In all seriousness, I want to share some things I have been thinking about after nearly six months of diving deep into a wide range of communities, observing city council, exploring neighborhoods, and finding myself in conversations I never could have predicted.

Portland's $20 Billion+ Ecosystem

Portland does not have an $8.6 billion budget. Portland has a $20+ billion public ecosystem spread across dozens of agencies and institutions.

• The City of Portland

• Prosper Portland

• Metro

• Multnomah County

• TriMet

• The Port

• PPS

• PCC

• PSU

• State Agencies

and countless other districts, authorities, commissions, and public entities. Residents don't experience any of these separately. They experience one Portland.

If we are asking taxpayers to invest tens of billions of dollars into our region, we have a responsibility to make the most of those dollars.

That means convening more.

• Breaking down silos.

• Aligning priorities.

• Working across agencies instead of passing problems between them.

Portland City Councilors, the Mayor, and the City Administrator are not just responsible for managing and voting on the City budget. We likely have $20+ billion public ecosystem spread across dozens of agencies and institutions. They are responsible for bringing the entire ecosystem together to deliver better outcomes for the people that live here in Portland, Oregon.

No More Starting Over (One Person. One Record. One Continuum of Care)

People experiencing homelessness, behavioral health crises, addiction, poverty, or instability often interact with dozens of systems.

• Emergency rooms

• Hospitals and clinics

• Street outreach teams

• Shelters and transitional housing

• County behavioral health programs

• Nonprofits and case managers

• Workforce development & employment services

• Substance use treatment providers

• Public safety and crisis response

• State and federal benefit programs

Too often, those systems operate in silos, forcing people to repeatedly start over and preventing providers from seeing the full picture.

We should work with the Oregon Health Authority and regional partners to establish a shared universal database and common standards across governments, affiliates, and nonprofit providers.

Better Outcomes - People don't fall through the cracks when providers can see where someone is in their journey and coordinate next steps.

Less Duplication - Multiple organizations won't unknowingly provide the same services while other needs go unmet.

Faster Intervention - An ER visit, missed appointment, or housing loss can trigger outreach before a crisis escalates.

More Efficient Spending - Tax dollars are spent more effectively when agencies work together instead of operating in silos.

Improved Continuum of Care - Providers can understand whether someone needs emergency stabilization, treatment, housing, education, or workforce support and who is responsible for the next step.

Accountability Through Data - We can measure which programs actually help people move from crisis to stability instead of relying on anecdotes no matter how compelling.

Reduced Administrative Burden - Case managers spend less time searching for information and more time helping people.

Better Regional Coordination - Homelessness, behavioral health, and poverty don't stop at city or county boundaries. Our systems shouldn't either.

We ask people in crisis to navigate dozens of disconnected services. It's time for our regional governments to do the navigating instead.

Representation ≠ Authority

After six months of observing City Council, navigating bureaucracy, attending civic meetings, and getting to know the people seeking to serve Portland, one thing has stood out to me.

Too many elected officials, staff, and candidates see their role as explaining why the system works the way it does instead of asking whether it still makes sense. Some seem far more comfortable making decisions for Portlanders than with them.

Representation ≠ Authority

Public service isn't about defending harmful processes or telling people to live with them. It's about working with communities to adapt institutions to people's changing needs and circumstances.

Major Changes to Voter Approved Taxes Should Go Back to the Voters

The Portland City Council recently changed the voter approved Arts Tax, raising the amount while exempting more people.

This is not about whether I agree with the changes or not. I just believe that major changes to voter approved taxes require a reliable process to ensure that it does not materially change too much from what was originally approved, and if so that the public gets an opportunity to weigh in first.

Ultimately, it is about letting the voters decide.

In my opinion this was a serious overreach by the current City Council. I will be looking into how to bring the Arts Tax in front of voters as a Councilor.

Use of PCEF Interest Needs Voter Input

PCEF was created by voters and has generated substantial unexpected revenue from its interest.

City Council has approved transfers of interest dollars to the General Fund and proposals involving other uses continue to surface.

Rather than wasting countless tax dollars arguing endlessly over what should happen or using it as a slush fund, why not let voters decide?

• Keep the interest dedicated to PCEF?

• Reduce taxes?

• Support the General Fund?

• Establish permanent guardrails?

• Anything else?

To me this seems like a great opportunity to not only educate the public about PCEF but also include them in a participatory budgeting process.

We Need Good Neighbor Agreement Reform

The People's Depot relocation has revealed something larger.

Ground Score has seperate agreements with the OBRC, the City, and neighborhood stakeholders about essentially the same matter

That creates a Catch-22 where everyone depends on everyone else while negotiating separately.

Good Neighbor Agreements and MOUs should bring everyone to the same table under one shared framework. Not create parallel negotiations.

It has also raised a lot of personal questions for me about why the City will engage and make requirements of one party but then not sign onto the Good Neighbor Agreement which I thought was a standard practice for situations like this.

Solve The Train Crossings in SE

Nearly everyone in Portland has been substantially delayed by the trains in the inner SE.

The Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern merger presents a rare opportunity to advocate for grade-separated crossings through overpasses and underpasses which is normal to negotiate for when something like this happens.

This issue affects freight mobility, emergency response, and everyday quality of life.

All of our elected leaders in Portland and other leaders should speak with one voice on this. Another opportunity to see some meaningful infrastructure changes might not come again for decades.

Turn Neighborhoods Into Grocery Stores

Organizations like Portland Fruit Tree Project and Portland Food Forest Initiative already demonstrate another model.

Imagine supporting neighbors who share produce, subsidizing water for community gardens, and encouraging backyard abundance.

Food resilience could mean:

• More casual interactions between neighbors.

• Shorter trips for food.

• Stronger communities.

• More local self-sufficiency.

• Reduce food cost as grocery prices rise

Imagine walking down the street and one neighbor has fruit, one has berries, one has honey, and another has vegetables. We could have it all, right outside of our own doorsteps, right next door.

Make Neighborhoods the Starting Point for Government

Government services have become too centralized downtown when we need them to be distributed.

District offices shouldn't merely be council offices.

The people of Portland need neighborhood service hubs, express versions of what is downtown, where residents can access:

• Small business assistance.

• Permitting help.

• Office of Civic Life.

• Emergency preparedness.

• Problem Solvers.

• District councilors (all not just one or two)

• Others?

In short government should be easier to access and adapted to the lifestyle of its consituents.

A Joint Committee FOR Neighborhood Resilience

Portlanders rely on services provided by the City, Multnomah County, Metro, TriMet, PPS, and many other public agencies. Residents experience one Portland, not separate governments.

A standing committee with representatives from these entities could better coordinate permitting, zoning, grants, transportation, and neighborhood investments while providing more consistent access to resources for community events such as cleanup, recycling, and dumpster days.

I'd also like to explore a countywide property tax policy that limits reassessments until a home is sold, so homeowners feel encouraged to invest back into their neighborhoods rather than being penalized for improvements.

Bring Back Feedback Loops

I recently learned Portland once had a Small Business Advisory Council. It provided feedback before policies reached Council meetings.

That prevented unnecessary revisions and saved everyone time.

Communities affected by policies deserve input before decisions are made, not after.

I believe I know exactly who to call upon to revive this for small businesses.

Rethink Sandwich Board Regulations

Portland is trying to stop charging businesses fees to register A-board signs

I don't think registration should disappear.

Data about where signs are used can help us understand foot traffic and commercial activity. In emergency situations we would also then have a list of public signage that can be adapted to spread information quickly.

Keep registration but remove the fee, and keep a fine in place for compliance with registration.

Encourage better wayfinding and creative shared signage like we already see in Brooklyn and Old Town that are placed right on the sidewalk.

It could open up a whole new revenue stream businesses actually want to invest in.

In Closing

These are just some thoughts and ideas that have crossed my mind. Many of them are adaptations of things that I have heard or seen proposed.

We need to have things stress tested before they make it to City Council and I think that is where most of the friction seems to be coming from because the Councilors are workshopping ideas out in public in real time.

I want to be able to hit the ground running after November with policies and ideas to propose or execute immediately because of how slow following proper government can move.

Thank you for your input. Don’t forget to donate!