This morning City Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney and Councilor Steve Novick released a poll in which DHM Research asked 600 Portlanders for their thoughts on the tough budget choices facing the Council and the Mayor. The poll focused on the General Fund, which primarily funds police, fire, smaller public safety programs, parks & rec, and homeless services. Portlanders were asked which of those broad categories they prioritized most, but most of the poll focused on more specific trade-offs, both between and within those service areas.
“All of us politicians, bless our hearts, like to think we know where the public stands on the issues we’re working on,” said Novick. “But when it came to the tough choices we have to make in this budget – on many of which we are torn ourselves – President Pirtle-Guiney and I realized we should not presume we know where Portlanders stand. So we thought we’d just ask them. Now, as we move into budget crunch time, we’ll have the benefit of knowing what a representative sample of Portlanders thinks about some of the trade-offs.”
Pirtle-Guiney said that “this City Council is committed to better engaging Portlanders in our work. When we do, people are willing to stand with us and make hard choices. We had a “don’t know” option on many questions and Portlanders could have said, all these choices are terrible, I can’t choose. But most people, on most issues, were willing to make the tough call.”
Pirtle-Guiney added: “Councilor Novick and I look forward to discussing these results with our colleagues in the coming days.”
Contact Information:
Natalie Sept
natalie.sept2@portlandoregon.gov
Spencer Knowles
spencer.knowles@portlandoregon.gov
Poll Memo: