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Portland Charter Commission Voter Information
On Tuesday, June 8th, 2021, Portland will hold elections for nine seats on the upcoming Charter Commission, including five district seats and four at-large seats. This group will join three members appointed by the City Council in 2020. This commission will research and recommend changes to the constitution document of Portland: our City Charter. Simply put, these elections will undoubtedly determine the future path of municipal government in Portland. The reforms the Charter Commission proposes will go back out to voters at the conclusion of the process for approval, and, if ratified, would become the new structure of government in our city.
The Chamber surveyed all of our members in the City of Portland to get feedback on what their priorities are for the Charter Commission. The Chamber actively supported the creation of an elected mayor position ten years ago in order to give the community a greater say in the policy direction of our city, while ensuring professional management of the city's day-to-day operations. Ten years later, our members continue to support the basic framework of our elected mayor system, with support for some reforms to this system to ensure accountability and professionalism.
Following that we sent out questionnaires to all candidates on the ballot for the June 8th election, covering many of the same topics in our member survey. Below, we have highlighted five key issues posed in both our member survey and our candidate questionnaire to give our members context on which candidates support their priorities and views on Portland’s government. The five key issues are:
Below you can find summaries of the candidate’s answers.
For more context and explanation of their answers click the following links to read their full responses to our 11 questions:
The below scorecards award candidates on a five point scale for alignment with Portland Chamber members, awarding one point for total agreement, .75 points for agreement with reservations, .5 points for no position (indicating an open mind), .25 points for disagreement with reservations, and 0 points for total disagreement.
The Chamber surveyed all of our members in the City of Portland to get feedback on what their priorities are for the Charter Commission. The Chamber actively supported the creation of an elected mayor position ten years ago in order to give the community a greater say in the policy direction of our city, while ensuring professional management of the city's day-to-day operations. Ten years later, our members continue to support the basic framework of our elected mayor system, with support for some reforms to this system to ensure accountability and professionalism.
Following that we sent out questionnaires to all candidates on the ballot for the June 8th election, covering many of the same topics in our member survey. Below, we have highlighted five key issues posed in both our member survey and our candidate questionnaire to give our members context on which candidates support their priorities and views on Portland’s government. The five key issues are:
- Hiring and Firing of City Staff: Our members feel that authority to hire and fire city staff should continue to be held by the City Manager. Members expressed that this system is preferable to Mayoral control, because it removes political influence from hiring the professionals to oversee our city departments and make operational decisions for city government. They overwhelmingly felt that allowing the Mayor to hire and fire their selected appointees to key staff positions would lend itself to corruption and diminish the capacity for staff to address the pressing demands of providing municipal services in a non-political and equitable manner.
- Day-to-Day Management of the City: Our members expressed that the day-to-day management of city operations should continue to be led by the City Manager with professional expertise in the complex operational demands of a modern city. From plowing our streets, to ensuring public safety, and maintaining the fiscal health of our city, our members felt that a popularly elected mayor would lack the skills and expertise necessary to effectively oversee such a multi-faceted organization.
- Clean Elections: Our members did not feel expending taxpayer dollars on a municipal clean elections system was a good use of resources.
- Council and Mayoral Staff: Our members did express a desire for the Charter to provide for some staff for City Councilors and the Mayor. These staff positions would be helpful in improving the responsiveness of city government to constituent needs, as well as provide a helpful resource for the City Council and Mayor as they endeavor to research and decide on a policy vision for the city.
- Expanding the City Council: Our members expressed opposition to expanding the current council beyond the current nine members. They feel that the current number is sufficient to meet the needs of a city of our size, and that additional members would make the council too unwieldy to accomplish the serious tasks at hand.
Below you can find summaries of the candidate’s answers.
For more context and explanation of their answers click the following links to read their full responses to our 11 questions:
- District 1 Candidate Questionnaire
- District 2 Candidate Questionnaire
- District 3 Candidate Questionnaire
- District 4 Candidate Questionnaire
- District 5 Candidate Questionnaire
- At-Large Candidate Questionnaire
The below scorecards award candidates on a five point scale for alignment with Portland Chamber members, awarding one point for total agreement, .75 points for agreement with reservations, .5 points for no position (indicating an open mind), .25 points for disagreement with reservations, and 0 points for total disagreement.
The Chamber closely follows all of the events and meetings at Portland City Hall, including City Council Meetings, Committee Meetings, Workshops, and more.
Find Your District & Councilor
Click here to see a map of the city council districts in Portland
Click here to learn more about your Portland City Councilors
Click here to see a map of the city council districts in Portland
Click here to learn more about your Portland City Councilors
Agendas & Meeting Packets
See when the Portland City Council is meeting and view agendas for each meeting
See when the Portland City Council is meeting and view agendas for each meeting
