Pamplin Media Group – Mayor-elect Michael Milch seeks to attract families to Gladstone

Former city councilor to take office with understanding that all elected officials are ‘on same team’

Former Gladstone Councilor Michael Milch led a slate of candidates to sweep four races in the Nov. 8 election.

Milch emphasized civility and collaboration as part of his campaign, while his three running mates took a similar tone with their messaging. Milch’s 37% of the vote was several percentage points ahead of either of the other mayoral candidates.

In 2016, Milch was appointed to the Downtown Revitalization Advisory Committee, and in 2017 he was appointed to a vacant seat on the Gladstone City Council. Since his council term ended, he continued to serve the city on the library board, planning commission and budget committee.

In anticipation of his taking office as mayor in January, Milch agreed to answer some questions from the local newspaper.

Please tell a story about something fun that you’ve been able to do while volunteering for the city.

I started volunteering in Gladstone schools in 2010 when my twin grandchildren were in kindergarten at the Gladstone Center for Children and Families. This year they are seniors at Gladstone High School. There is a joy rooted in the memories of those 12 years of classroom volunteering and community service, of watching my grandchildren and their classmates grow, learn and prepare to enter adulthood.

I especially enjoy going to student recognition events like homecoming or school promotion, and hearing the names of kids I’ve come to know over the years. Sometimes I still remember what distinguished them as kindergartners — the boy who completed the most laps in the move-a-thon, the girl who had the best penmanship — and now I can see the ways they will distinguish themselves as adults in our community. And it has been particularly gratifying to see them take an active interest in local government and City Council elections. I guess voting has become cool for Generation Z.

What are you looking forward to accomplishing as mayor over the next four years?

I hope to provide strategic leadership for the city, and to enable people with different perspectives to work collaboratively and respectfully. We will address the most important needs of our community, which are livability and economic prosperity. The goal is for all people to have access to opportunities they can use in the pursuit of improvements to their quality of life.

That means providing a greater variety of housing options, to allow people with different budgets and in different professions to live close to jobs, schools and community services. It means identifying and enhancing community assets that contribute to our sense of place and our identity as a diverse, yet closely knit community.

It means partnering with our school district to develop career education opportunities for youth and adults that will enhance people’s economic opportunity. We also need to attract new families into the school district and boost enrollment, attendance, and academic achievement to pre-pandemic levels or higher.

What are Gladstone’s biggest challenges right now?

We are fortunate that an influx of federal funding will enable Gladstone and other cities to invest in some deferred infrastructure improvements and repairs. The challenge will be to sustain that level of stewardship using the resources and revenues available to us when those funds are exhausted.

Municipal tax rates are fixed in perpetuity by Oregon law, so we depend primarily on expansion of our tax base — the underlying value of the land and property within our city — to generate the increased revenue to accommodate projected growth and civic improvement. We need to plan for and enable development that will both enhance our livability and expand our role in the regional economy.

How do you expect that the new city council will work together differently from previous sets of city councilors?

Now that the election is over, we can take off our politician hats and put on our public servant hats and engage in the team sport of local governance. And we’ll do that with the understanding that city staff and elected officials are all on the same team.

I expect us to focus on the issues, embrace the facts, and avoid personalizing debate. We will come prepared, listen to understand, ask questions to clarify and confirm our understanding, and show respect to one another even when we disagree. Civility costs nothing and buys everything.

With a fresh group of leaders, we can focus on possibilities rather than problems. We can work on connecting local assets with one another in ways that amplify their power and effectiveness. We can be a source of civic pride for the citizens we represent.

What’s your favorite local holiday tradition and why?

As a young adult, I always returned home to attend the late night Christmas Eve worship service at the church where I grew up, reuniting with the congregation that helped shape my character. Now the isolation of the pandemic years and having younger grandkids (ages 4 and 6) have made me more appreciative of the external features of the holiday season.

At my age I avoid climbing ladders, but I’m glad to have neighbors and nearby neighborhoods that go full-on Clark Griswold with their lights and yard decorations. My grandsons love walking or driving past these displays, and I love seeing the joy reflected in their eyes. It’s the most wonderful time of the year.