After marathon rounds of voting and hours of debate, the Portland City Council failed yesterday to elect one of its members as president of the city's legislative body for the year.

Why it matters: The president sets the agenda for the council, appoints members to various committees and oversees meetings to make sure decorum is kept and all members are heard fairly.

The latest: The 12-member council remained deadlocked through nine rounds of voting over six hours, with half the councilors supporting council president and moderate Elana Pirtle-Guiney, and the other six pushing for progressive Sameer Kanal.

Zoom in: Pirtle-Guiney was nominated by Councilor Loretta Smith, who said the president had "set a standard for transparency and collaboration that others should follow."

• Councilor Jamie Dunphy nominated Kanal to lead the body, saying he brings a "collaborative leadership style, a strong instinct for systems building and a clear commitment to making this council more accessible."

The intrigue: Over the council's first year under the revamped governance system, Kanal joined five other councilors — Candace Avalos, Mitch Green, Dunphy, Tiffany Koyama Lane and Angelita Morillo — in an informal progressive caucus, known as "Peacock," that often voted in lockstep to advance their priorities.

• Councilor Steve Novick said he was uncomfortable voting for anyone in the progressive caucus because he worried they would favor their colleagues within the group.
• "Our ability to be values-aligned and effectively organize should not be punished," Morillo countered. "That is the role of a politician."

Friction point: Over the course of the day — and repeated votes with the same result — frustration grew among the councilors.

• Eric Zimmerman said Kanal didn't possess the temperament to hold a leadership position, while Morillo shot back that councilors of color were being held to a different standard than their white counterparts.

As tempers grew short and councilors traded barbs, Pirtle-Guiney ended the meeting with a plan to reconvene today at 2pm.

Catch up quick: It took the council nine rounds of voting to agree on a leader last year.

• And they were only able to do so after Pirtle-Guiney emerged as a compromise candidate when neither Avalos nor Olivia Clark, a progressive and moderate, respectively, could garner a majority vote.
• Green eventually broke ranks with his progressive colleagues and provided the decisive vote for Pirtle-Guiney.

The big picture

In a stark reversal, Gov. Tina Kotek announced yesterday that she intends to scrap the transportation funding bill she fought to push through the Legislature in a special session last summer.

The big picture: The move comes on the heels of a successful Republican-led effort to bring the issue — which included a slew of unpopular gas tax and fee hikes — to voters.

• Now, Kotek is proposing a "redirect, repeal and rebuild" approach to filling the $242 million funding hole in the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) budget.

State of play: First, Kotek will direct state lawmakers to pass a bill freeing up money in ODOT's budget currently reserved for special projects to pay for crucial road maintenance and to prevent agency layoffs.

• Second, she'll ask them to also repeal the major transportation bill approved last year, rendering a potential November vote moot.
• Then, in 2027, she vowed to come back with a bipartisan-supported "comprehensive transportation funding and investment package."

What she's saying: "These decisions won't be easy. There will be tradeoffs and consequences. Hundreds of people will be laid off this spring if we are not successful," Kotek said in a statement. "Giving up is not an option."

What we're watching: The proposal is already drawing ire from supporters and critics alike, who say the governor is walking back promises made to industry stakeholders as the election nears.

🏟️ The Blazers plan to ask state lawmakers for $20 million in taxes on players and team employees per year be redirected from the general fund to a $600 million renovation of the Moda Center. (The Oregonian)

💉 Oregon's attorney general filed a lawsuit against three manufacturers of insulin and the country's largest pharmacy benefit managers, alleging they collaborated to artificially raise the price of insulin. (OPB)

🍎 Multnomah County officials appointed Danisa McLean to lead the county's Preschool and Early Learning Division, which oversees Preschool for All, a program that has seen a series of controversies since it was approved by voters. (KOIN)

🐑 The uniforms worn by Team USA's Olympic athletes will, in part, be made of wool from Oregon sheep at the Shaniko Wool Company, based in the high desert town of Shaniko. (The Oregonian)

There's a light at the end of this very dark, very wet tunnel we call winter in the Pacific Northwest.

Zoom in: Over the next month, Portland will gain roughly one hour and 10 minutes of daylight, per Time and Date.

• By daylight saving time in March, we'll have gained more than two hours and 30 minutes.

❤️ So if you're struggling to trudge through these grueling months to brighter, greener days, that's reason enough to keep going.