Councilor Avalos Responds to Federal Threats to Portland’s Equity Funding
This morning, we received a sobering update from our City Administrator about the impact of the Trump Administration’s executive orders on Portland’s access to federal grant funding—specifically, grants that support the equity, safety, and well-being of our communities.
Let me be clear: I will fight for Portland.
These federal demands are an attack on the very values that define who we are—our commitment to equity, to justice, and to repairing harm that has been done to communities of color, to women, to LGBTQ+ folks, to people with disabilities, and to those who have been pushed to the margins for generations.
Portland cannot and will not go backwards.
We are being asked to choose between life-saving federal funds and the core values that guide our work—and that is a false choice. I will not quietly accept these terms. I will fight to protect the $387 million in federal grants our city receives, while also defending the programs and principles that make Portland a city worth living in.
As we explore legal options and policy paths in the weeks ahead, I promise to remain transparent, grounded, and unapologetically committed to justice. I will work alongside my colleagues to protect our city and the people we serve—and I will do so with eyes wide open, fists unclenched but ready.
Read the full statement from our City Administrator here: City Administrator Addresses Federal Compliance and Equity Funding Impacts | Portland.gov
In solidarity,
Councilor Candace Avalos