The head of the Federal Transit Authority, Peter Rogoff, visited Portland this week. This is important because this man runs the federal agency responsible for most of the current capacity of black contractors in the Portland area. Across the country, this agency is head and shoulders of above all the other federal transportation departments. Meeting him on several occasions, you get the sense he knows what he is doing and sees the disadvantage business enterprise (DBE) program as just good business and a way to ensure all citizens benefit from economic opportunities. Continue reading Lets not miss this opportunity →

The chorus is getting louder.  It is time for national collaboration.  I have asked Tony Robinson from MBELDEF to give us a framework agenda to seek a national class action against the US DOT.  I will correspond with other states across the country to seek input and support for this national effort. I anticipate the NW states will become the hub for this action. Continue reading The chorus is getting louder →

To: Ray  LaHood, Secretary US Department of Transportation
From: Eddie Rye, Jr.

The attached letter (click for attachment) from the Oregon State Chapter of the National Association of Minority Contractors (NAMC) documents the widespread abuse of the United States Department of Transportation’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program and there has been an alleged three year investigation by the FBI and the U. S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General into DBE fraud in Seattle and Martin Luther King, Jr. County. Continue reading Eddie Rye, Jr. Letter to Ray LaHood, USDOT →

If you have ever doubted how blacks are being abused in these disadvantage business enterprise (DBE) programs, take a look this story out of Seattle Washington.  Washington trucking company Grady Excavating has collected nearly $40 million in state contracts since 2008 under a program intended to benefit disadvantaged businesses, despite the fact that several state employees, including investigators and auditors, raised serious concerns about whether the company should qualify for the program. Continue reading DBE abuses equal “Road Closed” for minority contractors →

People ask me why I am supporting Charlie Hales for mayor. The answer is real simple: he’s the most qualified candidate in this field.

Both of his major opponents strike me as good people motivated to do right by Portland if elected. The problem is good intentions are not enough. I don’t think either Eileen Brady or Jefferson Smith has a clue about what a beast of a job it will be to lead Portland city government. Continue reading Why am I supporting Charlie Hales for mayor? →