Since taking office in January of 2025, our team has worked tirelessly to deliver a better quality of life for all Portlanders. From championing major ordinances like algorithmic rent fixing and detention center restrictions, to small but meaningful changes in the way our government works, Councilor Morillo has been at the forefront of getting things done for working families. Below, you'll find highlights of the work we've done to build a safer, more resilient Portland that truly lives up to its values.
Parks and Environment
Protecting Parks in the City Budget: During Spring 2025 budget talks, Councilor Morillo introduced and successfully passed a number of amendments to restore a funding gap of over $7 million in the Parks maintenance budget. These efforts averted layoffs and ensured that Portland Parks will continue to be cleaned and repaired.
Climate and Fossil Fuel Accountability (Zenith Energy): In one of the new Council's earliest environmental actions, Councilor Morillo took a lead role in scrutinizing Zenith Energy, the controversial oil terminal in NW Portland. She co-authored and was chief sponsor of a Council resolution demanding transparency and possible enforcement against Zenith's operations. The resolution directed Mayor Wilson to pause any city permits or approvals for Zenith until a thorough investigation of its franchise agreement and land-use compliance was complete. It also urged the City Auditor to report on irregular staff handling of Zenith's permits, after evidence surfaced of unpermitted facility modifications and a suspect 2022 land use approval.
Developing a Fiscally Responsible Parks Levy: Councilor Morillo co-sponsored the measure that will refer the Parks Levy to voters. She advocated and secured buy-in for a levy figure that would maintain parks services and responsibly invest in capital maintenance instead of expanding Parks to the point of overreach (leading to layoffs and park shutdowns).
Supporting Parks Bathrooms and Maintenance: Councilor Morillo secured nearly $500,000 to ensure that public park bathroom facilities are repaired, reopened, and compliant with accessibility requirements.
Advancing Electrification and Energy Alternatives: As Co-Chair of the Climate Committee, Councilor Morillo has directed discussions on strategies to transition Portland's buildings, vehicles, and energy grid away from fossil fuels. The Councilor is preparing legislation to advance electrification and decarbonization.
Ensuring Portland is Climate Resilient (ongoing): Councilor Morillo has engaged extensively with stakeholders and experts on the development of the City's key climate and land use plans, ensuring that City officials embrace strategies to preserve and expand Portland's tree canopy (Urban Forest Plan), ensure disaster preparedness/declining reliance on fossil fuels (CEI Hub Policy Project), build a Portland that prioritizes both small business and climate (Economic Opportunities Analysis and Comprehensive Plan), and prioritize environmental protection while ensuring that Portlanders remain eligible for reduced-cost flood insurance (FEMA Floodplain Process). Morillo's engagement has resulted in meaningful change in all of these plans and processes.
Protecting Climate Justice Funding (ongoing): Councilor Morillo is preparing legislation to require clearer reporting of Portland Clean Energy Fund dollar utilization within city bureaus. This will support continued public buy-in into PCEF and ensure voter-approved funds are protected from misuse.
Housing and Homelessness
Fighting Corporate Rental Price Fixing: Councilor Morillo raised housing affordability by introducing Portland's first ordinance to ban rent-setting algorithms used by corporate landlords to coordinate prices and inflate rents. This positioned Portland at the forefront nationally in stopping "high-tech cartels" that "drive every opportunity to increase prices" for Portland renters. The ordinance will return to Council for passage in October 2025.
Removing Barriers to Housing and Small Business Development: Along with Councilor Dunphy, Councilor Morillo sponsored a package of reforms to make permitting faster, easier, and less costly. The package pauses mandates that slow residential and small business development, lowering costs and accelerating the production of hundreds of homes and businesses. Councilor Morillo will work with Councilor Dunphy to continue this effort and introduce additional code reforms in the coming months.
Pressing the Mayor on Shelter–Housing Gaps: In oversight hearings, Councilor Morillo raised concerns that the mayor's 1,500-bed shelter plan treated shelters as an end in themselves rather than part of a housing continuum. She pushed back that the plan lacked eviction defense and rehousing supports, reflecting neither what staff had flagged as bottlenecks nor what the community said it needed. The Councilor is continuing to engage in regular oversight work to ensure that shelters are not a revolving door but instead a path to permanent housing.
Eviction Prevention Funding: During Spring Budget deliberations, Councilor Morillo introduced an amendment to redirect funds for one (of over 20!) homeless camp "sweep" team into keeping people housed through emergency rental assistance. This action was narrowly defeated but brought prevention into the center of the homelessness debate, particularly given that the Councilor's warning that the State of Oregon will meaningfully cut rental assistance was proven correct within a week. The Councilor is continuing to work at the State and local levels to secure this funding, including by ensuring that such funding is a top lobbying priority for the City during the upcoming legislative session.
Supporting Housing Development and Policy Oversight: Councilor Morillo supported a reform to the City's System Development Charges (SDCs), making it easier for new residential housing developments to secure funding and cross the finish line, creating affordable homes for Portlanders. The Councilor earned unanimous support for her effort to ensure that the Executive Branch provide regular reporting on the impact of SDC reforms, to track whether Council changes are meaningfully attacking the housing crisis.
Advocating for Social Housing and Fair Rent (ongoing): Councilor Morillo is collaborating with Councilor Green to substantially expand Portland's housing supply while developing innovative, economically sound models of ownership. They are also evaluating measures to ensure fairer rents for both residential and commercial renters.
Infrastructure and Economy
Supporting Vision Zero and Safe Streets: As Vice-Chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Councilor Morillo continues to fight for safer streets. In May 2025, she co-sponsored a resolution reaffirming Portland's commitment to Vision Zero, the goal of eliminating traffic deaths. The T&I Committee unanimously advanced the resolution, which requires the Portland Bureau of Transportation to expedite its implementation of Vision Zero.
Securing Transportation Funding: At a time of crisis in transportation funding, Councilor Morillo worked with several Councilors to ensure key transportation services (including pothole and streetlight repairs) remain funded by increasing a fee on Uber and Lyft services. This fee supporting street maintenance and safety will begin to offset the infrastructure costs of these services, ensuring that companies like Uber and Lyft pay their share.
Supporting City Vibrancy: During the 2025/2026 budget process, Councilor Morillo worked closely with Councilor Green and other colleagues to secure:
- $1 million for the James Beard Public Market, a key downtown economic and cultural project
- $200k for Portland Center Stage, ensuring stability for Portland's flagship theater
Leading Sanitation Advocacy: Councilor Morillo has been appointed as the Portland representative on the Regional Waste Advisory Committee (RWAC) where she has been consistently advocating for reduced waste rates for Portlanders.
Public Safety
Expanding Portland Street Response (PSR): Councilor Morillo in collaboration with Councilor Kanal and Avalos developed and passed a resolution that confirmed the importance of PSR's unarmed crisis response and helped secure budget protections and policy changes so more calls are answered with care instead of force. The Councilor's resolution ensures that PSR is designated as an equal branch of Portland's public safety system and guaranteed certain funding and staff support.
Police Oversight: In the 2025/2026 budget process, Councilor Morillo sponsored a successful budget amendment to direct $1 million of asset forfeiture funds toward independent evaluations of Portland Police Bureau Programs and "data-driven" policing initiatives. This effort will use research techniques to figure out which police programs are effective, improving transparency and aligning police work with community needs.
Police Reform: In the 2025/2026 budget process, Councilor Morillo worked with colleagues to:
- Impose regulations on Police Bureau overtime, ensuring that limited overtime funds support community needs, not heightened presence at peaceful protests
- Create a "set-aside" of over $2 million to support hiring for public safety positions (like Portland Street Response).
- Reassign non-emergency welfare check calls to unarmed responders, saving funds and ensuring officers focus on core public safety priorities.
Privacy Oversight: The Councilor is working with State and Federal legislators to conduct oversight of and develop robust regulation governing companies like Flock that are using networks of cameras facilitate violations of civil liberties.
Good Governance
Budget Process Reforms: Councilor Morillo spearheaded a package of "good governance" amendments during the 2025/2026 budget process to improve fiscal transparency and Council oversight of bureaus. All of her proposals passed with near-unanimous support. Key reforms include:
- Restoring the City Budget Office's traditional role of providing rigorous analysis of bureau budgets (after it had been curtailed under the new government structure).
- Establishing Council oversight of the Mayor's "enterprise efficiencies" initiative to ensure cost-cutting measures don't lead to unnecessary layoffs or loss of public services (i.e., outsourcing and loss of state capacity).
- Mandating better information sharing between the Executive and Legislative branches of Portland government and creating standardized budget documents to ensure transparency and easy accessibility for the public.
Elections and Civic Engagement Support: To strengthen local democracy, Councilor Morillo fought to fully fund Portland's Small Donor Election Program, securing over $800,000 for the program. This program amplifies the impact of small, grassroots donations and acts as the City's response to the influx of big money in elections.
Expanded public voice in budgeting: Councilor Morillo raised public involvement by hosting numerous District 3 budget town halls and championing accessibility.
Immigrant Rights and Portland as Sanctuary City
Councilor Morillo has been a leading voice on defending Portland's status as a Sanctuary City. She is currently:
- Engaging with countless community groups and activists as well as government entities to navigate issues such as reconsideration of the ICE facility permit.
- Preparing and collaborating on legislation pertaining to masking, detention, and data privacy (a key tool deployed by entities endeavoring to violate Portland Sanctuary policy)
