As a Special Session Looms, New Anti-Columbia River Crossing Billboards Arrive

As Gov. John Kitzhaber prepares to call a special session this month, with PERS and the Columbia River Crossing potentially on the docket, another billboard has gone up protesting the CRC.

The billboard, located on I-205 near Gladstone and pictured above, reads:

"Dear Politicians, No CRC-Light Rail. Build Better Roads. Sincerely, The Voters."

The billboard is the work of the Oregon Transformation Project. Another, on Highway 217 and Scholls Ferry, was done by the Freedom and Responsibility political action committee.

"The concern is that the scope of the special session might be expanded for an Oregon-only option for the CRC," Richard Burke, the PAC's director, tells WW. "The purpose of the billboard is so that people will talk about it and urge legislators to limit the scope of any special session."

An earlier anti-CRC billboard, which popped up in March featuring the images of Patricia McCaig, Kitzhaber's lead CRC advisor, and State Treasurer Ted Wheeler. 

The image of McCaig was copyrighted by WW, however, and was pulled down.

McCaig remains under investigation for ethics law violations surrounding her work for Kitzhaber on the project while she drew a paycheck from the (now $2.8 billion) mega-project's top contractor, David Evans & Associates.