Priorities

Homelessness & Housing

  • End unsheltered homelessness within two years. This commitment involves rolling out comprehensive support services and rapid housing solutions to ensure that every person has access to the dignity of a safe, stable home.

    Enhance city-operated outreach and sheltering services to significantly increase our city’s capacity to address the homelessness crisis. By strengthening services like Portland Street Response, we can provide more effective aid and support directly to those in need.

    Adopt an accountability framework to track the progress and outcomes of our homelessness initiatives. This is crucial for maintaining transparency and adjusting our strategies to successfully achieve our goal of ending unsheltered homelessness.

  • Simplify regulations to ensure the swift development of diverse housing options. Recognizing the critical need for housing, I am committed to streamlining the approval and permitting processes. For too long government red tape has gotten in the way and slowed down our ability to build affordable housing. This initiative will focus on expanding access to affordable housing, making it easier for developers to bring varied residential projects to life, which in turn will cater to the diverse needs of our community.

    Eliminate certain fees to stimulate affordable housing construction. In an effort to directly address our city's housing shortage, I pledge to remove financial barriers that currently hinder the construction of new homes. Our city needs to make it easier, not harder to initiative and expedite housing projects.

    Foster the development of livable and sustainable neighborhoods, especially in the Central City and Inner Eastside. By utilizing existing significant infrastructure this approach is not only resource-efficient but also enables us to enhance housing availability more swiftly, all while maintaining the essence of vibrant, inclusive community spaces. By focusing on these areas, we adopt a prudent strategy that optimizes current infrastructural investments. My vision is to promote sustainable urban growth that strengthens community bonds and belonging, reflecting my dedication to a thoughtfully developed, interconnected urban environment.

  • Portland needs clear & fair guardrails on public camping to keep our public spaces clean and accessible. This is vital to maintaining the safety and navigability of our schools, sidewalks, streets and parks, ensuring they can be enjoyed by all Portlanders regardless of age or disability.

Safety & Resilience

  • Portland must ensure all of 911 calls are answered immediately. As of December 2024, only 55% of calls were answered within 20 seconds. When Portlanders call for help their emergencies must be addressed swiftly and accurately. Enhancing this vital service is a cornerstone of our commitment to public safety, and can be achieved through a combination of operator pay increases and workplace modernization.

    Fund Portland Street Response. Portland Street Response provides a compassionate and appropriate response to crises, reducing the reliance on police intervention in situations where other services are more suitable. This approach is safer for individuals in crisis and a better use of our city resources.

  • Commit to an achievable Vision Zero timeline. Portland has pledged to eliminate all traffic deaths, a goal that remains within our reach. Yet, the heart-wrenching reality is that traffic fatalities have doubled since this noble goal was set, soaring to 71 precious lives lost in 2023. This tragedy underscores the urgent need for a structured timeline. An achievable timeline for achieving Vision Zero will allow us to gauge the heartbeat of our progress and fine-tune our approach with the utmost care, ensuring the safety and well-being of every individual who calls our streets home.

    Build more roadway safety infrastructure. I am committed to enhancing visibility at intersections through daylighting, constructing raised crosswalks where they are most needed, and installing traffic diverters and calmers to slow vehicle speeds in critical areas. I also plan to increase the number of metered crosswalks to provide safe crossing points for pedestrians and cyclists. Through these measures, we will create a safer, more navigable Portland for everyone.

  • Prioritize clean energy and safety. Portlanders have demonstrated their commitment to decarbonization by approving a clean energy fund, financed by a gross receipts tax on large businesses. However, it has come to light that a significant portion of these funds are being allocated to projects with minimal impact on our carbon footprint and our community's resilience against environmental threats like wildfires and extreme weather. As a city devoted to genuine decarbonization efforts and the safety of its citizens from these growing threats, we must prioritize investments that contribute to emission reductions and maximally enhance our resilience to environmental emergencies.

    Ensure public transit is safe, frequent and reliable. As I myself will be commuting to City Hall via Trimet, I know that this commitment addresses the primary concerns of transit users in Portland: safety, service insufficiency, and infrequent schedules. Our strategy to increase transit ridership must zero in on these areas. Initiatives will include bolstering safety measures for transit users navigating to and from transit stops, thereby creating a secure commuting experience. Additionally, expanding the Portland Streetcar network to cover a broader area of the Eastside will enhance access and convenience. These steps are essential for transforming Portland's public transit system into one that meets the needs and expectations of its users.

    Ensure cycling is safe and affordable. More than 45% of Portlanders report an interest in biking more if it were safe and affordable. As a cyclist myself, I know that we can ensure roadway safety and reduce emissions through a combination of:

    • Building a network of Bike Parkways. A network of separated, trail-like bike parkways would make cycling more attractive to more users and simultaneously create comfortable and attractive public space across Portland’s six quadrants. With more than $160 million in Portland Parks & Recreation Funds ready to be used to develop new parks infrastructure, building Bike Parkways is a clear winner.

    • Increasing subsidies & infrastructure for e-bike riders. The decline in cycling in Portland over the last decade has accompanied an unprecedented change in cycling technology: the rise of e-bikes. E-bikes make cycling accessible to more people both by increasing access to cycling for people of all levels of ability and boosting the range and speed of the transportation mode for all users. Portland should expand its efforts to make e-biking affordable to more users. Additionally, Portland should explore increasing infrastructure for e-biking, including charging infrastructure and building more varied secure parking to accommodate electric cargo bikes and more.

    • Filling gaps in the cycling network, and building at least one cycling-complete neighborhood. Currently, our cycling infrastructure is incomplete, with cyclists often facing the daunting task of navigating across 'stroads'—a hybrid of streets and roads that are neither safe nor conducive to cycling. Portland should prioritize eliminating these frustrating gaps in the cycling network. And to provide an inspiring example, Portland should consider building one cycling-complete neighborhood.

Transparency & Accountability

  • Study and consider a City-County merger. In the 1970s Oregon voters approved a measure allowing counties to merge with their largest city, creating one consolidated city-county government. This is a common form of government nationally: consolidated city-counties include Philadelphia, San Francisco, Honolulu and New Orleans. Merging with Multnomah County would increase efficiency by eliminating duplicated efforts, allow closer coordination between related government departments (e.g. Portland Housing Bureau and Homeless Services), and increase voter engagement by potentially reducing the number of elected officials and elected bodies.

    Strengthen Portland’s public records law & transparency commitments. Wherever possible, Portland should strengthen its own public records law both as a means to put our commitment to transparency to action and to boost public trust in government.

    Add no new taxes. Portlanders have seen their tax burden increase to one of the highest in the nation even while our problems continue to grow. Local government needs to better allocate the funds we already have. It's crucial for local governments to prioritize efficient allocation of existing funds to address these pressing issues effectively.

  • Commit to placing at least three advisory questions on each major ballot. Portland’s City Council has the authority to place advisory questions on the ballot, and I am committed to fully utilizing this authority. While these votes are non-binding and don’t have any direct effects, the results of these votes would empower City Council to respond to the will of the people. This approach encourages direct democracy, allowing residents to voice their opinions on critical issues facing our community. Questions for the 2024 ballot might include:

    • Should Portland build enough shelter to service its entire unsheltered homeless population?

    • Should ODOT toll revenues in excess of maintenance fund mass transit infrastructure?

    • Should Portland ban the public use of fentanyl and methamphetamine?

    Create a comprehensive participatory budgeting program. If approved by Portlanders, I am eager to implement the proposed participatory budgeting program with an eye for ensuring the program is transparent and accessible to all Portlanders.

  • I pledge to meet with each District 3 Neighborhood Association throughout the year. By fostering close partnerships with our diverse neighborhoods, we can enhance community engagement and improve the quality of life for all Portland residents. Through these collaborative efforts, I aim to build a more inclusive and transparent governance model that reflects the values and priorities of our constituents. Let's work together to create a stronger and more united Portland.

    Offer more support to neighborhood organizations. Neighborhood Associations spend an inordinate amount of time “keeping the lights on” – managing a website, sending out a newsletter, maintaining a PO box, etc. And meanwhile they also need to fundraise, throw events, and ensure neighborhood participation. By providing assistance with more of the mundane parts of running a Neighborhood Association, Neighborhood Associations can keep their focus on the more important parts of their duties.