PORTLAND, Ore. ( KOIN ) — Portland Commissioner and mayoral candidate Rene Gonalez released a video on Friday saying that he will temporarily stop using public transportation in Portland after he was “accosted” by a woman on the MAX train on Jan. 26.
“For my entire career, I have been multimodal: A frequent TriMet user and regular cyclist,” Gonzalez said in the video. “Last Friday, I was accosted by a woman on the train. What I experienced was deliberate, unwanted physical contact, followed by criticisms of the city’s policies regarding homelessness.”
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The public argument occurred two weeks after a family car caught fire outside Gonzalez’s Sellwood-Moreland home on Jan. 12. The fire is being investigated as a possible arson case.
“Given the targeted events my family has endured, city security and my family have asked that I stop taking public transit for a period of time,” Gonzalez said. “It is unfortunate, because I have always viewed taking our public transit system as a core part of Portland’s identity.”