Who Are You? with Chris Damgen, City of Troutdale, OR

Posted on December 28, 2015


As part of the grueling ELGL initiation process, new members are asked to complete our version of the Wonderlic test. It’s an open book test and participants do not have to use a dull number 2 pencil to fill in tiny circles. 

Chris Damgen (LinkedIn) is a senior planner for the City of Troutdale, OR. Previously, he was Downtown Development Manager for the City of Hardeeville, SC. Chris graduated from Clemson University with a Master’s degree, City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning.

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I feel….

damp. It’s my first winter in the Pacific Northwest and the Portland area just set a December record for rainfall.

I joined ELGL because…..

One of my professional mentors (John Morgan) recommended the group to me. And the memes on the website.

The last book that I read was…

Portland: People, Politics, and Power by Jules Lansing. As a history major in undergrad, I’m always interested in learning about the past, particularly in places that I’ve called home.

If I had to buy a Fathead, I would buy…

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Probably Deshaun Watson, the quarterback for Clemson and a Heisman finalist. My wife is an Oklahoma fan and with our teams playing each other in the semifinal; she would not be amused.

You should probably know that I…. 

Hosted a weekly trivia night at a restaurant for over six years. In addition to the moonlighting gig being comic relief for me, it gave me additional practice in presenting to boards, commissions, and councils. It also showed others that local government people are human, too.

Do you agree/disagree with the following statement(s)……Explain….

You should stay at least two years in a job.

Agree; especially for those in city planning. I don’t think one can truly understand a community without having spent some time there to get to know the stakeholders and the issues.

Parks and Rec is the best TV show ever.

Disagree. Seinfeld wins.

Local government is innovative.

innovation

Agree, but it depends on the jurisdiction and its appetite and willingness to be innovative. Those satisfied with the status quo certainly are not. I’ve been fortunate in my career to be at places where I can help innovate or improve processes and procedures.

The best employees, not just the longest tenured, are rewarded in local government.

Agree… to a degree. I think in smaller entities, one can better understand each other’s work and there isn’t as much room for private fiefdoms and cults of personality to develop.

Publicly funded stadiums and arenas are a good idea.

Depends. If we are talking about providing corporate welfare for billionaire owners of professional sports teams, then hell no. Study after study shows this to be a loser, particularly in an era when a 20 year old stadium is considered obsolete. However, if we’re talking about funding for amenities like a recreational sports complex that can lead to a community being better suited to host events or draw visitors, then they can be a good investment. I’ve known some cities where these investments have led to spillover commercial development and increases in local tourism.

Cities need more bike lanes.

Disagree on bike lanes. If one was to say dedicated bike or multi-use trails paralleling busier streets, then I would agree with it. Many recreational riders simply do not feel safe with bike lanes adjacent to vehicular lanes. I’ve also seen situations where lanes were marked on streets with already slow speeds. Why not encourage shared spaces on streets, which increases driver awareness, slows down traffic speeds, and has been proven to work effectively?

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