State Rep Khanh Pham at Youth vs ODOT Rally

In this episode we hear from Oregon State Representative Khanh Pham. Pham was just elected to office back in November and represents House District 46 which stretches from Interstate 84 to Mt. Scott and from about Laurelhurst Park to just east of I-205.

She's garnered several headlines on BikePortland recently for her leadership in calling on the state of Oregon to invest more in 82nd Avenue. Pham lives in the Jade District and brings a lot of personal understanding and urgency around 82nd Avenue's many problems to her job as a legislator.

Known primarily for her work as an environmental justice organizer with the nonprofit Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO) and the successful campaign for the Portland Clean Energy Fund, Rep Pham is becoming a leader on the transportation front as well. It's just the latest sign of how the tremendous challenge of fighting climate change is creating broad coalitions of activists that are connecting dots between the environment, social justice, energy use, and Oregon's largest source of greenhouse gases — transportation.

On Wednesday September 1st, Pham spoke at a protest of youth climate activists who've been rallying in front of Oregon Department of Transportation headquarters in downtown Portland for 5 months now. Through her mask - emblazoned with a bike and the words "Viet Nam" in honor of her home country — Pham gave a rousing speech and then I was able to chat with her for a few minutes afterwards.

First you'll hear her speech, which I've edited a bit for clarity, then you'll hear our short interview.

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Show notes:

- Full episode transcript (via Rev) - https://www.rev.com/transcript-editor/shared/3gpRwpjwCZ-_lN5_OLwyJ7Jjjv7hUdfXwLDlkUaROtYhzugRqT_0UJV2dZ1dR3x-j_YEqZJ6u_MyAX9YDQ3UYarQGL0

- Rep Pham Official Website - https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/pham

- Rep Pham on Twitter - https://twitter.com/KhanhPhamForOR

- An op-ed on House Bill 3055 - https://bikeportland.org/2021/06/21/guest-opinion-stop-the-freeway-widening-slush-fund-333961