Jules Bailey

Early life and education

Bailey was born in Portland, Oregon and graduated from Lincoln High School. He earned a bachelor's degree in Environmental Studies and International Affairs at Lewis & Clark College in 2001.

Bailey studied in a dual-degree graduate program at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. In 2007, he earned two master's degrees: a Master of Public Affairs (with concentrations in Economic Policy and Environmental Policy) and a Master of Urban and Regional Planning.

Elections

In 2008, Bailey was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives to represent District 42. The seat was vacated by Diane Rosenbaum, who was running for election to the Oregon Senate. Bailey earned a plurality victory in the primary election over three other candidates for the Democratic nomination. In the general election, he defeated Pacific Green Party candidate Chris Extine by a wide margin to win election to the seat.

Bailey was reelected to the Oregon House of Representatives in 2010 with 84.7% of the vote and in 2012, when he was unopposed in both the primary and general elections.

Policy issues

In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Bailey served as Chairman of the House Energy and Environment Committee.

The Oregon League of Conservation Voters (OLCV) named Bailey the "Innovator of the Year" in 2009 for promoting the renewables industry during the 2009 legislative session. In 2013, Bailey angered some environmentalists by voting in favor of the Columbia River Crossing mega highway project, which was projected to increase greenhouse gas emissions 32% in the area by 2030 if built; he was presented with the mock environmental "Cars Rejuvenating Carbon" award during an OLCV event shortly after the vote in the Oregon House.

Policy priorities and accomplishments

Bailey also chaired the Joint Committee on Tax Credits. He sponsored and passed a bill requiring that all tax credits be reviewed regularly or expire.

In 2012, Bailey led the effort to pass the Healthy Teen Relationship Act, which aims to prevent domestic violence by teaching teens about healthy relationships.

Bailey worked to encourage bicycle transportation. He sponsored bills to increase state funding for biking and walking facilities and to allow an Idaho stop for cyclists. He also sponsored a bill to make traffic fines proportional to vehicle weight in order to recognize that heavier vehicles, when driven dangerously, are more hazardous to the people around them than small vehicles. He was endorsed by the Bike Walk Vote political action committee in his first campaign for the House of Representatives in 2008.

Multnomah County Commissioner

Bailey currently serves on the Multnomah County Commission. The Commission comprises five members: a Chair who is elected county-wide and four Commissioners who are elected to represent geographic districts. Bailey represents District 1, which includes the areas of Multnomah County west of the Willamette River and inner Southeast Portland.

Election

Bailey was elected to the Multnomah County Commission in a special election in May 2014. He succeeded Liesl Wendt, who had been appointed to fill the seat on an interim basis when Deborah Kafoury resigned to run for County Chair. Bailey defeated community activist Brian Wilson, winning 73.1% of the vote.

Policy priorities and accomplishments

Homelessness

Bailey has made reducing homelessness one of his key priorities. He serves on the "A Home For Everyone" Executive Committee. "A Home For Everyone" is a partnership between Portland-area governments and community organizations that is focused on ending homelessness in the Portland area.

In September 2015, the leaders of "A Home For Everyone" announced a "100-day push to end veteran homelessness" in the Portland area. The initiative has placed 430 veterans in housing or shelters in 2015 and needs to house 260 more by the end of 2015 to achieve its goal.

Bailey worked to secure funds to reduce homelessness in Multnomah County's annual budget for fiscal year 2016.

In September 2015, leaders of Multnomah County and the City of Portland pledged to spend $30 million, aiming to cut homelessness by half. Multnomah County will provide $10 million.

Mental health services

Bailey has also focused on improving services for people experiencing mental illness, particularly those experiencing acute mental health crises. Bailey has pushed to include greater funding for mental health services in Multnomah County's budget.

Bailey has worked to improve crisis care for people experiencing psychiatric emergencies. Mental health crisis services are regarded as a key concern by many health care professionals, law enforcement officials, and advocates for patients, because the existing modes of treatment are considered to be both expensive and ineffective. Typically, patients experiencing mental health crises are taken to emergency rooms or local jails, neither of which are staffed with mental health experts. Ordinary emergency rooms typically are not well prepared to treat psychiatric conditions, resulting in patients "boarding" without adequate treatment for many hours or even days.

Bailey is a supporter of the Unity Center for Behavioral Health, a partnership between several Portland-area hospitals. The Unity Center would create a dedicated emergency facility for patients with psychiatric conditions. The project is modeled on a successful system for mental health crisis care in Alameda County, California. The aim is to provide better treatment for patients with mental health crises and to keep such patients out of ordinary emergency rooms or local jails.

In May 2015, Bailey proposed and won an amendment to Multnomah County's 2016 budget to allocate $3.0 million to support the Unity Center project. County Chair Deborah Kafoury had proposed allocating $1.0 million. The City of Portland is also contributing $0.5 million and the Oregon Health Authority is contributing $1.0 million. The public funds will go towards remodeling the Legacy Holladay Park Medical Center in Northeast Portland to create a facility for the Unity Center.

Energy conservation

Bailey led an effort to encourage energy conservation improvements to commercial buildings. Bailey worked to implement a program known as Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy or C-PACE. The Multnomah County Commission approved the C-PACE program in September 2015. The program will be implemented in partnership with the Portland Development Commission (PDC). Commercial buildings are responsible for 24 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in Multnomah County.

The C-PACE program allows building owners to borrow from banks to finance building improvements. Taxpayers do not provide any funds for C-PACE loans, but the local government facilitates the loans by using property tax assessment to guarantee repayment. Any overdue loan payments can be added to the property tax bill for the building. By improving the security of the loans, this policy is intended to make it easier and cheaper for building owners to finance energy conservation upgrades. Bailey explained, "It gives banks security to lend, so they'll give lower interest rates and longer terms, which makes it more likely building owners will be able to afford it."

Bailey also sponsored the Oregon legislation that supports C-PACE when he served as a member of the Oregon House of Representatives. Bailey sponsored HB 2626 in 2009, which allowed local governments to create C-PACE programs. In 2014, he sponsored and passed HB 4041 to clarify and update the policy.

Seismic upgrades to buildings

Bailey successfully sought to expand the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program to allow seismic upgrades as well as energy conservation upgrades. In September 2015, the Multnomah County Commission adopted a C-PACE policy that enables commercial building owners to finance both types of building upgrades, with the loans being guaranteed through property tax assessments.

Bailey urged the Oregon legislature to pass legislation allowing seismic upgrades in the C-PACE program. In April 2015, the Legislature adopted legislation (Senate Bill 85) that allows loans made through the C-PACE program to finance seismic upgrades as well as energy conservation improvements.

Seismic upgrades to bridges

Bailey has worked to upgrade bridges in Portland to make them resilient against earthquakes. Bailey made funding for seismic resiliency a priority during negotiations over Multnomah County's 2016 budget. Oregon is at risk of experiencing a major earthquake due to its proximity to the Cascadia Subduction Zone.

Multnomah County owns and maintains several bridges on the Willamette River. Of these, the Hawthorne, Burnside, Broadway and Morrison Bridges require upgrades because they are not designed to withstand a major earthquake. The Sauvie Island Bridge (completed in 2008) and the new Sellwood Bridge (expected to open in 2016) are built to withstand a magnitude 9.0 earthquake. Engineers working for Multnomah County have estimated that a magnitude 9.0 earthquake would shut down 40 lanes of traffic crossing the Willamette River and would keep them closed for months.

At Bailey's urging, the Multnomah County Commission identified the Burnside Bridge as the first priority for improvement. In November 2015, the Commission approved funds for a study examining what to do about the Burnside Bridge. The study will enable leaders to assess whether it makes more sense to replace or to seismically retrofit the bridge. Bailey had earlier worked to include funding for the Burnside Bridge study in Multnomah County's 2016 budget. Instead, the study was approved separately from the annual budget.

Family leave policy

Bailey is an advocate of paid family leave to allow new parents to bond with their child. In October 2015, the County Commission approved a new policy that grants six weeks of paid parental leave to employees of Multnomah County.

Minimum wage

Bailey supported a minimum wage of $15 per hour for employees of Multnomah County. In December 2014, the County Commission voted to raise the minimum wage for county employees from $11.99 to $15 per hour. Multnomah County is the largest public employer in Oregon to implement a $15 minimum.

Tobacco regulation

Bailey has advocated raising the legal age to purchase tobacco from 18 to 21 in Multnomah County to prevent nicotine addiction among underage youth, arguing that "we could save a lot of lives" with this policy change.

Public health advocates have urged the County Commission to raise the legal age to reduce smoking among minors. Advocates noted that minors often obtain cigarettes from older friends, and that many high school students have friends who are 18 but do not have 21-year old friends. Raising the legal age to 21 is therefore expected to reduce smoking and nicotine addiction among high schoolers. Linda Roman of the Oregon Health Equity Alliance noted that about 95 percent of smokers become addicted by the age of 21.

Bailey also supported tighter regulation of electronic cigarettes. In March 2015, the Multnomah County Commission set a minimum legal age of 18 for electronic cigarettes and banned the use of electronic cigarettes in indoor workplaces.

Sauvie Island land-use plan

Bailey worked to facilitate and pass a long-term land-use plan for Sauvie Island. The plan is intended to protect Sauvie Island's "rural character" by addressing issues such as noise and heavy traffic due to large gatherings and tourism. The plan was negotiated with community input through public meetings. It was drafted by a committee of Sauvie Island residents in partnership with Multnomah County staff.

Personal life

Bailey is married to Jessica (Hoseason) Bailey, a pediatrician. They have a son, August, who was born in 2015. They live in Multnomah Village.