The Government of Portland, Oregon, a city in the U.S. state of Oregon, is based on a city commission government system. Elected officials include a Mayor, a City Council, and a City Auditor. The mayor and commissioners are responsible for legislative policy and oversee the various bureaus that oversee the day-to-day operation of the city. The auditor is responsible for ensuring that the government operates in good faith. Portland began using a commission form of government in 1913 following a public vote on May 3 of that year. Each elected official serves a four-year term, without term limits. Each city council member is elected at-large.
Current Members
History
The Portland Charter was the subject of much debate circa 1911–1912. Rival charters were drafted by four different groups, including the "official charter committee," appointed by the mayor; the "people's charter committee," constituted under the auspices of the East Side Business Men's Club; another citizen's committee which drafted the Short Charter; and the "people's committee," led by W.C. Benbow, which drafted the Benbow Charter. The Short Charter was unusual in that it would have used Bucklin voting to elect the mayor and implemented interactive representation of the people through the commissioner system; each commissioner's vote would have been weighted according to the number of votes he received in the election. The city council appointed a committee to draft a compromise charter. This charter, along with the Short Charter, were defeated in referenda. The following year, the city council submitted another charter to the people, which was accepted. The city commissiongovernment form consequently came into use in 1913, with H. Russell Albee being the first mayor under the new system. In May 2007, Portland citizens rejected a ballot measure which would have changed city government from a commission form to a strong mayor system. Similar changes have been proposed and rejected several times over the years.
Dan Saltzman – member of council for 20 years, longer than any person since 1969
Elections
City Council seats, as well as the City Auditor, are non-partisan, elected positions; each carries a four-year term. As with all non-partisan positions in Oregon, candidates face off in a primary election ; if no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote, the top two finishers face off in a runoff election Three Council seats, including the Mayor, were up for election in 2008; the other two seats, and the Auditor position, were up for election in 2010. From 2006 to 2010, Portland used a publicly financed election system, allowing candidates to qualify for public funding of $145,000 if they could gather 1000 five-dollar contributions by a certain date. Two candidates availed themselves of this system in 2006: incumbent Erik Sten, who won the primary election, and Amanda Fritz, who lost out to incumbent Dan Saltzman but won a seat two years later. The November 2010 elections saw Portlanders rescind their support for this publicly financed election system.
Neighborhood Government
Portland's neighborhood system, the Office of Community and Civic Life, is made up of 94 recognized neighborhood associations and seven neighborhood district coalition offices located throughout the city. These offices provide support and technical assistance to the volunteer-based neighborhood associations, community groups and individual activists.
Handling of illegal camp cleanups
Multiple news outlet reported on the city auditor's report on the city's handling of illegal campsite clean ups by the Homelessness/Urban Camping Impact Reduction Program. Since 2015, the City of Portland implemented a streamlined campsite complaint intake. City contractor then removed tents, items and other items and stored them. The database was to prioritize cleanup based on "biohazards, garbage and other factors, such as whether campers are aggressive or openly using drugs.". The Oregonian summarized that the auditors found little evidence prioritization was occurring and no clear indication of what criteria were invoked in selecting which camps are to be removed or not removed and auditors documented the city often ignored hundreds of complaints made by residents. The newspaper commented "That non-response doesn’t comport with the crackdown on illegal camping instituted by Mayor Ted Wheeler earlier in his term." The audit conducted in summer and fall of 2018 reported that the city needed to improve communications to illegal campers as well as complainants. The auditors recommends providing complainants with a status update. In 2019, the city announced city intends to do so with a new up that help people "better record and understand HUCIRP"
Public transportation
Public transit within the city is primarily the responsibility of TriMet, not the city government, but the Portland Streetcar and Portland Aerial Tram are exceptions; both are owned by the city. The aerial cableway is managed by Oregon Health & Science University, but the city was heavily involved in its planning and funded about 15% of its construction cost, as part of the development of the South Waterfront. The city also pays 15% of the aerial tram's operating cost, under an agreement with OHSU.
