November 4, 2025
In a wide-ranging conversation, former Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer contends that West Coast downtowns can recover if their leaders focus on delivery over rhetoric, while insisting on accountability from what he calls “productive progressives.” Blumenauer pushes back on polarized portrayals of his city as a “war zone,” emphasizing peaceful mass demonstrations and judicial checks on federal overreach that affirmed civic resilience. Turning to Los Angeles, Blumenauer cautions that governance “reforms” too often breed fragmentation; what matters most, he argues, is performance and outcomes—not structure.
