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City Hall
Posted inNews

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 […]

Posted inNews

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 […]

Posted inNews

Commissioners Introduce Dueling Homeless Ordinances; Experts Say None Get to the Root of the Problem

Mayoral candidates Gonzalez, Mapps, and Rubio have unveiled starkly different ordinances for regulating camping in Portland, as the city tries to fix legal issues with its prior rules.
Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

Updated: 12:02 pm April 22. This story has been updated to include new information about another proposed policy amendment and to correct the name of the case before the Supreme Court this week. Two weeks after Mayor Ted Wheeler’s office unveiled a heavily revised ordinance to address restrictions on homeless camping in Portland, other commissioners […]

Posted inNews

Commissioner Rubio Faces Pushback for Proposal to Support Portland Street Response with Clean Energy Funds

Rubio has offered PSR a lifeline from the Portland Clean Energy Fund. Critics say Rubio is treating PCEF like a slush fund to boost her political aspirations.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

Why should popular, valuable Portland initiatives wither away from a lack of funding when there’s a city treasure trove available to bail them out?  That appeared to be the question on Commissioner Carmen Rubio’s mind when she offered Portland Street Response (PSR) a life raft in the form of $3 million from the Portland Clean […]

Posted inNews

Key Hire In City’s New Management Team Announced, to the Surprise of City Leaders

Rene Gonzalez appointed a former fire chief to oversee Portland’s public safety bureaus. The mayor’s office says the move was premature.
Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

A Portland city commissioner may have jumped the gun by appointing the city’s first interim deputy city administrator. Last week, Commissioner Rene Gonzalez’s office announced Mike Myers will assume a leadership role over the city’s new Public Safety Service Area. Public Safety will encompass the fire and police bureaus, emergency management, 911 operations, business operations, […]

Posted inTop Stories 2023

The Biggest Portland City Hall News of 2023

This year, the city managed to help and harm the unhoused, while leaning on pre-pandemic work models to try to revitalize downtown.
Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

This year, much of the most impactful policy decisions to come out of city hall centered around homelessness and the conditions on Portland’s streets. The city opened more shelters, while approving rigid measures to limit homeless camping. City leaders also floated a new tax incentive for businesses downtown, which centers on mandating workers to return […]

Posted inNews

City Council Won’t Let Go of Bureau Control as Charter Reform Transition Continues

In the race to implement government changes, commissioners break with the mayor over a timeline for bringing in deputy city administrators.
Avatar photoAvatar photo Courtney Vaughn and Taylor Griggs

Portland’s elected leaders are pushing back on a key element of the city’s charter transition. After a lengthy City Council meeting Wednesday, November 1, commissioners voted to approve a new reporting structure for city bureaus and offices, but not before rewriting language to ensure current commissioners will continue overseeing city bureaus through the end of […]

Posted inPolitics

Portland’s Charter Reform is Moving Full Steam Ahead

Elected leaders would make at least $140K under new salary proposals, while draft voting district maps draw concern over geographic splits.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

Since Portlanders voted to approve city charter reform last November—effectively calling for an overhaul of the city’s government structure—there’s been substantial work to make sure the city is prepared to implement a suite of changes before January 2025.  Key updates have taken place since the last time the Mercury looked at the charter reform process […]

Posted inHousing

Portland City Council Approves Incentives for Office-to-Apartment Building Conversions

Developers say that the tricky redevelopments may still be too cost prohibitive.
Avatar photo Isabella Garcia

Facing a housing crisis and a sluggish downtown economy, Portland City Council is aiming to incentivize developers to convert vacant office buildings into residential apartment complexes by waiving up to $3 million in fees and relaxing seismic requirements. On Wednesday, City Council unanimously passed two of what they say is just the beginning of an […]

Posted inNews

Portland City Council Stops Transparency Advocate Proposal from Going to Voters In May

Instead, they proposed (and passed) their own surprise resolution.
Avatar photo Isabella Garcia

Portland City Council sidelined a proposal Wednesday that would’ve empowered Portland voters to determine if the city should create a new transparency watchdog. Citing concerns with rushed public engagement on the proposal, council tabled it and approved a last-minute resolution directing the City Auditor to review transparency practices in the city. “The Transparency Advocate would […]

Posted inCity Hall

Will City Council Allow Portlanders to Vote on New Transparency Watchdog?

If approved Wednesday, the proposal would go before Portland voters in May.
Avatar photo Isabella Garcia

Portland City Council will decide Wednesday whether or not Portlanders should vote on the creation of a new city watchdog position responsible for ensuring the city is following public records laws, like posting meeting agendas and notes, and following best practices for government transparency. The proposal for a Transparency Advocate is supported by the city […]

Posted inNews

Following Public Scrutiny, Mayor Wheeler Pivots to Competitive Process for Gunshot Detection Pilot Program

Pilot program will begin in March, pending City Council approval and public input.
Avatar photo Isabella Garcia

Four months after unilaterally advancing a plan to bring controversial gunshot detection technology ShotSpotter to Portland, Mayor Ted Wheeler is reversing course and soliciting proposals from other technology providers. A formal request for proposals published Wednesday shows that Wheeler’s office is looking for a technology provider who can recommend optimal locations in the city for […]

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