And we have no plan to address it.

Climate change is here.  Portland is feeling the impacts already, and we know what we're facing over the next century. We need a 50-year plan and budget to protect Commercial Street, Bayside, and our local electric grid which we will increasingly rely on as we electrify everything.

As councilor, I will push for testing our infrastructure, articulating concrete interventions, and specifying a way to pay for it. Climate change won't wait; neither can we.

Photo credit: Ben McCanna / Portland Press Herald

When the Council leads, referendums fail.

In 2020, voters approved 5 of 6 referendums on rent control, inclusionary zoning, minimum wage, facial surveillance, and cannabis. Short-term rental limits just barely failed. Once enacted, laws by referendum are untouchable by the Council for 5 years. Referendum laws are blunt instruments and often crudely written. Since 2020, we've seen dueling referendums on the ballot at almost every election cycle.

In 2025, the City Council has a chance to refine these laws to be clearer, simpler, and easier to follow and enforce. Let's not miss this opportunity to end Portland's rule by referendum.

Photo credit: WMTW

No candidate is more equipped to tackle our housing crisis.

As the Press Herald expertly reported on August 11, housing has been undersupplied since the Great Recession and pent-up demand is at record levels. Local wages can't compete with out-of-state buying power or retirees with cash from a home sale. 

My full-time job is summarizing data findings and writing housing strategies for cities across the country. I know what developers need to build more housing, what landlords need to supply more apartments, and what city planners need to encourage more housing production.

We are in a crisis. I can help. Let's tackle this!

Photo credit: Allied Cook Construction