[February 7, 2025]
January 31 marked the completion of first month of Portland's all-new system of government. You may be wondering, how did it go?
Before we get into that, note this upcoming opportunity to meet and hear more from our District 4 reps:
Meet and greet
District 4 residents will have an opportunity to meet our new reps at a City Club of Portland event on February 11.
Register here for this free event held downtown at University Place Hotel and Conference Center, 310 SW Lincoln Street. Organizers promise a program featuring a panel moderated by Willamette Week reporter Sophie Peel, and audience Q&A.
Councilors are expected to share their visions for District 4 and Portland as a whole, discussing citywide topics such as downtown revitalization, partnerships with Multnomah County and Portland’s future. After the panel, attendees can mingle with neighbors and councilors.
Now, on to a consideration of the early days of our new city council:
The beginning of a new system
On December 19, 12 new council members and a new mayor were sworn in. At their first meeting, councilors elected a council president (District 2 rep Elana Pirtle-Guiney) and vice president (Tiffany Koyama Lane from District 3).
At their second meeting on January 15, councilors approved a budget increase to allow councilors and the mayor to hire additional staff. Only councilors Dan Ryan and Steve Novick voted against the measure.
The January 15 vote increases the council's staffing budget through June 2025 by $4.6 million and will allow each councilor to hire an additional staffer for a total of two each. This is in addition to a pool of nine staffers for the whole council. Going forwarding the staffing increase is expected to cost $11.3 million a year, with a looming budget shortfall that could be as high as $100 million.
The mayor's tie-breaking powers have not yet come into play. Most votes so far have been unanimous, with the exception of the above-noted staffing budget increase, the council president election, and two no votes from councilor Sameer Kanal (District 2).
The eight newly formed council committees have scheduled their first meetings and published agendas.
It's too early to say how District 4 reps are doing, but Mitch Green has made a strong start. It was his change of vote late in the day that resolved a stalemate in the council president election, and he, along with District 3 rep Angelita Morrilo, filed a resolution objecting to a land-use approval for the Zenith Energy fuel storage facility located in his district. Green has also gotten off to a running start in constituent communications with three (as of this writing) email newsletters sent out from his office so far.
Good to know
In this start-up period of the new council, terms for reps for districts 3 and 4 last just two years, ending in January 2027 in order to stagger turnover and promote stability. With this exception, terms are four years.
District 4 issues
As noted above, Mitch Green advocated against a land-use approval for a fuel storage facility in NW Portland. In another vote, council members unanimously approved the allocation of $7 million in grant funds for an affordable housing development planned at the current site of Barbur Rentals on Barbur Blvd.
City Council meetings
City Council holds regular meetings on the first Wednesday at 9:3am and third Wednesday at 6:00pm each month. Council also meets for work sessions, executive sessions, and other meetings where information is presented and discussed, but no legislative action is taken.
District 4 councilors
Each rep has their own page on the city website where you can find contact info, newsletter sign-up, and see their voting record.
Olivia Clark
Committees:
Chair, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
Arts and Economy Committee
Governance Committee
Mitch Green
Committees:
Co-Chair, Arts and Economy Committee
Vice-Chair, Labor and Workforce Development Committee
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
Finance Committee
Eric Zimmerman
Committees:
Chair, Finance Committee
Homelessness and Housing Committee
Community and Public Safety Committee
—Valeurie Friedman
What do you think? How is our new form of government working out so far? Let us know.