Meeting with Brian Rankin, City of Bend Planner

Last week I met with Brian Rankin, a Senior Planner for the City of Bend. I met with him to satisfy the interview requirement for USP 559, an ongoing 1-credit course that essentially is an internship experience. I got to learn about Brian's career, how he got to the City of Bend, his educational background, as well as his take on the challenges of being a planner in Bend. We covered far more material then I need for the assignment, which was nice, as well as discussing the prospect of me interning for the city over the summer. Now being that I live in Portland, interning would have to consist of me coming down to Bend two to three days a week for a short period of time, possibly combined with me doing some work from home.

He gave me some interesting food for thought in terms of thinking hard about geography of where I ultimately want to work. Until this point I have taken more of a I will take what I can get mindset rather then thinking of what I really want. I can't forecast where I will want to be, or where Annie will in a year and a half, other then I want to have a decent job within my field. Bend is a great place to live, but as Brian pointed out, the City Council tilts pretty heavily to the right, and there isn't quite the same progressivism as found in Portland. Of course, not many other places are in the same league as Portland. Brian also mentioned that Bend is isolated, and he had a few long stretches of time between jobs because he wanted to stay in the area. This was something that I had already considered, that Bend's location doesn't allow for the same career flexibility as a larger metropolitan area. There's certainly a lot to think about. Brian stressed that above all, an internship allows you to meet people and make contacts in a certain area, so it's really for the best to pick an area that you would want to work.