See something we could improve on this page? Give website feedback.
Label:
Information
View Councilor Morillo's public statements and media comments:
KATU: Progressive Portland city councilors make final attempt to save union jobs
June 18, 2026
A group of five progressive Portland city councilors is making a final attempt to save dozens of union jobs slated to be cut in August.
An ordinance proposed by Councilors Mitch Green, Candace Avalos, Angelita Morillo, Sameer Kanal, and Tiffany Koyama-Lane attempts to do what amendments that failed during budget deliberations could not do by using some dollars of interest earned on the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund (PCEF) to avoid cuts to those jobs.
An amendment to the mayor's budget that had proposed doing just that failed on a tie vote just as most amendments did during budget deliberations highlighting the split between the city's more progressive and more conservative councilors.
Morillo believes the ordinance may have more likelihood of success because it employs fewer dollars of interest earned on PCEF funds and includes restorations to support positions for the Portland Police Bureau.
"It's taking $7.1 million of PCEF interest in order to fund these positions. This is a significantly reduced number because we heard that our colleagues were concerned about taking too much money from PCEF interest. And so this is actually less money than some of the previous amendments from [Elana] Pirtle-Guiney and [Steve] Novick in the hopes that they will agree to some of these changes," Morillo said.
See the full story and interview at KATU.
KATU: Interview with Portland City Councilor Angelita Morillo as Council moves forward with cuts
June 11, 2026
Portland City Council took another step toward finalizing its budget Wednesday, advancing a spending plan that includes millions of dollars in cuts to the Portland Police Bureau (PPB).
The plan would reduce funding for overtime and training and eliminate most unarmed responder positions. Council members can still propose amendments before the budget is finalized, though significant changes could extend the process or require a supermajority vote. The budget debate comes as city leaders work to address a projected $170 million shortfall.
See the full interview at KATU.
Portland Mercury: This Budget Proposal Could Save Over 100 City Jobs. Here's What To Know.
June 9, 2026
By Jeremiah Hayden
Within the city of Portland, a sole certified arborist trains neighbors to care for trees. A ride share employee brings in nearly $17 million each year. A specialized team helps the transportation bureau plan for sidewalk and road repairs. These are among more than 100 positions that could disappear on July 1.
Three Portland city councilors have a plan to change that. A proposal from Councilors Mitch Green, Candace Avalos, and Angelita Morillo called "Services First" would fund 103 city employee positions that are slated to be cut under Mayor Keith Wilson's budget. That includes public safety jobs, parks maintenance and programs for seniors, life support medical teams, as well as immigration and crime victims' services. Most are union-represented positions.
Read the full story at the Portland Mercury.
OPB's Think Out Loud: Portland councilors approve mask ban for law enforcement
June 2, 2026
By Dave Miller
Last week, Portland City Councilors passed a new policy barring law enforcement of all kinds from wearing masks. The policy itself would also direct the Portland Police Bureau to investigate someone who engages in law-enforcement activity, such as detaining someone, and doesn't show proper credentials.
The ordinance passed in an 8-4 vote, and was introduced by Councilor Sameer Kanal and co-sponsored by Councilor Elena Pirtle-Guiney and Angelita Morillo. Opponents of the law say the policy raises concerns around labor laws and workload for PPB officers. Joining us to share more on the policy and its impacts are PPB Chief Bob Day and Councilor Morillo.
Listen to the full interview at OPB.
Willamette Week: Southeast Portland Councilors Fund Shatterproof Glass at Oft-Vandalized Accessibility Elevators
May 31, 2026
By Sophie Peel
Portland city councilors representing District 3 are fed up with the frequently broken elevators at the Bob Stacey Crossing, which are supposed to allow cyclists and people with mobility issues to reach the pedestrian bridge—which crosses over train tracks—without having to climb a steep flight of stairs.
The elevators have been out of service off and on for years due to various damage, including smashed glass. Without the elevators, cyclists and mobility-challenged people have to travel 13 blocks when a train is present, and six blocks when no train is running, to cross the tracks.
While the Portland Bureau of Transportation has made fixes here and there, repeated vandalism and a lack of funding to install shatterproof glass has hobbled the bureau's plans to keep the elevators in service.
...Morillo said in a statement that accessibility cannot be an afterthought but "something we have to dedicate ourselves to." Koyama Lane said the elevators are a "necessity for the ADA community, parents with strollers, [and] cyclists."
Read the full story at the Willamette Week.
The Schmidt Show: Season 2 Finale: The Rebuttal
May 27, 2026
By Mike Schmidt
Earlier this season, Portland Metro Chamber Executive Vice President of Public Affairs Jon Isaacs sat across from Mike and made his case: the DSA is bad for Portland, bad for business, and bad for the social programs progressives claim to care about. It was the most downloaded episode in Schmidt Show history.
This is the rebuttal.
City Councilor Angelita Morillo — First term District 3 representative and proud DSA member, comes into studio to respond. She doesn't just push back on the argument. She makes her case, point by point, with data, personal experience, and insight into the day to day of actually doing the work.
Listen to the full interview at The Schmidt Show.
Portland Mercury: Council Grills City Administrators About Unbudgeted Housing Funds During First Oversight Hearing
April 23, 2026
By Jeremiah Hayden
District 3 Councilor Angelita Morillo questioned why Oliveira had notified Wilson's office of the unspent funds on November 14, without notifying councilors. That's the day after the administrators were alerted that the city would be fulfilling a public records request submitted by Oregon Public Broadcasting, which would include Hisserich's memo. In the following days, Skyler Brocker-Knapp, the director of Portland Solutions—which oversees the mayor's shelter program—submitted a spending plan to reallocate the money in the budget adjustment. Still, the Council was in the dark, amid a heated budget debate.
...Councilor Angelita Morillo told the Mercury in an email that the oversight hearing revealed how the Council's power as the budget authority is "being whittled away" by the executive branch.
"In order to have a truly representative government, Councilors must have the same access to information as our counterparts in the Executive," Morillo said. "I am concerned to hear that as we're exposing these barriers, new ones are being put in place."
Read the full story at the Portland Mercury.
KGW: City council unanimously passes resolution to build more housing in Portland's inner eastside neighborhoods
April 15, 2026
By Amy-Xiaoshi DePaola
The Portland City Council on Wednesday unanimously passed a resolution to speed up zoning changes in the city's inner eastside in hopes of building more housing.
The vote expedites the planning process to allow for more housing — apartments and multi-family units — in the area, directing city planning agencies to present Portland City Council with a new zoning map by June 2027.
"This resolution puts the City on an accelerated path to bring dense, livable neighborhoods in the Inner Eastside so that Portland can be a city where people at all ages, wages, and stages of life can afford to stay," said Councilor Angelita Morillo in a news release. Morillo co-sponsored the resolution with Councilors Candace Avalos and Mitch Green.
"I'm proud to advance policy that matches the urgency of our housing crisis with the aggressive, responsive timelines Portlanders deserve from their government," she continued.
OPB: Portland approves plan to spend $56 million of unbudgeted housing funds
April 8, 2026
By Alex Zielinski
Five months after Portland officials first discovered millions in unspent money in its housing bureau, city councilors have agreed on how to use those funds.
The vote puts roughly $56 million toward eviction defense, rent assistance, affordable housing projects, and several novel programs – like a plan to help erase debt accrued by affordable housing providers and a strategy to purchase property for publicly-owned affordable homes. The spending plan also puts nearly $9 million toward the city's general fund, which pays for parks, police and other city services, and is facing a deficit.
The package, introduced by Councilors Candace Avalos, Jamie Dunphy, Mitch Green, and Angelita Morillo, advanced Wednesday with an 8-4 vote. A final vote is next week.
The Oregonian: Court ruling on feds' tear gas use at Portland ICE protests alarms Oregon officials
March 26, 2026
By Isabel Funk
Portland and Oregon politicians are concerned about a Wednesday decision by federal judges to suspend restrictions on federal agents' use of force against protesters just days before large demonstrations are expected across the city.
..."I'm definitely concerned about the switch in this ruling, especially right before what is expected to be a very large No Kings rally on Saturday," Portland City Councilor Angelita Morillo told The Oregonian/OregonLive.
Read the full story at The Oregonian.
The Oregonian: City Council makes Portland's Brooklyn Bridge official
February 23, 2026
By Austin De Dios
Portland City Council voted last week to name a four-lane overpass in Southeast Portland the Brooklyn Bridge after the neighborhood in which it is located.
The Holgate Boulevard bridge runs between Southeast 17th Avenue and 26th Avenue in the city's Brooklyn neighborhood, stretching over the Union Pacific Brooklyn train yard. Councilor Angelita Morillo brought the resolution forward, and said her office would cover the cost of new signs. That will come out to around $2,000, officials said.
"It's a quick and easy, meaningful change we can do for that neighborhood," Morillo said Thursday in a public meeting.
Read the full story at the Oregonian.
KGW: Portland detention facility impact fee faces hurdles from mayor's office
February 3, 2026
By Celine Stevens
For months, the use of crowd control munitions outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in South Portland has been front of mind for protestors and nearby residents alike.
An ordinance spearheaded by Councilor Angelita Morillo was supposed to help address that; city council passed it back in December. However, there've been some delays in the implementation of the ordinance.
That ordinance is called the Detention Facility Impact Fee. Morillo had the assistance of Councilor Mitch Green on the legislation, which creates a fee for landlords renting or leasing to detention facilities.
The annual fee would apply to new facilities or those which have had leases renewed.
However, there would also be fines levied against landlords who fail to stop chemicals like tear gas from impacting the surrounding area, which could apply to the Portland ICE facility.
"For example, ICE tear gassing a neighborhood, that creates environmental cleanup costs, that creates issues for the people who are living in the apartment buildings across the street," said Morillo. "All of those are costs, are things that the city incurs, that we are saying, ‘Okay, you as a landlord, if you want to have these tenants, you need to pay a fee to make up for those costs, so that burden isn't falling on our taxpayers.'"
OPB: Portland councilors urge Mayor Wilson to carry out new penalties on ICE facility
January 27, 2026
By Alex Zielinski
A pair of Portland city councilors want Mayor Keith Wilson to speed up an effort to fine the landlord of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building for his tenants' use of chemical munitions on protesters.
"Portlanders are demanding that we take action to protect our communities from our authoritarian Federal government," Councilors Angelita Morillo and Mitch Green wrote in a letter sent to Wilson on Tuesday. "We must act urgently with every tool we have."
The ICE facility in South Portland has been a focal point for protests since immigration enforcement ramped up last spring. Protesters have also focused their attention on City Hall, where they've pressed city leaders to restrict ICE's operations in Portland.
Both Morillo and Green responded to those demands last fall when they introduced a new fee for private property owners whose building is leased to be used as a detention facility. That policy also included civil penalties for "the release or deposition of chemical residues or other substances beyond the detention facility premises" into the street or neighboring properties.
Willamette Week: Recent Events Could Shift the Debate Over Who Should Run City Council
January 13, 2026
By Sophie Peel
The vote for president last week revealed that the hard feelings between Peacock and the centrist councilors are profound and far-reaching. The Jan. 7 debate was the culmination of a fractious year for the 12 councilors, and as the meeting persisted late into the afternoon, the jabs below the belt increased.
...Councilor Zimmerman—a foe of Peacock—kicked off the meeting by nominating two new candidates from the centrist side of the council: Councilors Steve Novick and Loretta Smith. They accepted.
Councilor Angelita Morillo ignored the two nominations and implored Pirtle-Guiney to step aside. She called the centrists' comments the previous day about Kanal "thinly veiled dog whistles."
"An inability to pass the helm of power to somebody else, with different experience, knowledge and background, is completely unacceptable to me," Morillo said. "It's time to let a millennial man of color actually lead."
Read the full story at Willamette Week.
Willamette Week: This Might Be Councilor Angelita Morillo's Moment
January 7, 2026
By Sophie Peel
Portland City Councilor Angelita Morillo has a lot at stake in 2026.
With the City Council coming off an unsteady first year of 12 members governing a troubled city, it's not always easy to determine who is in charge. A council vote on Jan. 7 will decide who serves as council president—a powerful position that sets the agenda and appoints committee chairs. Whoever takes the wheel, however, there's a strong case to be made that Morillo is the councilor hitting the gas pedal.
At 29, she's the youngest councilor and perhaps the most vocal member of the council's progressive caucus. That caucus, better known as "Peacock," has proven the body's most organized faction, and able to mobilize constituents to pack the galleries.
Click here to read the full story at Willamette Week.
The Portland Mercury: Mayor to Force Some Homeless Portlanders from Alternative Shelters in February
January 6, 2026
By Jeremiah Hayden
Portland Mayor Keith Wilson is planning to exit some homeless residents from the city's alternative shelters, instead referring them to emergency overnight shelters and day centers.
In an email Wilson sent to city councilors Tuesday, Wilson said nearly 100 homeless Portlanders who are living in alternative shelters are expected to reach their 120-day stay limits, and the city plans to move them out of those shelters if they have not engaged in services during that time.
...Councilor Angelita Morillo, who also sits on that Committee, echoed Avalos' statement. She said people come to mistrust the system after services provided to them are inadequate or unacceptable, meaning they may not engage after a period of time.
"When we provide really good, robust services, people opt in—and not everyone is treated the same under these systems," Morillo said.
"Anyone who has actually lived on the streets or had to live in a congregate shelter for an extended period of time understands that it is not a cushy, fun lifestyle," Morillo said. "It is very difficult. It can often be re-traumatizing. We do not need to incentivize people any further to get off of the streets. It is a brutal, difficult, and short life."
Read the full story at the Portland Mercury.
Willamette Week: Portland Protesters Condemn U.S. Regime Change in Venezuela
January 3, 2026
By Aaron Mesh
A new year brought Portlanders a new reason to mass in the streets against President Donald Trump. Hours after the White House announced it had captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, several hundred protesters marched through downtown Portland to decry the military raid.
Advocacy groups organized two rallies on Saturday afternoon before joining forces to march from Powell's City of Books to the Willamette riverfront. Their opposition to regime change in the socialist South American country was largely echoed by local elected officials.
The strongest condemnation came from Portland city councilors affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America. Councilors Mitch Green and Angelita Morillo both posted furious messages on Bluesky.
"All my fucking tax dollars go towards murdering innocent people abroad," Morillo wrote. "Never enough money for free college. Or free school lunch. Or to fix the goddamned roads and the crumbling bridges. Always enough for murder.
"I am so livid," she concluded.
Read the full story at Willamette Week.
Portland Mercury: City Council May Investigate Administration Over Hidden Bureau Funds
December 17, 2025
By Jeremiah Hayden
A draft of the resolution obtained by the Mercury said the City Council was first notified on August 8 that it would need to address a budget deficit during the Fall Technical Adjustment Ordinance (TAO) in November. That's the city's semi-annual budget adjustment process intended to account for a surplus or shortfall in funding after the full fiscal year's budget process earlier in the year. The city's $8.6 billion budget went into effect July 1, and the City Council sustained tense discussions over how to address a roughly $18 million shortfall for the remainder of the 2025-26 fiscal year.
But the $21 million in unspent PHB funds was not disclosed to city councilors during that discussion. Now, they want to know why.
The draft resolution notes that recent reporting on the funds has "raised significant public interest in the timeline related to the fund discovery, its relation to TAO development, and why City Council was not notified of these funds prior to Council consideration of the TAO."
Read the full story at the Portland Mercury
KGW: ICE will have to pay a fee to operate its Portland detention center under new city policy
December 3, 2025
By John Tanet
The Portland City Council voted 9-2 on Wednesday to start charging detention centers a fee to counteract the "unique costs" they may pose to the city.
Although the new policy doesn't specifically name the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in South Portland, Councilor Angelita Morillo, who initially proposed the ordinance, confirmed it would apply to that facility.
"By creating an ongoing impact fee tied to the documented impacts of such facilities, this Chapter ensures that taxpayers, Portland families, are relieved from subsidizing the costs that arise from this highly specialized land use," the policy reads in part.
See the full story at KGW here.
The Portland Mercury: Portland City Council Votes to Adopt AI Rental Price-Fixing Software Ban
November 19, 2025
By Taylor Griggs
The policy, which is sponsored by Councilor Angelita Morillo and co-sponsored by Councilors Mitch Green and Tiffany Koyama Lane, is intended to address a tool that allows large building owners to share private data through software that collectively sets rent prices. Antitrust experts and tenant advocates say the property management software companies—and the landlords that contract with them—are skirting federal price-fixing law by using the algorithmic tool. They say the software enables landlords to essentially collude with one another to keep rents artificially high.
The rental software policy mirrors language in a recent multi-state lawsuit against Greystar Management Services for the property management company's use of the price-fixing tools. Oregon and eight other states filed litigation targeting the company's use of software like RealPage, which Oregon's attorney general says allows landlords to "coordinate rent increases rather than competing independently."
...
"I can actually walk and chew gum at the same time. I can focus on renter's rights and making sure that rent is affordable, and focus on building housing," Morillo said. "Whenever we're ready to take serious action, I'm ready to do that."
Read the full story at the Portland Mercury here.
OPB: Portland City Council to vote on proposal to ban rent-setting software
November 19, 2025
By Alex Zielinski
Portland city councilors will again consider a policy prohibiting landlords from using certain software to set rental prices.
The proposal, first floated by Councilor Angelita Morillo in April, would ban the use of "algorithmic pricing" services, which scan regional rent prices and vacancy data submitted by landlords and recommend monthly rental rates. Landlords have increasingly relied on these types of data services, offered through subscription-based companies, like RealPage.
Landlords who violate the policy can face up to $1,000 in city fines per violation. Tenants can also sue landlords who use this kind of software for up to $1,000 per each violation.
Supporters of the software say it's a tool that helps property managers set profitable rates in a competitive market, while opponents consider it an illegal form of price fixing that keeps rents skyrocketing.
"This ordinance will help even the playing field between landlords and tenants and restore market competition to the rental market, contributing to lower rents and greater housing stability for Portlanders," said Michael Abrams, an attorney with the ACLU of Oregon, testifying before Portland City Council last week.
Click here to read the full story at OPB.
The Portland Mercury: With a Tenuous Ceasefire in Gaza, Portland Councilors Pledge to Investigate the City's Links to Israel
November 14, 2025
By Abe Asher
Last month, the progressive block of the Portland City Council signed onto a pledge to investigate the city's financial ties to Israel and its military. They're calling on city councils across the country to do the same.
The pledge, which was launched by the Portland chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and its four city council members, calls on the city of Portland to investigate whether weapons and surveillance technology used by the Israeli military are being manufactured or transported within the city limits.
It also calls for an investigation of any city investments in or contracts with companies materially contributing to the Israeli occupation of Palestine, as well as any other diplomatic links between the city and the state of Israel.
...
Another of the councilors' arguments was financial: Morillo said that when she was in Washington, D.C., lobbying over the summer for money for infrastructure upgrades in Portland, the US's material support of the Israeli war machine was front of mind.
"Every dollar that is going to bombing and maiming innocent people abroad is a dollar that is not being spent on our infrastructure here at home," Morillo said. "I think that we have a moral and a financial responsibility to ensure that we are using our dollars to make the world better."
Given the state of Congress, the councilors believe it is on them to force the foreign policy and spending changes they want to see.
Read the full story at the Portland Mercury here.
KOIN: ‘He has to find a scapegoat': Councilor Morillo blasts Mayor Wilson over homelessness spending
November 10, 2025
By Aimee Plante, Lisa Balick
On Wednesday, Portland City Council is expected to vote on a budget amendment proposed by Councilor Angelita Morillo that would reroute the city's Impact Reduction Program funds toward housing, food assistance, and immigrant relations.
Click here to see the full story, including video, at KOIN.
The Portland Mercury: City Council Mulling $4.3 Million Cut From Homeless Sweeps Budget
November 7, 2025
By Jeremiah Hayden
"We're in a position right now, where people are going to end up being unhoused for the long-term, and we have to take action," City Councilor Angelita Morillo said, explaining a proposal to divert funds from homeless encampment removal to bolster housing and food assistance.
If passed, a new budget amendment Morillo proposed November 7 would remove over $4.3 million from the city program that sweeps homeless Portlanders.
Morillo submitted the proposal in advance of the Fall Technical Adjustment Ordinance (TAO), an annual process to tweak the city's budget for that fiscal year. The city's $8.6 billion budget went into effect July 1, which allocated $16.7 million toward the Impact Reduction Program (IRP).
"Across the country, and especially in Portland, we're seeing a lot of people suffer under really intense financial constraints," Morillo told the Mercury. "When we saw that the federal government is trying to cut further services by pitting SNAP benefits and food benefits against health care, we knew that we had to take some action locally."
Click here to read the full story at The Portland Mercury.
OPB: Portland councilors will mull policy that would target property owners who lease to detention centers
October 29, 2025
By Alex Zielinski
"This isn't about a specific landlord's actions," she told OPB in an interview. "This is about a type of facility that creates costs for the city and for our taxpayers, and this is simply a policy to mitigate those costs to us."
The fee, which would be determined by the city administrator's office, would pay for any costs tied to the detention center's impact in the neighborhood. According to the draft legislation, those are largely protest-related expenses, like police overtime, environmental cleanup of chemical munitions, and financial support to homes and businesses impacted by "detention facility operations."
The policy also introduces civil penalties for "the release or deposition of chemical residues or other substances beyond the detention facility premises" into the street or neighboring properties.
Click here to read the full story at OPB.
The Oregonian: ‘No Kings' protest against Trump draws 40,000 in Portland
October 19, 2025
By Tatum Todd and Carlos Fuentes
Multiple Portland city councilors took the stage prior to the march to condemn the federal government's actions and encourage Portlanders to continue protesting peacefully. "We need advocates like you to play the outside game," said Angelita Morillo, whose district includes inner Southeast Portland. "What we are seeing in this moment is unprecedented in terms of horrors, but it's also unprecedented in terms of unity."
Click here to read the full story at The Oregonian.
The Portland Mercury: Tens of Thousands March in Portland's No Kings Demonstration
October 19, 2025
By Wm. Steven Humphrey, Taylor Griggs, and Corbin Smith
Participants of Portland's No Kings march met at noon on Waterfront Park at the Battleship Memorial, where local officials and others spoke before a massive crowd. Among the speakers were City Councilors Sameer Kanal and Angelita Morillo, who reminded the crowd that centering the needs of immigrants and other marginalized communities who are being targeted by the administration should be the ultimate goal.
"Immigrants, whether they are citizens, have green cards, or asylum or refugee status, or nothing at all, every single one of them has human rights and the right to due process in this country," Kanal said.
"As the veterans, who are protesting here today, say, ‘The war always comes home,'" Councilor Morillo told the growing crowd. "So when we do not care for our neighbors abroad, and we do not care for our neighbors here, we are always going to be the ones who come next. We have a moral obligation to draw a line in the sand."
Click here to read the full story at The Portland Mercury
KATU: New ordinance strengthens Portland's sanctuary city status amid rising federal enforcement
October 16, 2025
By Jennifer Singh
Portland City Council unanimously approved two proposals late Wednesday night in direct response to what several city council members say is "federal overreach" by the Trump Administration.
"I think that implementation is the oftentimes less sexy, but far more important work that ends up having behind-the-scenes work that leads to long-lasting change," Morillo said.
See the full story at KATU here.
The Oregonian: Portland leaders aim to combat ‘aggressive federal overreach,' bolster city's sanctuary status
October 15, 2025
By Shane Dixon Kavanaugh
The Portland City Council on Wednesday is poised to back a pair of proposals that seek to oppose or limit federal actions targeting Oregon's most populous city amid President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown and attempts to deploy National Guard troops.
Councilors will weigh a sweeping resolution that its sponsors have billed as "a safeguard for Portlanders targeted by the Trump administration's aggressive federal overreach." A separate proposed ordinance scheduled for Wednesday's council meeting would codify the city's sanctuary status as federal law enforcement continues to ramp up its arrests and deportations of undocumented immigrants.
Read the full story at The Oregonian here.
The Oregonian: Portland council member makes CNN anchor laugh with snarky response to Kristi Noem claims
October 10, 2025
By Veronica Nocera
Portland City Council member Angelita Morillo made waves Thursday with her brief but punchy news appearance — even prompting the CNN anchor interviewing her to momentarily shed his neutral on-air persona with a laugh.
Her remarks were in response to a slew of claims by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who during a Wednesday "antifa roundtable" accused Portland officials of covering up terrorism happening in Portland.
Click here to read the full story at The Oregonian.
MSNBC: Oregon sues Trump over plan to deploy National Guard
September 30, 2025
With Katy Tur
Oregon is suing President Trump after he ordered federal troops to the city of Portland. City Councilor Angelita Morillo joins Katy Tur to respond saying, "We need to be a united nation, and this is a president that wants to divide us."
Click here to see the full story.
KATU: Portland City Councilors plan policies to crack down on ICE
September 18, 2025
By Tanvi Varma
Morillo said the first policy is an attempt at disincentivizing landlords from leasing their buildings to ICE in the city, i.e., should a landlord decide to do so, they will have to pay extra fees to the city for the costs the city will incur in cleaning up after protesters or for having extra police around the area.
"We plan on introducing three policies to address ICE and also just in general federal encroachment over our city, and that includes a detention fee for any landlords who are choosing to do contracts to open up new detention center," said Councilwoman Morillo, in an interview with KATU.
Click here to view the whole story on KATU News.
Willamette Week: One Thing Has Changed at Portland City Hall: The Socialists Are Setting the Agenda
July 16, 2025
By Sophie Peel
"The wealthiest people in Portland should be paying more or their fair share in order to make sure all our services that we want continue to function," Morillo says. "If we're doing anything, it's going to be coming from the people who are making the most."
It's little wonder Democrats are nervous. The anxiety travels all the way up to Gov. Tina Kotek, who is trying to undo what the DSA sees as the city's closest thing to a socialist program: Preschool for All.
"We have a council that's not afraid to tax the rich," Morillo says. "There's pressure from the governor's office not to look into any of that, and I think there will be a lot of pushback on her vision."
Click here to read the full story.
Willamette Week: Where Should Oregon Stand Up to Donald Trump?
June 18, 2025
By Anthony Effinger, Asa Gartrell, Joanna Hou, Aaron Mesh, Sophie Peel, and Senya Scott
"The most urgent issue Oregon must stand up to Donald Trump on is immigration: specifically, the federal government's aggressive deportation tactics and the encroachment of ICE and other federal agents into local jurisdictions. People are being displaced and criminalized, and the U.S. continues to fund and support policies that drive global instability, only to punish those who seek refuge here.
"We cannot allow federal agents to terrorize our communities unchecked. We cannot be silent while families are separated, while children grow up in cages, and while Black and Brown immigrants are criminalized simply for existing.
"This is the moral fight of our time, and Oregon must be bold in choosing the side of justice."
Click here to read the full story.
Willamette Week: Police Bureau Amendments Take Up Third of Council's Emergency Budget Session
May 28, 2025
By Sophie Peel
One of Morillo's amendments directs the Portland Police Bureau to use $1 million from its Special Revenue Fund—which mostly comes from asset forfeitures, or collections through both state and federal seizures of money and other assets during arrests and raids—to hire a consultant tasked with researching the "efficacy and effectiveness of law enforcement strategies, programs, practices, or specialized units operating within the jurisdiction."
Morillo's second amendment directs the Police Bureau to explore developing an asset forfeiture fee that could be a flat fee, a tiered fee, or a percentage of the value of each asset seized. That fee—taken out of the total asset value—would flow into the general fund rather than remaining with the Police Bureau.
Morillo argued that allowing police to keep the proceeds of asset forfeitures creates a perverse incentive.
"Asset forfeiture, the seizure of money, property, or other assets by law enforcement in connection with alleged criminal activity, raises significant concerns related to due process, racial equity, and the incentives created when forfeiture revenues flow directly to policing operations," Morillo wrote in her amendment.
Click here to read the full story.
Willamette Week: Portland City Council Diverts $1.9 Million in New Police Funding to Parks
May 22, 2025
By Sophie Peel
Moments before midnight Wednesday, the Portland City Council approved an $8.5 billion preliminary budget. But in the last 20 minutes of the council's nearly 12-hour marathon budget hearing, the discussion went sour.
By the end of the heated debate—right at 11:50 pm—the City Council had voted 7-5 to divert $1.9 million in new funding from the Portland Police Bureau's budget to backfill maintenance cuts at Portland Parks & Recreation.
Click here to read the full story.
KGW: AI-based rent pricing tools could be banned under Portland ordinance
April 2, 2025
By John Adams
A proposed ordinance before the Portland City Council seeks to ban the use of artificial intelligence software in setting rental prices, with supporters arguing that the technology threatens to destabilize the city's housing market.
Tenant advocates and city officials say AI-driven rent pricing tools, such as RealPage, unfairly inflate rental prices, making housing less affordable for low-income residents. Councilor Angelita Morillo, who introduced the ordinance, said the practice harms renters while benefiting large property owners.
Click here to see the full story.
KPTV: Portland looks to ban AI tech used to set rent prices
April 2, 2025
By Makenna Marks
During its meeting on Wednesday, the Portland City Council discussed an ordinance that would amend the existing Affordable Housing Code to ultimately ban the use of artificial intelligence (AI) software to determine rent prices.
The ordinance was introduced in part by Councilor Angelita Morillo, who said 47% of Portlanders are renters. Morillo said this ordinance would help keep rent affordable in Portland and take away price fixing opportunities from corporate landlords.
Click here to see the full story.
KGW: Ordinance that would ban use of AI to set rental rates in Portland passes out of city committee
March 25, 2025
By Tim Gordon
An ordinance that would ban the use of artificial intelligence to set rental rates in Portland passed out of a city council committee Tuesday afternoon.
The ordinance, put forth by District 3 Councilor Angelita Morillo, is meant to combat what she described as high-tech price fixing. Morillo says the ordinance is aimed at large rental companies to keep them from using AI to generate "algorithmic pricing," which can drive up rents across the board.
Click here to see the full story.
Teen Vogue: Democrats Voting for Trump’s Immigration Policy Should Be Ashamed, Says Portland City Councilor Angelita Morillo
February 24, 2025
"In response to my video, I received an influx of praise from Oregonians, grateful to anyone for speaking out. I also received backlash from well-connected party insiders and politicians, displeased that I wasn’t “holding the party line.”
To the old guard, “holding the line” means massaging the egos of powerful people within your party, even when they vote to harm vulnerable communities. These politicos finger wag at young leftists, and insist our leaders allow us to sacrifice certain communities to keep their seats, even as our institutions crumble before us.
With fascism on the rise, Democrats need a new vision for holding the line."
Willamette Week: Portlanders Protest Elon Musk's Federal Employee Firing Spree
February 24, 2025
U.S. Rep. Maxine Dexter and Portland City Councilor Angelita Morillo spoke at the rally.
The Portland Mercury: New Housing Committee Takes on Portland's Affordability Crisis
February 14, 2025
"I'll be bringing forward a policy to ban artificial intelligence rental price fixing …and to make it stronger than I think we're seeing being passed at the state level," Morillo told her colleagues during the first Housing and Homelessness Committee meeting Tuesday.
"I think that Portland is an ambitious city. We've got a lot of renters, and we can do that there."
Four Councilors refer Zenith Energy resolution to full Council for February 19
February 12, 2024
Councilors Mitch Green, Angelita Morillo, Jamie Dunphy and Tiffany Koyama Lane will introduce a resolution regarding Zenith Energy. Under City Code 3.02.020, the item is referred to the full Council by four Councilors instead of being referred by a Committee.
Read Full Resolution Here: Four Councilors refer Zenith Energy resolution to full Council for February 19 | Portland.gov
Oregonian: Portland City Council members aim to wrestle back control over Zenith from city staff
February 1, 2025
"Our role as elected officials is to be watchdogs on policy decisions that are coming before us," Morillo told The Oregonian/OregonLive. "The public deserves, we deserve, to have all of the information in front of us before we make a decision on granting (a land-use credential)."
"And right now," Morillo said, "it doesn't feel like the evidence in front of us is very clear."
Bike Portland: Councilor Morillo wants SE Cesar Chavez Blvd safety concerns on transportation committee agenda
January 31, 2025
"Thiet and their family deserve better. I saw that news story last week and I plan to work with PBOT to bring this to the Transportation and Infrastructure committee to see what safety changes can be made to the entire strip. Thank you for continuing to highlight these issues and honoring the lives taken from us too soon."
Bike Portland: Clark, Morillo tapped to lead Portland City Council transportation committee
January 14, 2025
If the committees pass as posted to the agenda, Councilor Morillo could also play a leading role in another committee that will loom large on BikePortland: the Climate, Resilience, and Land Use Committee. Morillo is listed as co-chair of that committee with Councilor Steve Novick. Other proposed members include Candace Avalos, Dan Ryan and Sameer Kanal.
OPB: Portland and Multnomah County will open 2 overnight shelters next week
January 3, 2025
"It's going to be a lot of people who have endured a lot of trauma being put together in one space overnight, which can often be a very difficult time for them," said Councilor Angelita Morillo
KATU: City Councilors-elect for Portland's Third District
December 8, 2024
PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — Portland's new city government gets underway in just a few weeks.
KATU wants you to know who's representing you.
City Councilors in Districts One and Two appeared on this program last month. Today, we hear from the newly elected leaders in Portland's District Three.
Two of the Portland City Councilors-elect will represent District Three, which includes parts of northeast Portland and inner southeast Portland.
Oregonian: Readers respond: Thumbs up for Morillo, new City Council
November 6, 2024
I am 86 years old, so I have voted in many elections. As soon as I became a voter, I started on a long career of volunteering on a favorite candidate's campaign. I moved to Portland in 2009 and was shocked to find that a city the size of Portland had only five city councilors. Not only were they expected to represent everybody (which they couldn't do), but they also were expected to oversee several bureaus (whether they knew anything about them or not).
So, I am very excited about Portland's transition to a representative council of 12 members and a city manager, and that we get to choose our district's three councilors by ranked-choice voting. And I was able to cast my top vote in District 3 for an amazing young person to represent me: Angelita Morillo, who already has an impressive number of accomplishments, including in local government service and in advocating for the food, housing and other needs of people in our community.