The progressive Seattle Times has issued a warning to residents of the city by turning on neighboring Portland, Oregon, referring to the city as ‘a landfill.’
Columnist Jon Talton penned the piece, ‘A tale of two cities: Portland offers a worrying example for Seattle,’ writing that citizens should be concerned.
In the article, Talton shared that one person he spoke with said Portland ‘looks like the road to the landfill and, in some areas, the landfill itself.’
The person who spoke with the author blamed the city’s own ‘preoccupations with grand abstractions such as ‘social justice,’ liberal policies, and high tax rates.
Seattle has long been compared to Portland due to their Pacific Northwest locations, climates, Democratic leadership, and recently, their drug and homelessness issues.
Many tourists visiting the Pacific Northwest visit both cities during a trip, with Seattle and Portland famed for their good food, grunge music scenes and lush green scenery, before crime, drugs and homelessness overran both locales.
The progressive Seattle Times has issued a warning to residents of the city by turning on next-door neighbor Portland, Oregon (pictured) referring to the city as ‘a landfill’
Seattle (pictured) has long been compared to Portland due to their Pacific Northwest locations, climates, Democratic leadership, and recently, their drug and homelessness issues
Columnist Jon Talton penned the piece , ‘A Tale of two cities: Portland offers a worrying example for Seattle,’ writing that citizens should be concerned
The Seattle Times is a left-leaning publication, with its condemnation of Portland likely to provoke ire among residents of the Oregon city who’ve long considered their Washington neighbors friendly rivals.
In the article, Talton described Portland pre demise as a ‘quirky, endearing city,’ known for its walkable neighborhoods and youthful, vibrant districts.
‘This was a city that cared about itself, going back decades,’ the author wrote.
That quickly changed however as city politics centered around crime, drugs, and homelessness, devolved and turned the city into a hellscape for many residents.
Among the major issue facing Portlanders is how to solve their problems, with many Rose City residents vocal fans of anarchist politics which condemn almost all police activity.
‘The split is between compassion and open arms and citizens affected by crime, garbage and encampments overflowing into sidewalks and neighborhoods.
‘Meanwhile, decriminalization of drugs for ‘personal use’ — including fentanyl and methamphetamine — has further riven Portland. Sound familiar?,’ Talton wrote.
The city used to attract thousands and even millions from around the country but now is looked down upon by its own.
‘Ten years ago, Portland was an urban success story virtually without parallel in America,’ the Portland resident who spoke with Talton said.
‘We did this to ourselves from equal parts denial and sentimentality,’ he said.
Columnist Jon Talton (pictured) penned the piece for the Seattle Times
A homeless man wanders the streets of Seattle, Washington
A boat filled with trash outside a large homeless encampment in an affluent Seattle area
The author went on to compare the two cities, noting that while Portland has continued to see an overall decline in quality of life and new residents, Seattle continues to boom with business.
Despite that, he notes that 7.2 percent of adults in Seattle felt pressure to move from their own neighborhoods due to crime.
More than 1.6 percent more than the second highest area where residents felt pressure to move due to feeling unsafe, Riverside-San Bernardino, California.
Portland did not make the top 15 cities on the list in contrast to Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, New York, Boston, and Houston, in part.
Talton ended his ‘cautionary tale’ article with a hope that Seattle can still ‘avoid the fate of Portland’ by using the city as a guidepost for what not to do.
Many Portlanders would argue that Seattle is in no position to judge them.
Most infamously, Seattle’s so-called Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) sprung up during summer 2020 in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis.
The area was billed as a haven free of police violence and crime, and even hailed by Seattle’s Democrat ex-Mayor Jenny Durkan.
But it quickly descended into anarchy, with cops clearing the area after a brutal murder. Businesses stuck within it say the woke experiment destroyed their livelihoods.
In August, DailyMail.com reported that Seattle residents are furious over the continued homeless and drug crises in the city.
Hundreds of tiny homes meant to house the homeless are sitting locked up in storage while sprawling homeless encampments grow.
Komo News revealed that there are at least 204 unused homes that are locked up and kept guarded by a fence, leaving people to sleep on the streets.
Fentanyl user at a bus stop in downtown Seattle, Washington
Individuals parked outside a camper in Portland, Oregon on June 21, 2023
Meanwhile, earlier this month members of an affluent Seattle neighborhood became enraged at homeless individuals setting up a swimming pool in their encampment.
The encampments expansion sparked outrage among homeowners, who found it frustrating that officials hadn’t removed it.
In early July, DailyMail.com reported that a July 4 parade had to be re-routed to avoid a fentanyl-riddled homeless encampment for ‘everyone’s safety.’
The parade in Burien, just south of Seattle, was altered to avoid a homeless encampment of up to 20 tents, according to local media.
The issues are just as bad if not worse in Portland where residents are so fed up that they have slammed city leaders and called homelessness ‘an out-of-control disaster.’
A recent survey, commissioned by People for Portland, found that more than two thirds of voters wanted to clear the streets by forcing drug addicts into rehab.
Respondents by wide margins supported Mayor Ted Wheeler’s plan to ban homeless daytime camping and people stringing up tents near schools and daycare centers.
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