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City Hall
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 […]

Posted inCity Hall

Portland Moves a Step Closer to Overhauling Government with a New Voting District Commission

City officials say they are concerned, but on schedule to transition to a new form of government by 2025.
Avatar photo Isabella Garcia

Portland is one step closer to transitioning to a new form of government after City Council appointed the city’s geographic district-drawing commission Wednesday, the first of three groups that will play a key role in overseeing the transition. Despite some concerns with the timeline, the city’s transition team says they are on track to implement […]

Posted inCity Hall

Mayor’s Office Warned of Adviser Sam Adams’ Concerning Behavior in 2021

Majority of the allegations that Adams violated the city’s professional conduct rules were recorded a full year before he was allegedly terminated
Avatar photo Isabella Garcia

Records show that staff members in Mayor Ted Wheeler’s office were warned of former staffer Sam Adams’ “theme” of poor interactions with female employees since at least October 2021—more than a year prior to Adams’ reported resignation from the Mayor’s office. At least six women who worked with Adams brought their complaints to the city’s […]

Posted inCity Hall

Mayor Wheeler Unveils New Bureau Assignments for City Commissioners

Avatar photo Alex Zielinski

As promised, Mayor Ted Wheeler has kicked off 2023 with a reshuffling of city bureau assignments among city commissioners. This time around, Wheeler chose to cluster like-minded bureaus together with each commissioner, as an attempt to make the looming 2024 transition to a new form of government slightly smoother. “This shift will help improve how […]

Posted inNews

Q&A: Commissioner Rubio on Her First Two Years in Office and Her Role on a New City Council

In January, Rubio will be the most progressive member on Portland City Council. What does that mean to her?
Avatar photo Alex Zielinski

City Commissioner Carmen Rubio entered City Hall during an exceptionally unusual time. When she was sworn into office on December 28, 2020, the city was still seeing frequent evening racial justice protests, the state was shuttered due to the new COVID-19 omicron variant, and the country was weeks away from a violent uprising at the […]

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