Donovan Jividen
for Bend City Council seat 3
Donovan is from Bend, for Bend
In these troubling and uncertain times, it's more important than ever that Bend unites as a community to overcome these challenges together. To accomplish this we must support the backbone of our community, the service workers, the builders, and the medical staff that all keep our community running and healthy. It is my goal that the needs of these groups are listened to and included in the plans of the City so that critical components of our community get the attention that they deserve.
Affordable Housing
Housing is a critical part of any community and in Bend it is even more so. Much of Bend's current economy revolves around construction and the service industry, whether that service is in a restaurant, store, or a medical field. To support these industries we need homes that are both economical and local, and the shortage of housing that currently fits this description is causing people to look farther afield for housing. This makes it more difficult for service workers to work and enjoy the fruits of their labor as well as exacerbating the transportation issues we already face. In order to remedy this, I want to incentivize the construction of affordable local housing by our builders in a way that the whole community benefits.
Effective Transportation
It is immediately apparent that there are some challenges faced by the transportation system in Bend Oregon. Some of these issues are due to the rapid growth of Bend putting pressure on systems that while designed to meet future capacity needs, have fallen short as the population passed those targets and kept expanding. To resolve these issues, we need not only to plan for the growth that we already expect but factor in that our needs may change by the time the planning has been done. In addition to this, we must make sure that our current infrastructure is maintained and overhauled where needed so that it meets the requirements we have now and will meet the needs we will have in the future. While planning the future transportation needs of a dynamically growing city is a difficult undertaking, it is necessary in order to keep our city thriving.
Sustainable Jobs
Tourism plays a massive part in the Economy of Bend and central Oregon in general and a such muisch of our industries are geared towards supporting that. This has led to the service industry and construction playing a great role in the economic development of Bend. While tourism has been great as Bend’s economic backbone, this has atrophied some of the other sectors of our economy. This has been highlighted by the current pandemic as it has limited the ability for tourism to exist as an industry during the lockdowns and will stifle the industry’s growth until a safe and reliable way to prevent new infections is created. From this, like many other places in the US, we have experienced difficult economic outlooks as many have had to seek different employment as their employers cut back on spending just to stay afloat. In order to steel our local economy against any future economic challenges we face, we must facilitate the creation of jobs in the areas we are lacking. The largest gap is in our industrial and manufacturing sector. These kinds of jobs are more local and while certainly will face the same challenges as other sectors of the economy, are more able to cope with them as they are not reliant on tourism in order to function.
About Donovan
Having lived in Bend for my whole life I’ve experienced most of the things Bend has to offer first hand. I have a great appreciation for the wonderful opportunities to participate in outdoor activities, whether it be kayaking and biking in the warmer months or cross country skiing when there’s snow. I’ve been through our school system and see why people wish to move here to raise families. I understand the appeal of Bend Oregon and care deeply about the community here, that’s why I want to listen to the wonderful community in our wonderful city.