February, 2008

Dear Beaverton Citizens,

Many opportunities and challenges face Beaverton today and into the future. Please help me KEEP BEAVERTON THE BEST. We have worked together to maintain and enhance our high level of livability, strong sense of community and have continued to prosper as a City. Staying on the right course and achieving our community goals will require continued strong and principled leadership that can bring many different kinds of people with varying viewpoints together in a positive and constructive manner. It is my sincere hope that you feel that I have listened well and acted on your best behalf and continue to be the person you would like to serve as your Mayor.

I seek re-election to serve the people of Beaverton for another four years. I am asking for your support. It has been an honor and challenge to lead Beaverton's City government. Beaverton's Mayor is a full-time position. In addition to the traditional ceremonial duties, the Mayor is also the chief executive officer who manages your 450+ full-time employees day-to-day and is responsible for our $115+ million budget.

My letter outlines how much we have accomplished together as a community. I also recognize that more needs to be done. Many new ideas were shared and discussed during our Community Visioning process beginning in November, 2007. We intend to act on those ideas and implement your vision for our community. Above all, Beaverton continues to be a safe place to live, work and raise a family.

—Beaverton was recognized as the safest city in the northwest by the 14th Annual Morgan Quitno Press Safest City Awards -. In the previous three years, we were ranked 3rd or better safest city. We were also ranked the 47th safest city nationally among all mid and large-sized cities with a population over 75,000. Our award-winning community policing program is recognized nationally and represents an outstanding partnership between citizens and the police professionals who work together to help make Beaverton a safe place. The combined Crime Rate for 2007 dropped 7.3%.

In 2006, our Police Department received the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to fund the formation of a senior citizen fraud protection program known as BE SAFE. This program reaches out to senior citizens in Beaverton to be informed on how to protect themselves from being victims of identity theft and other forms of fraud that are typically aimed at unsuspecting seniors. In 2007, the International Association of Chiefs of Police recognized Beaverton's Identity Theft & Fraud Prevention Program by naming our City the winner of the prestigious Motorola Webber Seavey Award for Quality in Law Enforcement for this Identity Theft & Fraud Prevention Program.

— Traffic safety, innovation and citizen mobility continue to be a priority. We continue to stress traffic safety as a #1 priority for drivers, bike riders and pedestrians. Our award-winning Traffic Safety Unit has reduced speeding in neighborhoods and school zones utilizing photo radar enforcement. In addition, our photo red light program has reduced injury accidents at intersections by 67%. These efforts improve safety for all citizens. We have pioneered the introduction of blinking yellow turn lights, in Washington County, on major roadways to improve turning movements at intersections to help increase the flow of traffic and reduce congestion and drive times. Other transportation agencies are now following our lead.

Beaverton is now designated a Bicycle Friendly Community (Bronze Level) through the introduction and improvement of more bike lanes in our City.  We will continue to pursue more matching grants from the state and federal governments to improve our bicycle network for citizens, which will also improve bicycle safety and encourage more healthy lifestyles in our City.  We have begun to install timed crosswalk lights at intersections to improve pedestrian safety.  People will now know the amount of time they have to cross streets and intersections, which improves overall safety and well-being for our pedestrians.

— Strong fiscal management of citizen taxes and City financial resources. Though many cities in Oregon are having difficulties funding basic services, Beaverton continues to operate in a business-like way providing efficient and cost-effective services. On a daily basis, we strive for innovation. We carefully manage your hard-earned tax dollars and continue to live within our means and carefully guard our tax base for funding future City services. We are the only city in Oregon that has not reached the cap of its voter approved tax base. In 2006, Beaverton's bond rating was improved by both Moody's and Standard & Poor's (bond rating companies), reflecting their positive opinion about the strong leadership and fiscal management of Beaverton's City government. For each year of my administration, we have continued to receive the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) highest awards for our budgeting document and reporting processes. We also have continued to receive "clean opinions" on our annual financial audits conducted by an independent, outside auditing firm. These independent audits are required annually by state law to ensure that public funds are being handled properly.


— We make Quality of Life a top priority in Beaverton. Though Quality of Life is a bit intangible, you know it when you see it! Beaverton continues to have a high Quality of Life measured in many ways. Beaverton was named an All-America City Finalist in 2005. In 2006, Beaverton was recognized by Money Magazine as one of the Top-100 Best Places to Live in America. The magazine measured 37 independent measures in arriving at our ranking. We are a great place to live, work and raise a family. This doesn't happen by accident. We listen to our citizens, encourage and invite participation and work to build a strong sense of community. We enjoy a great park system and our schools are high quality.

We have strong citizen outreach, easy public involvement processes in place and a strong two-way dialogue with our citizens. Our Neighborhood Office serves all 12 Neighborhood Association Committees (NACs) as our formal outreach to citizens, linking our active neighborhoods to City Hall. Our Your City publication reaches all homes and businesses, the highly interactive City website is a national and international award winning tool and the 24-hour Mayor's Hotline are but a few of the methods we utilize to outreach and communicate with our citizens. Our Beaverton Farmers Market will soon begin its 21st year, serving up to 15,000 patrons on most Saturdays. We continue to value our prize-winning City Library, which is ranked by Hennen's Public Library Ratings service as the #1 library for its category in Oregon (4th overall). This next summer, we'll continue our popular City-sponsored Picnics-in-the-Park and Flicks by the Fountain events for citizens and their families. We serve refreshments and drinks for up to a 1000 people at each picnic. It is a great way to see your neighbors and build community.

— Please join me in helping to ensure that Beaverton continues to be a wonderful city in which to live, work and raise a family.I am asking for your support by placing a lawn sign in your yard, granting your endorsement, hosting a neighborhood coffee or providing a financial contribution to help ensure a successful re-election campaign. Please help me continue to move Beaverton in the right direction and KEEP BEAVERTON THE BEST!

Best regards,

Rob Drake,
Mayor of Beaverton

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