Earl “Bike-Partisan” Blumenauer Marks 40 Years of Public Service

Tonight at a Gala event in Portland, Ore., local residents will say thank you to one of the nation’s most important champions of bicycling: Congressman Earl Blumenauer. Since he arrived on Capitol Hill in 1996, Blumenauer has been one of the strongest congressional leaders on cyclists’ rights and bicycle funding. But his 40 years of public service — and visionary support of bicycling — started long before he arrived in Washington, D.C.

As Jonathan Maus from BikePortland summarizes: “During his four decades of leadership, Blumenauer has presided over much of the bicycle and transportation legacy that our region is so well known for. From his position as head of the City of Portland Department of Public Works (what we now call the Bureau of Transportation) from 1987 to 1996, Blumenauer (with Mia Birk as his right-hand woman) oversaw an explosion in bikeway miles. From his office in Washington D.C., where he’s served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives since 1996, Blumenauer is without a doubt the most influential and well-known champion for bicycling on Capitol Hill.”

Of course, League members know Blumenauer has also become a well-known presence at the National Bike Summit. In fact, the Congressman has participated in every single Summit, since the event’s inception in 2001. Thank you, Congressman, for your leadership and support over the year. Here’s to many more Bike Summits to come!

See more pictures of the bike-partisan Congressman from past Bike Summits…