Issues
After years of difficulty exacerbated by the COVID pandemic and lockdown, Portland is at a crossroads. The policy decisions we make now will define this city for a generation. The issues we face are complex and serious and I reject false solutions that play on fear and dehumanize residents of this city. By contrast, I see a path forward for an optimistic and caring Portland that works for everyone.
Healthy, Plentiful, and Affordable Housing
It’s no secret Portland and many other U.S. cities are deep in a housing crisis, but we didn’t get here overnight. Portland needs more affordable housing — whether you rent or own. We need to help move people experiencing homelessness into stable housing with adequate services, and we need help for people at risk of eviction to keep them housed in the first place. Portlanders deserve a city council that will fight for healthy, plentiful, and affordable housing. On City Council I will use my expertise as an economist to fight for policy that makes Portland a place people can afford to live and thrive.
Safe and Compassionate Communities
We’re in a livability crisis. A lot of folks are finding life harder now than they remember it being, and there’s a real sense that we’re headed in the wrong direction. Even so, we’ve made good choices in the past and we ought to stand strong in them. I believe we need to support innovative programs like Portland Street Response that make good use of our resources and improve safety for everyone. That means fully funding PSR so that it can operate 24/7. Safe communities also include the ways we move around the city to reach each other and meet our needs: we should be building up, not tearing down, our city’s cycling and pedestrian safety infrastructure.
World-Class Environmental Leadership
In recent years, Portland’s leadership on environmental stewardship and climate justice has faltered. We need to return to what made us a leader in the first place: following the lead of our residents. Portlanders overwhelmingly support climate policy that meets the urgency of the crisis. And that means electing leaders who will follow the lead of the community and fight to implement our ambitious plans instead of bowing to pressure from big polluters.
Standing up for Working Families
Like a lot of families, mine moved to Portland because my father found work in the shipyards. My Dad was proud to be a union welder, which allowed us to thrive and for me to be the first in my family to get a college degree and pursue a life of public service. I’ve seen what happens when a city grows up with an economic boom. But, the good years were mostly enjoyed by the richest households in Portland while the rest were left behind — more so if you didn’t have a union. I believe we grow best when city leaders stand arm and arm with workers who fight for better wages and benefits and center them with each vote on the council. This is why I'm a proud democratic socialist, because I know that when we build a united front among labor, climate, youth and tenant movements we can win a city that doesn't leave anyone behind.
