Mr. Blumenauer began his political career while still an undergraduate at Lewis and Clark College, spearheading an unsuccessful attempt to lower Oregon's voting age and later, the successful national effort to lower the voting age. Elected to the Oregon Legislature at the age of 23, he won every precinct in his district. In the Oregon House of Representatives, he chaired the Revenue and School Finance Committee and played key roles in enacting legislation that created Oregon's landmark land use planning program and progressive transportation policies - both still national models today.

In 1978, Mr. Blumenauer was elected to the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners and in 1986 was elected to the Portland City Council, where he served as the City's Commissioner of Public Works. For almost twenty years, he championed policies and programs that led to Portland's acclaim as one of the nation's most livable cities. Perhaps best known for his efforts to provide Portlanders with a range of transportation choices - from bicycles to light rail to trolleys - Mr. Blumenauer also launched curbside recycling programs, initiated common-sense measures to protect the Willamette River from combined sewer overflow, fought to confiscate cars of repeat drunk drivers, and led successful efforts to increase local funding for Portland's public schools.

First elected to the US House of Representatives in a special election in May 1996, Mr. Blumenauer has carved out a unique role as Congress' chief spokesperson for Livable Communities, places where families are safe, healthy, and economically secure. He understands that the federal government, as the nation's largest landowner and landlord, has an enormous impact on the livability of our communities and should lead by example. Its agencies - the US Postal Service, the General Services Administration, and the Department of Defense, for example - should exemplify the behavior it expects from private citizens, local governments, and corporations.

Mr. Blumenauer's work on Livable Communities issues has earned him the title "Johnny Appleseed of Livability". Since his election to Congress in 1996, he has visited more than 100 communities throughout the country, working with local governments, citizens and civic organizations build effective partnerships to manage growth, improve their environment, and provide transportation choices. Equally committed to partnerships with his colleagues on Capitol Hill, he was instrumental in forming the Task Force on Livable Communities, as well as several bi-partisan caucuses: the Bicycle Caucus, the Army Corps Reform Caucus, the Greenscissors Caucus, and the Public Broadcasting Caucus. He also works closely with other congressional organizations such as the House Sustainable Development Caucus.