1111 SW Fifth Avenue, Suite 1001, Portia, On 97208 December 3, 2014 Portland City Commission £1221 SW Ath Avenue, Room 110 Portand, OR 97204 "Mayor Hales and Commissioners Fish, Fritz, Novick and Saltzman, ‘There are many reasons to love ving, working and doing business in Portland. The fact tha our ety has _ progressive, forward-thinking City Commission is one, ‘We believe that you are one ofthe primary reasons Portland is growing and flourishing like few places in ‘the country. We are act that prides itself on entrepreneurship, on independent businesson being one ‘ofthe only medium-sized cities inthe country where people can actually Ive without aca.So, i's ficult to understand why Portland is now the largest ctyin the country wher ride sharing companies are not able to operate tis inconsistent withthe kind of Cty Commission we know you are and Inconsistent with who we areas act. ‘Thats why we have confidence you wil ee the laws and regulations that protect the tax industry in here Portiand for what they really are: outdated. They're making people wonder how cana taxi Industry lobby keep Portland from being counted among the progressive, forward-thinking ites that ‘are providing their residents and vistors wih fas, easy, on demand services like Uber and ts peers. ‘The tal industry wil survive here, just as tas survved—and flourished —rght alongside Uber and sinila services in cles ike New York, San Francisco and Seattle. The existence of ride sharing would create healthy competition that would motivate the tax industry to up their game. And, you have to ‘admit: we may have the best City Commission in the league, but our tax industry could use some lnmproverment. f you doubt that, try haling 2 cab this Saturday night. Or this Wednesday afternoon. Lets tak about our tax industry fora second: we have about 40 lensed taxis fora city of more than hatfa milion resident, That’s.07 cab per one thousand residents, which s among the lowest per capita in the entire country. Washington, DC, has 12 cbs for every thousand residents—nearly 20times as many ona per capita basis. [At Feast Portland tis year, the number one complaint among the 12,000 attendees from 50 diferent states and provinces was, “lack of reliable tax! service.” Many commented that they “cou believe ‘thata ct as progressive as Portland doesnt have Uber.” ‘tis inconsistent with who we are. What about safety, privacy an fir treatment of workers? Studies by the Washington Post znd New York Magazine, have shown that Uber drivers’ pays higher than that of traditional cab drives. And the background checks are just as rigorous. drivers receive poor ratings fom passengers, theycan no longer be Uber drivers, This provides accountability. Modernity. Technology. Rigo. You're the best ity Commission inthe league. Today you have another chance to demonstrate that, by ‘overcoming inert, by overturning antiquated laws, to Invite ridesharing companies to come toPortland, Oregon. Take action now to avoid problems later Yes, fora while you might hear whispers of, “Wel is about time” from Portlanders and vistors to Portlnd, ut by thi time next year, people wl have forgotten our momentary lapse in consistency. They'll be happily moving around Portand, just ‘minats after they ve pushed a button ontheirsmart phones. They/l thank you. And wel thank you. ‘We would lke to discuss this Issue with you directly and wil be reaching out to your offices in the following week to inquire bout setting up a meeting Sincerely, Be Wie Bashar Watt President of Provenance Hotels Meebo ‘Mike Thelin Co-Founder, Feast Portiand Signatories, ‘Aaron Barnett, Executive Chef and Owner, t.Jack Restaurant and Bar ‘Adam Sappington, Chef and Owner, The Country Cat ‘Andy Ricker, Chef and Owner, PokPok ‘Austh Howe, Creativ Director, Austin Howe Inc Ben Waldron, Co-Founder & CTO, Polinat, Inc Brad Cloepfl Principal, lied Works Architecture BrettJoye, President, Rogue Ales Brian Newman, Director of Campus Planning, Development and RealEstate, OHSU Carrie Welch, President Lite Green Pickle and Co-Founder Feast Porvind Cathy Whis, Executive Chef and Owner, Nostrana, Oven and Shaker David Rae, Nike Inc and Chief Curator & Producer, TEDx Portland David Welch, Owner, Lincoln Restaurant, Sunshine Tavern Denis allen, Director of Planning and Development, Ziel Yards Donald Kenney, General Manager, Ace Hotel ‘Duare Sorenson, Restaurateur and Founder of Stumptown Coffe Roasters Emily rowley, Director, Feast Portland Gregory Gourde, Executive Chef, Departure lan Bel, Founder/CEO, Digital Trends Jacke Sappington, chef and Owner, The Country Cat Jenn us, Chef and Owner, Lincoln Restaurant, Sunshine Tavern ess Wetsl, Owner, Wetsel Company ‘oho lips, President, Grand + Benedits Jonathan Malsin, Principal, eam DevelopmentJoshua tank, SP & General Manager, Upensesame Ken Forksh, Owner, Kens Artisan Bakery, Kens Artisan Pla, Trifecta Tavern Kim Malek, President, Sat and Straw Ice Cream Kurt Huffman, Presiden, Chefstable Ls Schroeder, Executive Chef and Owner Mothers Bistro and Bar ‘Mark Rawlinson, Owner / President, New Systems Laundry ‘Mat Brown, Owner, Bunk Bar ‘Matt French, Managing Director, Zell Yards ‘Mike Frit, CEO President, OWFritz Automation Inc "Nate Tilden, Owner, Clyde Comman Olympic Provisions, Spirit of77 Nick Wood, Owner, Bunk Sandwiches Nicole Vogal President, Saga City Media and Founder of Portland Monthly Magazine (ORLA ~ Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association Steve iyte, Managing Member, Clearpath Services ‘Travel Portland Victoria Frey, Executive Director, PICA ‘Wendy Lane, resident, Lane PR