Bookseller, publisher, writer, and activist Chloe Eudaly was only the eighth woman to be elected to Portland City Council in its over 100-year history. Before taking her seat on Council, Commissioner Eudaly was the owner and operator of the independent press bookshop, Reading Frenzy (est. 1994), the founder of Show & Tell Press, and the co-founder of the Independent Publishing Resource Center, a maker space for self-publishers currently located in SE Portland. Born and raised in the Metro region, she attended Tigard High School, Metropolitan Learning Center (MLC), and Portland Community College; she's called Portland proper her home since 1988.
Commissioner Eudaly came of age as an activist during the first Gulf War and has been involved in a variety of social, economic, and environmental justice causes ever since. For over a decade, she has devoted much of her time and energy to advocating for disability rights, with a focus on school and community inclusion. In 2015, she created and administrated an online group devoted to exploring gentrification, displacement, affordable housing and tenants' rights, called The Shed which quickly drew 2000+ members and became a hub for information and resources and a springboard for local activism. It was her involvement in this group and the larger housing advocacy community that inspired her to run for City Council in 2016. Commissioner Eudaly took office in January of 2017 and created and passed two landmark renter protection policies in her time on Council, the Mandatory Rental Relocation Ordinance and the Fair Access In Renting (FAIR) Ordinance.
Commissioner Eudaly served as the Commissioner in Charge of the Office of Community & Civic Life from January 2017 to December 2020, the Bureau of Development Services from January 2017 to September 2018, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) from September 2018 to December 2020, and the Office of Community Technology from October 2020 to December 2020. She also served as liaison to the Regional Arts & Culture Council and managed the Arts Portfolio from September 2018 to December 2020.