Portland City Council looks to "hit its stride" in year two
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Photo illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios; Photo: Emily Harris/Axios
It's been a bit of a mixed bag for Portland's new form of city council in its first year, but, despite some outside criticism, members of the city's legislative body have high hopes for year two.
The big picture: Voter-approved reform of Portland's governing charter — creating districts, expanding the council, and separating executive and legislative powers — promised a more responsive, representative and transparent council.
What they're saying: Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney told Axios that public engagement and outreach have been a strong point among the new councilors, but she readily admits the learning curve has been steep as the councilors look to establish new norms, precedents and procedures.
- "We weren't just building the plane while we flew it," she said. "We were deciding what the flight path should be as we flew this plane that was half-built."
Yes, but: Either way, the amount of new legislation produced by the council has been less than expected, Portland State political science professor Paul Manson told Axios.
- But he cited threats from the federal government — over immigration, protests and other issues — that have complicated the work of city leaders.
- "You want to make changes when things are calm and stable, and we are unfortunately making changes when things are probably about as turbulent as they get," Manson said.
Zoom in: Council Vice President Tiffany Koyama Lane pointed to several significant moves made by legislators this year, despite the challenges facing the city.
- The city codified its sanctuary status, put in place measures to stave off the deployment of National Guard troops, banned algorithmic rental pricing, started a study of social housing, initiated a land-use investigation into Zenith Energy, and approved a historic reparations settlement for Black Portlanders displaced by urban renewal policies.
The intrigue: Tensions between Mayor Keith Wilson's office and the council have simmered throughout the council's first year.
- Some councilors have pushed back on executive branch proposals and criticized the administration for failing to relay information in a timely way.
- Councilor Mitch Green filed a resolution last week calling for an investigation into roughly $20 million in previously undisclosed, unspent Housing Bureau funds, which councilors say they learned about only after making difficult budget choices.
"There have been too many issues in this first year where events have happened that council was only given information about after the fact," Koyama Lane said. "Without better oversight, we're not living up to our responsibilities."
The bottom line: Koyama Lane said she's confident that, with some systems now in place, "council will really hit its stride in terms of governance practice and legislative impact" in its second year.
- It'll need to act quickly, though. Six of the 12 councilors will be up for reelection in November.