Weird is not always wonderful: Denver leaders get a taste of the best and worst of Portland, Ore.

• Author: Cote, Mike
• Position: COTE'S [colorado]

Residents of Portland, Ore., drive 20 percent less than their counterparts in other American cities, get around town on bikes and streetcars, and embrace an egalitarian ethic.

Oh, and they want to keep their city "weird." (Where have we heard that before?)

The 160 business and community leaders who took a crash course on the Pacific Northwest city in September got a taste of its successes and its challenges.

While addressing the delegates of the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation, Portland Mayor Sam Adams tried to sell Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper some streetcars--Portland not only became the first American city to bring them back, it now manufactures them. He touted the city's advanced manufacturing, cleantech, software and health-care sectors and its environmental bent.

"Through the lens of sustainability, Portland is definitely a living laboratory," Adams said during his address at The Nines hotel, which is owned by trip sponsor Sage Hospitality.

He also cited a quest for excellence that would have sounded on key at Nike's headquarters in nearby Beaverton, the final stop on the tour. "We have to be scrappy," Adams said. "Every single business in Portland has to seek to excel or you don't get a lot of love from the city."

Some business leaders in Portland said they weren't feeling the love. In January, Oregon voters approved two tax measures business leaders say will drive corporations from the state. One measure increased the income tax rate to 11 percent for households with taxable income more than $250,000, the other set higher minimum taxes for corporations and increased the tax rate on upper-level profits.

"It's a very, very blue state," said Judy Peppier, state president for Qwest, who noted Oregon's strong union presence. "When you don't have a little balance in this regard, it makes it difficult to do business."

And the high number of business groups also makes it hard for business leaders to speak with a unified voice to legislators and the public, Peppier said during a discussion following the mayor's appearance.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Denver leaders who missed the trip could get a taste of Portland's appeal by taking a little jaunt to their local people's republic.

Much of what's good about Portland--a state university in the heart of town, a bustling nightlife, booming biking and running cultures, tech-savvy entrepreneurs and successful homegrown businesses--can be found in Boulder.

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