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Photo: Councilor Ryan during a 2025 visit to Fire Station 24 in North Portland’s Overlook neighborhood.
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What's been on my mind this week
Preparing for public safety budget conversations with annual ride alongs
Leading up to public safety budgeting conversations, I make it a priority to connect with the City's first responder public safety bureaus, including Bureau of Emergency Communications (9-1-1), Portland Fire & Rescue, Portland Fire & Rescue's Community Health Assess and Treat (CHAT) program, Portland Police, and Portland Street Response (PSR).
Every time I meet with these teams, I leave with indispensable insights about what parts of the safety system is working and what's not, where short- and long-term shifts could lead to better outcomes, and importantly, what they need to provide emergency services to all Portlanders. These ride alongs and site visits inform my discussions and deliberations at City Council about each fiscal year's public safety budget.
In past ride alongs with Portland Fire & Rescue's CHAT program, I visited a deflection center to check in on an individual who had been treated for opioid use disorder and was on the long-term treatment path toward stability. We also went on an aftercare visit to an individual suffering from many chronic conditions related to untreated acute diabetes—the patient had been a frequent 9-1-1 caller and was finally receiving condition stabilization medications they so desperately needed. On a ride along with Portland Police, I joined North Precinct officers on patrol of North and Northeast neighborhoods during the night shift, as well as saw Emergency Communications' 9-1-1 call dispatching in real-time.
In the coming weeks, I'll be sitting with and riding alongside the first responders of these agencies again. It ensures I am keyed into current priorities and challenges, and it'll help inform upcoming budget conversations headed into 2026-27.
Asking what access to outreach services looks like on Portland's streets
In the wake of the fire that destroyed Elephants Deli's flagship location in Northwest Portland, I found myself coming back to a couple of questions over and over again. Why was the woman who started the fire cold and alone on the streets of Portland that night? Did anyone working within Portland's outreach ecosystem have connection with her, and if so, why wasn't she receiving needed services from the shelter on NW Northrup just blocks away? More broadly, what are the breakdowns in our system that allowed this to happen? They're the same breakdowns that have devastated businesses in District 2, as well, from St. Johns and Mississippi to NE Broadway and beyond. I feel for the folks on our streets who are hurting, and I feel for small business owners whose livelihoods are impacted so greatly by incidents like these. As Elephants Deli's CEO Martin McClanan said, "We [also] have deep sympathy for neighbors experiencing hardship. But compassion alone cannot come at the expense of safety and stability."
I was glad to have the opportunity to talk with KGW's Blair Best about this incident, where I asked questions about our approach to outreach, reinforced that improved emergency response times are vital in scenarios like this, and highlighted my work in alignment with Mayor Wilson and City Administrator Lee on Portland's Storefront Support Program.
Relatedly, this week, we held a joint homelessness and housing work session with Multnomah County at City Hall. The takeaway is that the one-time COVID-era Federal funds helped the City of Portland and Multnomah County build out robust programs to better meet the community's service needs. We knew it was going to happen. We knew the funding would end and it means that we must work together to prioritize the Supportive Housing Services (SHS) funds from the Metro measure approved in 2020 more strategically. The fiscal cliff for rent vouchers, shelters with services, outreach, building housing, and abatement services are all on the table.
This is not isolated since almost all expenses are outpacing revenues, so the City of Portland faces big budget challenges in 2026-27 and beyond. We know difficult cuts will be required. Meanwhile, the needs of our unhoused and housing-insecure neighbors continues to grow. More conversations ahead on this, of course. Stay tuned as we make challenging trade-off decisions to protect our basic public safety and public works services and support Mayor Wilson to remove public camping from the right of way while providing on ramps to stability.
Spring break activities and services for Portland families and kids
A seasonal shift is afoot, Portland—the days are longer, the daffodils and cherry blossoms are blooming, and as hard as it is to believe, we're headed into spring break recess next week. On the heels of visiting our sister city of Kaohsiung, Taiwan, a non-stop schedule with council and committee meetings, as well as in-district meetings with D2 constituents, I'm looking forward to embracing a slower pace of life next week during City Council's recess. We've got so much important work teed up for April and beyond, including diving into the Mayor Wilson's 2026-27 proposed budget and our new Council committee assignments. This brief period of rest is vital to showing up focused, replenished, and ready to get things done for Portlanders.
Speaking of next week, there are a few spots remaining in Portland Parks & Recreation's spring break-specific camps which run March 23-27. Openings include intermediate, advanced, and high-performance tennis classes for teens and youth. In addition to the camps, you can check out the ongoing activities and classes at your local community center over the break, as their slate of community events, arts programs, and activities for all ages run all year long. There are six serving North and Northeast Portland, including the Portland Tennis Center, Matt Dishman Community Center, the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center, Peninsula Park Community Center, Charles Jordan Community Center, and the St. Johns Community Center.
PS: Mark your calendars because applications for Portland Parks Preschool will run from April 1-30 for the 2026-27 school year and registration for PP&R's summer camps will open up in May.
IYCMI: Portland and Kaohsiung City Councils challenge Mayor Wilson to a dragon boat race
📣 Over on Facebook and Instagram, Kaohsiung City Council Speaker Kang Yu-Cheng and I are challenging Mayor Wilson and the City Administration team to a dragon boat race against both the Kaohsiung and Portland City Councils. Here are the details:
🐲 What: Portland Rose Festival's Dragon Boat Elected Official Cup Challenge
🐲 Where: Tom McCall Waterfront Park
🐲 When: Saturday, June 6, 2026, at 12 p.m.
Kaohsiung and Portland City Councilors will be there, and we hope the Mayor and City Administrator will be, too! May the best dragon boat team win. 🥇
On a related note, the start of the 12-week-long Rose Festival Dragon Boat Race Season will officially start with the Eye Dotting Ceremony on March 29 from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. The event will include a Buddhist ceremony blessing the dragon boats, the formal dotting of the eyes of traditional-style dragon boats by dignitaries, a Chinese drum line performance, and a parade of dragon boats with a Portland Fire boat display. Let the festivities begin!
Upcoming meetings and events
- 3/23-27: City Council Recess
- 3/29: 2026 Eye-Dotting Ceremony Kicking off the Portland Rose Festival Dragon Boat Race Season
- 3/30: Humboldt Neighborhood Association Meeting
- 4/1: City Council Meeting
- 4/1: Council Work Session
- 4/1: Portland Street Response Town Hall at Albina Library and online
- 4/2: Finance and Governance Committee (Committee of the Whole) Meeting
- 4/2: City Council Meeting (tentative)