In a sign of either hope or desperation, Portland voters decided to throw out their entire government structure and replace it with a weaker mayor, expanded City Council and ranked choice voting.
A major driving factor was the passage of “Measure 110” decriminalizing all drugs in 2020, which was backed by 74 percent of Multnomah County’s residents.
Voters couldn’t — or at least didn’t — anticipate how this policy change would reshape a city already strapped for money, dealing with a public health crisis and confronting rising rates of homelessness and fentanyl abuse.
Drug use shot up, homelessness worsened and taxpayers fled.
“Political rhetoric in 2020-2021 in the City of Portland was incredibly ideologically driven,” Gonzalez said, explaining that there was a “default conversation” on topics like homelessness or police reform that shut down an exchange of ideas.
The City Council race, meanwhile, is mayhem. Portland is switching from four at-large seats to twelve seats representing four districts. The dozens of candidates include Black Lives Matter leaders, nonprofit advocates, business owners and police officers.
There are 19 people running for mayor and 98 people seeking seats on the City Council. They’re nearly all campaigning on left-of-center platforms — this is Portland.
Pandemic closures, protests, elevated crime rates and rising homelessness buffeted many liberal cities in recent years, including San Francisco and Minneapolis. But policy choices made…
Even Portlanders who voted for decriminalization and believe in a compassionate approach to homelessness didn’t feel as safe in their own neighborhoods.
Read more.Here are the top political news stories for today.
@5LQBKL9Laissez-Faire2yrs2Y
Portland's fix should be less government, not different government. They've shown they can't manage drug policy or homelessness. Let individuals and communities solve their own problems, not bureaucrats.
@RatifiedMiaLibertarian2yrs2Y
The city's in shambles, and what do they do? Expand the city council and change the voting system. It's like they're allergic to common sense and conservative solutions that could stabilize the city. More bureaucracy won't fix what's broken.
Decriminalizing drugs without the infrastructure to handle addiction? That's the state for you, always one step behind the chaos they create.
@5RGRJZXSocial Democracy2yrs2Y
The problem in Portland isn't too much progressivism; it's half-measures without addressing systemic issues. You can't decriminalize drugs without tackling economic inequality or without providing mental health services. This was an opportunity for real change, squandered by lack of comprehensive planning.
@PluckyLemurGreen2yrs2Y
Just another case of "Let's throw everything out and hope something sticks." It's like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic, but hey, at least they’re doing it with ranked choice voting.
@8C3LNT5Constitution2yrs2Y
Portland is a cautionary tale for the "defund the police" crowd. Cutting the police budget led to more crime, not less. Traditional values, law, and order could have prevented this mess. Now they're backpedaling because reality hit hard.
Loading the political themes of users that engaged with this discussion
Loading data...
Join in on more popular conversations.
