Portland Needs A Course Correction

April 25, 2024

Earlier this month, District 4 City Council candidate Bob Weinstein released a statement opposing “mandatory budget set-asides,” calling participatory budgeting a “slippery slope.” He said he worried the initiative would be unaccountable and could undermine critical city priorities.

“What’s next? If this succeeds, other advocacy groups will want mandatory budget set-asides in the Charter that will further limit the City’s ability to address priorities and problems that arise,” Weinstein wrote.

April 10, 2024

Seven times since 1971, according to a box of yellowed city archives, city staff has explored and encouraged bureau managers, directors and even elected officials to either renovate, build anew or move the Kerby Garage elsewhere so its workers would be safer.

Seven times, the idea has died somewhere within City Hall; it’s unclear whether any of the proposals ever came to a vote before the City Council.

April 4, 2024

The City of Portland has neglected southwest sidewalk and bike infrastructure for half a century, even as the climate and pedestrian death crises have so visibly worsened in recent years.

March 27, 2024

And filling…and filling…and filling! Transition team goes hog wild!

The City Council last year approved the creation of four future “officer” positions under the direction of the mayor. The four are officers of equity, sustainability, engagement and communications. What will those people do?

It’s unclear. None of these jobs was mandated in the charter reform measure. Transition staff proposed the idea to the City Council, which approved it in December.

March 27, 2024

Note: This would not be an issue if the council followed my advice, and left the proposed new administrative structure up to the new council, instead of saddling the new council with millions and millions of expenses for bloated bureaucracy at city hall.

They are hiring 6 interim deputy administrators at salaries of $200,00-300,000, and 3 of them- Wheeler, Rubio, and Mapps- approved a "Golden Parachute for All" whereby all 6 will get 6 months of severance pay- $209,000 EACH- if they work 6-12 months! This is a slap in the face to the taxpayers in Portland.

March 15, 2024

The volunteer committee that’s advising the Portland City Council on the looming government overhaul is asking that the current City Council let its successors, who will take office Jan. 1, 2025, to determine their own permanent regional district offices, but in the meantime provide them with at least temporary office space.

March 6, 2024

Four months ago, the Portland City Council passed a resolution promising that the future 12-member City Council, which takes office Jan. 1, 2025, would have dedicated offices in each of the city’s four geographic voting districts.

Note: I asked the City Council to take no further action of this item.

February 27, 2024

Potholes plague every corner of the city — they're eyesores, can cause significant damage to vehicles and pose danger to pedestrians. In January, 1,966 potholes were reported — a significant increase from the 903 reported during the same 31-day period the year before.

February 25, 2024

In early February of last year, newly installed Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson made a bold announcement: By June 2023, the county would move 300 people living in tents in and near downtown Portland off the streets into apartments.

A year later, however, the program has only placed 37 individuals or households in apartments.

February 21, 2024

Bob Weinstein, a former mayor of Ketchikan, Alaska, who’s now running for a seat on Portland City Council in District 4, called the hires and severance packages “the golden parachutes for all.”

January 9, 2024

The temperature around Ballot Measure 110, the 2020 drug decriminalization initiative, continues to be white hot.

January 4, 2024

Fatal crashes over the holidays marked 2023 as the deadliest year on record for Portland traffic in the last three decades, according to Bureau of Transportation officials.

December 19, 2023

Portland’s program that provides public campaign dollars to candidates running for mayor and City Council plans to significantly scale back the amount it gives them next year.

December 18, 2023

Portland City Council faces backlash over high salaries for new city staff roles, with concerns of overpayment compared to market rates. Despite opposition, the council approved new positions, escalating the city's annual operating costs from $10M to $24M. Debate continues on the fiscal impact of these changes.

December 17, 2023

Portland and Multnomah County are READ MORE >simultaneously raking in cash while they are scrambling for money to cover basic services.

December 12, 2023

It is the latest poll this year to reveal a generally sour mood among residents over the city’s future and comes one day after Gov. Tina Kotek unveiled a plan to save a beleaguered downtown Portland.

November 8, 2023

The county has in two years created only 507 entirely new preschool seats that didn’t exist before the tax.

July 18, 2023

The estimated costs to change Portland’s form of government and expand the City Council from five to 12 members remain largely uncertain months after voters approved the sweeping overhaul, but they are all but sure to be much higher than what city officials originally told the public.