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Facing Public and Council Opposition, Portland Grants Zenith Key Approval

City staff issued Zenith the land use credential shortly after two city councilors called for an investigation into the company. 
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

The city of Portland issued Zenith Energy a new Land Use Compatibility Statement (LUCS) on Monday morning, enabling the company to continue its local oil storage and transport operations in compliance with the state. The decision was met with immediate backlash from advocates who are critical of Zenith and the city’s oversight of it, which […]

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Michael Jordan Tapped to Stay on as City Administrator

Portland City Council will vote on Mayor Wilson’s appointment of Jordan to the city’s top management role through end of 2025.
Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

Portland’s first city administrator is… the same person who’s been quietly keeping the city running for the last few years. Michael Jordan, who’s served as the interim city administrator since July, is expected to stay on until next year. The position is responsible for overseeing all of the city’s bureau operations, with deputy city administrators […]

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Strike Averted: City Reaches Tentative Deal with Largest Employee Union

AFSCME 189 expects to finalize a new contract with the city of Portland, but another labor union’s strike plan is still on.
Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

One of Portland’s largest labor unions says it’s reached a tentative agreement with the city of Portland, after previously gearing up for a strike. The Oregon American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 189 announced Thursday that the union and city are now close to ratifying a revised labor contract after nearly […]

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Zenith Permit Decision Raises Questions, Conflicts About City Council Authority

New city councilors realize they don’t have much power over the controversial company’s future—and they want to change that.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

Few other industrial activities in Portland have drawn the level of public scrutiny that Zenith Energy’s crude oil storage and transport facility has. The company’s operations have catalyzed climate protests and public backlash. The city of Portland has also been denounced for its oversight of the company, which critics say has been overly permissive.  Environmental […]

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City Council Solidifies New Policy Committees

The eight committees will be the primary conduit for public engagement and policy proposals from councilors. 
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

Among the many changes to Portland’s city government, one of the most consequential—for both councilors and members of the public—is the introduction of council committees. These committees, which City Council members hashed out at a Wednesday evening meeting, will serve as the primary venue for councilors to “consider, develop, and recommend legislation.” They’ll also be […]

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Portland City Council Increases Its Staffing Budget by $4.6 Million

Citing poor policy moves and “defunding” from previous leaders, the new Council will pull from contingency funds to hire additional staff.
Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the Government Transition Advisory Committee’s Council staffing recommendations. The Mercury regrets the error. “Kneecapped.” “Defunded.” “Not set up for success.” Portland’s city councilors had blunt words to describe the budget bestowed on them by the prior Council. The city’s new 12-person City Council voted Wednesday evening to increase […]

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Portland Mayor Orders Managerial Staff Back in Office Full Time

Starting in April, remote and hybrid work will end for city managers and supervisors. Mayor Keith Wilson says non-supervisory employees won’t see any changes this year.
Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

Portland Mayor Keith Wilson will require supervisors and managers to return full-time to city offices this spring. In an announcement Tuesday, Wilson said starting in April, all supervisory and managerial employees will have to work in-person at their job sites, rather than the hybrid or remote schedules many of them currently maintain. “Managers and supervisors […]

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Awash With Cash, Portland Clean Energy Fund Marks New Strategy With Latest Investments

PCEF will allocate $300 million in grants for large-scale projects. A hefty portion of funds will go to the city’s own bureaus for infrastructure projects and decarbonization.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

Recent funding allocations from the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund (PCEF) demonstrate a shift in the program’s strategy, in response to its growing revenue.  Though city staff say the carbon-reduction and climate resiliency program’s mission is still community-centered, the clean energy fund is now doling out millions to Portland’s bureaus during a time of […]

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Keith Wilson is Portland’s Next Mayor

Portland’s City Council races are still being tallied, but preliminary results have held firm since Tuesday night.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

Multnomah County has released its second round of preliminary results for the Portland mayor and City Council races, adding roughly 47,000 more citywide votes to the election night count. The results are essentially the same as Tuesday’s report, with all leading candidates maintaining their standing from the county’s election night tally.  Still, the county hasn’t […]

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In a Stealth Move, Portland City Council Signals Intent to Sever Homelessness Agreement With Multnomah County

Without buy-in from Commissioner Carmen Rubio or Mayor Ted Wheeler, three city leaders asked for an ordinance to cancel a recently renewed intergovernmental agreement.
Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

Note: This story has been corrected to fix a typo in the amount of Supportive Housing Services tax revenue taken in. It was supposed to be a routine update with no vote.  A week after a joint meeting between Portland City Council and the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners, the City Council met to outline […]

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Auditors Determine Insufficient Evidence that Rene Gonzalez Violated Campaign Finance Laws

Despite “exceedingly close call” Portland Auditor’s Office says commissioner and mayoral candidate’s use of taxpayer money to alter his Wikipedia page isn’t a definitive violation. Secretary of State will investigate other potential violations.
Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

The Portland City Auditor’s Office announced Monday that it found “insufficient evidence” to support allegations of campaign finance violations from City Commissioner and mayoral candidate Rene Gonzalez. The investigation was launched after the city’s Elections Office (a division of the Auditor’s Office) received two emailed complaints and one formal complaint last month about Gonzalez’s use […]

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After Years of Grant Discordance, Portland Adopts Centralized Policy for Doling Out Funds

Dan Ryan says the city’s process for funding nonprofits is “messy and decentralized.” He hopes a new unified policy will help straighten things out.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

The city of Portland gives out millions of dollars in grants every year, mostly to nonprofit organizations. But even with so much of the city’s money going out to nonprofit contractors, Portland never had a centralized process for measuring the effectiveness or outcomes from the millions in taxpayer money it distributes.  That’s why the Office […]

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