The mayors of Gresham, Beaverton and West Linn all have something in common. They are first-term mayors who took office in January and are breaking barriers. Mayor Travis Stovall is the first Black mayor of Gresham, Oregon's fourth largest city. Mayor Lacey Beaty is the first woman to be mayor of Beaverton, the state's sixth largest city. Beaty and the new mayor of West Linn, Jules Walters, are among just four women in the Metropolitan Mayors Consortium, which represents 26 cities in the Portland-Vancouver region.
They also see opportunities to work together on issues of common interest. The three mayors were guests on this week's episode of KGW's Straight Talk with Laural Porter.