I left a comment on the survey but: there's a decent amount of coded language like "public safety" in the priority ranking process that was very frustrating to work through. When told to rank things that include language like that it discourages me from participating

East Portland: This weekend, June 13, you’ll have the opportunity to learn more about the proposed Moda Center renovation, connect with City leadership, and tell us exactly what you expect in return if we do make any public investment. The future of Moda is our community’s decision to make.

The City will be hosting “pop-up” engagement events in each district for members of the community to speak directly to City Councilors on the topic of remodeling the Moda Center. I’m disappointed there was less than a week’s notice for this, but I hope you can find the time to show up.

I expect the primary objection to our amendment will be that it spends money now that we may need in next year’s budget. I’ll note that the city just published for the first time details regarding the Mayor’s proposed sources of funds for Moda remodel that anticipates $45 million in BLT.

The Keep Portland Housed put $9 million toward rent assistance, and half of that is flowing out into our communities starting THIS WEEK! Call 211, visit 211.org, or see the list of community-based organizations in the slides to see how you can access help with rent.

Tomorrow City Council will consider an important ordinance that will establish local rules for using the state’s Middle Income Revolving Loan (MIRL) program for housing finance. I am bringing three amendments 🧵

Bodega cats have a proud history, which has apparently found its way to this beloved corner of my district. I will report the exploits of Nutmeg to my own cats, Jimmy and Zelda. Zelda will be particularly impressed with Nutmeg’s No Closed Doors policy.

Good news: @councilorgreen.bsky.social, @councilormorillo.bsky.social, and I are introducing a budget package called Services First. The goal is exactly that – protect the basics that Portlanders expect us to deliver, like parks maintenance and fire rescues.

Commemorating Pride this year by reaffirming that the work of our time is to turn this city into a place that has foundational structures that welcome, nurture and protect queer and trans people. If we’re not building those institutions today then we’re leaving a debt to future generations. 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

It’s infuriating to read this while many of our elected leaders have embraced the austerity politics of Reaganism. It’s time we tax these large corporations so we can fund our cities without foisting the burden on the working class.

I’d like to hear from you on this. It’s important to start discussing transparently new ideas for PCEF so we can ground those conversations in our communities. Other ideas I like: - CEI Hub planning and resiliency - expanded support for the NET teams. - renewable energy resilience hubs

Previewed for a future Committee of the Whole meeting for late summer is consideration of a Moda center term sheet. I don’t know anything more about that, but I wanted to just restate that I will not be supportive a proposal to use PCEF for that project.

Distributing more than 20,000 free AC units. Building a community solar project that’s reducing GHGs & lowering energy bills for 150 low-income families in Cully. Planting 15,000 trees in urban heat island areas. Those are our PCEF dollars at work:

We absolutely can have this here. Which means we absolutely must pursue this here.

The amendment that restored 4 firefighters and the St. Johns Fire Engine was Kanal 2. The votes are public and were: Yes: Kanal, Koyama Lane, Morillo, Green, Avalos, Smith, Dunphy No: Ryan, Novick, Clark, Zimmerman Absent: Pirtle-Guiney See page 7: www.portland.gov/sites/defaul...

This is a huge W and it’s why I’m fighting to build social housing here.

This is a special appreciation post for @counciloravalos.bsky.social. Everyday she fights for her district, for immigrant communities, for the working class and for environmental justice. East Portland is lucky to have her in office.

We passed Green 3 which cut the sweeps budget by $1M. It’s a small reduction, but it earmarks those funds to support things like hygiene stations, expanded low barrier workforce programs, etc. It makes a small down payment on dignity by reducing slightly the violence of sweeps.

Morillo-Green-Novick 1 was the pro-labor amendment to pause the core realignment project to save 46 rank and file jobs failed 6-6 Yeas: Kanal, Koyama-Lane, Morillo, Green, Avalos, Dunphy Nays: Pirtle-Guiney, Ryan, Clark, Novick, Zimmerman, Smith

Avalos 2 would have put dedicated resources toward helping immigrant and refugee communities. Here's how your councilors voted:

We are currently discussing amendments to Prosper Portland. Earlier in the day one of the Deputy Mayors was reaching out to individual offices saying that I was going to bring a floor amendment seeking to cut $12M in GF to Prosper. I have no such plans.

Mayor Wilson says that it’s dehumanizing to say we need to ‘chop from the top’ when we describe where we look in the org chart to balance a budget. I disagree, but what is dehumanizing is chastising city workers for attending budget town halls as if they are not Portlanders, too.

Our complete set of amendments have been filed and I hope you check them out. If you support them, this link provides guidance on how to testify. Verbal testimony will be on Monday, May 18th. We’ll hear all testimony that day.

I’ve been warning that these deals don’t pencil out in terms of net economic benefits, but the boosters of the deal have dismissed that perhaps because I’m a politician now or perhaps because sports econ isn’t my field. Well, their hubris has now drawn the ire of the sports economists.

I’d like to explain the mechanic of this amendment in more detail with a thread. It’s important bc it’s the only solution to the fire engine cut that provides a sustainable ongoing budget, rather than rely on one-time gimmicks or outright violations of charter. 🧵

Our complete set of amendments have been filed and I hope you check them out. If you support them, this link provides guidance on how to testify. Verbal testimony will be on Monday, May 18th. We’ll hear all testimony that day.

It’s unacceptable to cut the nearest fire engine to the CEI Hub, particularly as we head into a hot, dry summer. So I’m offering an amendment to chop from the top to restore that and an emergency medical response team.

Inflation is at a three-year high. Everything costs more — groceries, gas, healthcare, a plane ticket. The math is simple. Every American dollar spent overseas on war is a dollar that could’ve been spent here at home to pay for a dignified life. It's time we change the equation.

We are holding the second of our town halls that focus on the FY26-27 budget process. This time it’s virtual. Please RSVP for the on May 12th (next Tuesday) at 6pm. We had a great conversation last week in Sellwood, so I hope you join us for the next one!

Do read: katu.com/news/local/s...

Social housing learning alert! PHB is holding a webinar tomorrow, May 7, to talk about cost based rental and limited profit housing as an important tool to scale housing affordability, using Vienna as a case study. The webinar starts at 9:30 AM. Register below for the Zoom link!

We are holding the second of our town halls that focus on the FY26-27 budget process. This time it’s virtual. Please RSVP for the on May 12th (next Tuesday) at 6pm. We had a great conversation last week in Sellwood, so I hope you join us for the next one!

If the workers take a notion, They can stop all speeding trains; Every ship upon the ocean They can tie with mighty chains; Every wheel in the creation, Every mine and every mill, Fleets and armies of the nation, Will at their command stand still. ~ Joe Hill, who never died says we. Happy May Day

Today at 2pm, city council will hear Councilor Kanal’s Right To Know Who is Policing You ordinance. I have co-sponsored this policy, I believe it will stand up in court and add additional tracking of ICE operations in the city that will be publicly available. www.portland.gov/council/agenda

The “Right to Know Who’s Policing You” ordinance will come before Portland City Council tomorrow. Here is my video with all you need to know:

I introduced a War Powers Resolution to end the illegal and immoral war in Iran. We must stop the bloodshed. We must stop the carelessness. End. The. War.

Demanding a transparent, public process where Portlanders know what they get for their money is not 'playing politics.' It's good governance and fiscal stewardship. It's deeply unserious to suggest that the only thing that matters is locking up seven votes on council, by locking the public out.

Our newsletter this week will be a wrap on council’s first oversight hearing. Subscribe to my newsletter to hear about it first.

I might have more later, but as an initial impression, I thought today's City Council oversight hearing went extremely well. It delivered on its multiple purposes of airing out what went wrong, and surfacing the problems that need to be solved. 🧵 1/

This morning in the Committee of Whole we will hold an oversight hearing for the purpose of addressing questions related to the delayed disclosure of housing $ to council and its relationship to the development of the Fall TAO. To my knowledge it’s the first of its kind in the history of the city.

Update on the Moda Center process: I was recently asked to join a small group of councilors to stay close to the talks as the admin enters negotiation. It was conveyed to me that a condition of being in this group would be a commitment to honor an NDA between the city and the team. I refused. 🧵

Don’t miss and opportunity to fill this out! The survey closes on Monday and we want to hear from you.

The Portland - Seattle rivalry is alive and well. Seattle is leading the way on social housing in the US. Tonight we put a down payment on social housing with the passage of our Keep Portland Housed ordinance. We’ve got some catching up to do, but I know we’re built for it.

Today we have two big housing policies coming before Council! The first is a Technical Adjustment Ordinance with an amendment that creates a historic Social Housing fund (brought to you by yours truly, along with Councilors Green, Dunphy, and Avalos) and my Inner East Side For All Resolution.

Great news for lovers of music and people who generally don’t like to get fleeced by monopolies. Would have been great for the prior council to have not made it so easy for Live Nation to inflict themselves on Portland’s music scene, but now we have this protection at least.

Our office has launched a budget survey as another tool to gauge your priorities as Council considers how to respond to the budget the Mayor will propose in April. There will be some tough choices ahead of us this year, so please take a moment to let us know what you think by 4/20

I voted no today on an ordinance that authorizes $525 million in water bonds. This issuance is part of a broader debt management strategy to finance the water filtration plant. I’d like to share my reason for that no vote.

Come hear certified IE4A booster and resolution cosponsor @councilorgreen.bsky.social speak at our pre-hearing rally on the 15th! Rally at 5PM, Hearing from 6-8PM, wear green if you can, and join us in making sure that Portland welcomes all of our current and future neighbors!

The way it works is that the city applies for a loan from the state and assumes the liability, and then immediately grants the funds to a project recipient. To recoup the funds from the grantee the city may establish a repayment structure. This introduces counterparty risk.