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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 […]

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Portland’s Palestinian Diaspora Says Gaza is ‘More Than Its Suffering’

With Gaza under assault, local Palestinians reflect on the cycle of displacement that’s now preventing some residents from fleeing their war-torn homes
Avatar photo Abe Asher

Over the past three-plus weeks, much of the world has watched in horror as parts of the Gaza strip on the Mediterranean Sea in Palestine have been reduced to rubble. In Palestinian communities across the globe, including in the Palestinian diaspora in Portland, those images have been especially painful—resurfacing memories of the mass displacement Palestinians […]

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Portland City Commissioners Push Back on Mayor’s Plans For Government Transition

A fiery work session is just one example of clashes between city commissioners and mayor’s office over plans to prepare for a new, 12-person council
Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

A fiery work session Tuesday was just the latest example of rifts between Portland city commissioners and the mayor’s office over plans for Portland’s phased-in approach to government transition. “I have some strong critiques of the way the mayor’s team rolled this out over the last two weeks,” Commissioner Gonzalez said of recent government transition […]

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Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell Will Step Down, as Mayor Announces Interim Chief

Lovell, who was appointed chief in 2020, said he never intended to serve as chief through retirement. He will move into a community engagement role at Portland Police Bureau.
Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell will step down from his position in three weeks, with an interim police chief stepping into the role until June 2025. Bob Day, who retired from Portland Police Bureau in 2019 after serving as deputy chief of police, will step into the role of chief until June 2025. The announcement […]

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With Politics in Rearview, Mayor Wheeler Announces ‘Doubling Down’ on Homeless, Economic Policies

Portland mayor says he’s committed to ending homeless camping, boosting economy, and hiring interim city manager before leaving office.
Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

The next 15 months will mark Mayor Ted Wheeler’s final time in office at the city.  During a Sept. 14 press briefing, Wheeler rattled off a list of accomplishments over the last year, and laid out a roadmap of what he’ll focus on as he wraps up his mayoral term. He also underscored a turbulent […]

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Portland Mayor Wheeler Says He Won’t Seek Another Term

Addressing questions about a reelection bid, Wheeler says city’s current challenges will require all of his focus over the next 15 months.
Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler says he won’t be running for office again in 2024. The announcement came as he addressed questions about whether he intended to run for mayor in the next City Council race under a restructured form of government. Wheeler confirmed Wednesday that he won’t seek a third term. “I am a firm […]

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Portland City Councilors Will Lobby For Change in State Law to Pave Way For Criminalization of Drugs

City leaders blame a loophole in state law for the scourge of fentanyl and meth addiction on Portland’s streets. Experts caution a repeat of the failed War on Drugs.
Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

City commissioners blame a loophole in Oregon law for the proliferation of visible fentanyl and methamphetamine use on Oregon’s streets. Now, they’re pressuring state lawmakers to change it. Oregon law currently doesn’t prohibit the public use of controlled substances, and it doesn’t allow local governments to do so, either. Portland City Council voted unanimously Wednesday, […]

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2024 Election: Portland City Council Candidates Already Scrambling For Public Campaign Dollars

With new City Council districts confirmed, campaigns are already underway for 12 council seats.
Avatar photoAvatar photo Taylor Griggs and Courtney Vaughn

The next Portland City Council election isn’t until November 2024, but candidates are already announcing their intent to run.  Since the beginning of August, five people have filed paperwork with the city’s Small Donor Elections Program, signaling forthcoming bids for City Council.  Another five people filed campaign finance forms with the state, making 10 City […]

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In His Mayoral Run, Mingus Mapps Wants to Lead “Portland 2.0”

After perceived policy missteps and previous opposition to new government structure coming in 2025, Mapps now wants to lead the “new Portland.”
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

Portland’s next general election in November 2024 will herald the beginning of a new form of local government, wiping the current City Council roster clean. Since the charter reform measure passed, many Portlanders have wondered what current City Council members would do, come reelection time. The first to answer that question has been Commissioner Mingus […]

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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 […]

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“PBOT Is on Life Support”: Inside Portland’s Transportation Budget Crisis

An 11th-hour city budget amendment proposed by Mayor Ted Wheeler has revealed the depths of the transportation bureau’s woes.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

Mayor Ted Wheeler’s last-minute city budget amendments left Portland transportation stakeholders feeling like they’ve had the rug pulled out from under them. Now, they want every Portlander to know: The city’s transportation system is in trouble and the effects will have far-reaching impacts.  Wheeler’s plan to reduce utility fee increases and halt plans for a […]

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The Trump-Adjusted Supreme Court Appears Ready to Uphold 2020 Citizenship Question

Avatar photo Eli Sanders

Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s additions to the US Supreme Court. Getty Images It hasn’t happened since the 1950s, yet unsurprisingly the Trump administration wants to bring back a question for the 2020 US census asking whether respondents are US citizens. Three federal judges have already blocked the plan, saying the Trump administration’s […]

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