Frequently Asked Questions

District 4 is all of Portland west of the Willamette River plus Sellwood, West Moreland, East Moreland, and Reed neighborhoods. Here is a lookup page to verify which district your address is in:  Portland City Council Districts Lookup Tool (arcgis.com) 

One way to provide better services with the money we have is to hire more frontline workers who do the daily work of filling potholes and fixing leaks and spend less money on ineffective meetings.

My first step would be to work with Council colleagues to refer to the voters all of the Phase 2 Charter Reforms proposed by the Charter Commission. I am particularly excited by the ones about creating an Office of Transparency Advocate, Participatory Budgeting, and Environment. However, whether I or the other council members agree with the full details of the particular reforms is irrelevant. What is important is that Portland voters should have the opportunity to decide. The Charter Commission did a tremendous amount of outreach in the community and it would be a shame to let their work sit on a shelf.

The second policy might not be glamourous, but is essential for bringing down the cost of doing business in Portland. We need to finish the task of simplifying City codes. Right now it takes too much time for people trying to do business just to figure out what the code says, much less how to comply with all of the administrative rules from the different bureaus. Clarifying and prioritizing the rules will save time and money.

If we share similar values, I’m open to running with a slate, but I’m also comfortable running on my own.

Safety and global warming are two pressing issues facing us.

On climate, we need concrete actions, not just words. I will collaborate with the whole community to phase out fossil fuels and find ways to adapt to the changes that are already occurring. However, until safety and livability are addressed the new Council will have difficulty focusing on anything else. To effectively tackle any of these problems, all governments in the region need to do their part and we need to start by using rate-payer and tax money more wisely and efficiently. 

Bringing on a City Administrator is a step in the right direction to bring a coherent and unified direction to all of the services that the City provides. For too long, city workers had to change directions every few years depending on who was elected. In addition, we need to empower city workers to solve problems at the lowest possible level and create a culture where hardworking and innovative employees are encouraged and supported. 

I totally agree that it is none of my business where you work, or if you are unemployed. This information is legally required and tracked by the State of Oregon. I'm not entirely sure why, but I believe that it is to prevent a wealthy employer from coercing their employees to donate money to a campaign. 

I'm participating in Portland's Small Donor Elections Program, which means that the maximum amount I can contribute to myself is a total of $850 ($500 in seed money, and $350 regular contribution). Check out their website for more info about how this program allows regular working people to run for public office without becoming beholden to big money. https://www.portland.gov/smalldonorelections