is by Kevin Hartnell.