Watch Portland's swearing-in ceremony
Portland officially welcomed 14 elected leaders to their new jobs Thursday in a ceremony fit for a graduation, celebrating an historic transition set in motion two years ago by voters.
More than 700 guests filled the Newmark Theatre in downtown Portland to watch the event, which featured speeches, music and joyous celebration. Justice Darleen Ortega of the Oregon Court of Appeals administered the oath of office to incoming Mayor Keith Wilson, re-elected Auditor Simone Rede and 12 city councilors – three for each of Portland’s four new geographic districts.
“Portland has reached a long-awaited moment of transformation and promise,” Wilson said. “Our city government has been reimagined, embodying the best of our innovation and values.”
Before the event, newly elected officials participated in photo shoots and media interviews. As they walked onto the stage, audience members rose to their feet, whooping and calling out their future leaders’ names.
A backdrop was emblazoned with a symbolic phrase: “It’s a New Day in Portland.” That theme echoed throughout remarks, as leaders reflected on “firsts” – both the identities they bring to city hall, and Portland’s transition to a new form of government.
“Together we have declared that our voices matter, that our needs cannot be ignored, and that our city must truly work for everyone. I pledge today to fight for the resources, representation and reforms that East Portland deserves,” said District 1 Councilor Candace Avalos, who served on the Charter Commission that launched this transformation.
In November 2022, Portland voters overwhelmingly approved the group’s recommendation to elect leaders using ranked-choice voting, expand the city council and establish geographic districts. They also changed the way city government runs. Going forward, an executive mayor and city administrator will oversee operations, while the council passes legislation and connects with community members.
Even positive change brings challenges, Ortega told Portland’s leaders before swearing them into their new positions.
“A truly diverse leadership space complicates governing. That’s a good thing,” Ortega said. “Because if we are really making space for a variety of perspectives, it is more likely that our decisions will take into account more of what is actually true – rather than satisfy the few with the most power and influence.”
Welcoming new leaders marks the finish line of a two-year sprint to prepare for Portland’s new city government. Independent commissions developed geographic districts and set elected officials’ salaries. City hall got a major renovation, which was unveiled this week. A voter education campaign prepared Portlanders for their first election using ranked-choice voting.
City staff also developed a new organizational structure, grouping bureaus in “service areas” that work together to deliver services and solve problems. Since July the City has tested the new structure, providing a sneak preview of Portland’s future.
Mayor Ted Wheeler, who is wrapping up eight years in office, told new leaders he is confident they’re ready for this moment.
“We have the creativity, the grit and the determination to overcome whatever challenges may come your way,” Wheeler said. “What we need, and what I’m asking of our community as a whole, is to believe. To embrace Portland as what it is: a city with the tools, the talent and the tenacity to get it right.”
City Council District 1
Candace Avalos
Together we have declared that our voices matter, that our needs cannot be ignored, and that our city must truly work for everyone. I pledge today to fight for the resources, representation and reforms that East Portland deserves. I pledge to center the voices of those too often left out of the conversation – and I pledge to lead with integrity, collaboration and an unshakable belief in the power of our community. This is our moment to reimagine what's possible, so let's make history together.
Jamie Dunphy
East Portland is filled with amazing, hardworking people who just want tomorrow to be a little bit better than yesterday was. After 20 years of working in public service, I'm so excited to be able to give those folks a voice and ensure that East Portland is never forgotten again. This next City Council will meet the challenges of the day; we will make meaningful progress on homelessness, and housing, and addiction and mental illness. We will also build this place into a place that everybody can be proud of. I love Portland and I am proud to call this place my home, and we are going to fight to make sure that everybody who lives here knows exactly why they choose to live here.
Loretta Smith
The reason why I'm here today is because I have a lot of strong women in my family […] but most importantly – the reason why I ran – was because of [my grandchildren]. I want them to live in a city that works for everybody. I want to make sure that they're not just surviving here in the City of Portland, I want them to thrive. I want them to think and know and believe in everything that they know to be true, that they can do anything in this city. Representation does matter. And so today, as you see, we are well represented.
City Council District 2
Sameer Kanal
None of us do anything alone, and I won't try to do this alone. I pledge to work with the people on this stage to build a city that listens because all of us up here – we work for you. You deserve a government that works for you and listens to you. You're entitled to be heard by your elected leaders. You have a right to see policy decisions reflect your values, your aspirations and the policy outcomes that you want to see.
Elana Pirtle-Guiney
Councilors-elect, we have an opportunity. But we must keep our heads up. As we face crisis after crisis – and we certainly will – we will want to put our heads down to dive into the immediate work and plow ahead. But we have an opportunity to build Portland’s future. To address those crises while we look ahead. We can build a Portland where our kids see opportunity, where every single Portlander can see themselves right here in the future leading our great city.
Dan Ryan
I've been reconfiguring myself a lot the last month, to move into this councilor-elect position, and I'm so enjoying the onboarding with all of you. My hope is that all of us will remember those conversations we had on porches, in parks and on sidewalks this past campaign. We had more opportunity to get out and talk to people, and for me it reminded me that this position is supposed to be nonpartisan.
City Council District 3
Tiffany Koyama Lane
I feel so honored to be making history alongside Councilor Sameer Kanal, as the first two Asian Americans to ever serve on Portland City Council. […] I plan to bring my lived experiences, and my values, and the different hats I wear with me into office. I'm a working mom; my kids are here. I'm a public school teacher. I am Yonsei – fourth generation Japanese American. I'm a community organizer, and I am a champion for my students, their families, and the working class.
Angelita Morillo
Portland has the opportunity to establish a new government that's going to last us the next 100 years or so – and to have voices at the table that we've never had before. It's not enough for us to just change the messengers without changing the message. Every person in the audience who is here today helped us get here in one way or another. Whether you worked on a campaign, you supported a partner or family member, you donated, you voted, you helped to shape our new form of government: City Hall is here for you, and we are here to serve you. As we enter a new era of Trump ascending to power, we have the opportunity to do politics in a different way; to bring the most disenfranchised people to the halls of power and to bring them into our decision-making spaces.
Steve Novick
I ask Portlanders to remember that this is a team that hasn't played together before. But it's a team committed to making Portland a championship city once again, and I think we have the talent to do it. After all, we have a model to follow. In 1974, the Portland Trail Blazers lost 55 games and won just 27. Three years later, they were champions of the world. So, in the names of Bill Walton, Maurice Lucas, Lionel Hollins, Bobby Gross, Dave Twardzik, Larry Steele and Lloyd Neal: let's do it.
Let us pledge that three years from now, another championship banner will hang from the rafters and we will all once again be able to say, in the immortal words of the Go Go's, “this town is our town. This town is so glamorous. Bet you’d live here if you could and be one of us.”
City Council District 4
Olivia Clark
Thank you to all the people that responded to my requests for assistance, for help, for getting me here. Now we're at the threshold of something so important I'm going to ask you for one more thing. I’m going to invite you all to close your eyes; to close your eyes and to smile. And to send everyone on this dais your wish, your hope, a kind word, or a blessing. Close your eyes and send us strength, courage, humility and compassion – to do what is needed for our beloved community of Portland. Send us your kind words that we fulfill this awesome responsibility, with wisdom and goodwill. And as you do this – eyes closed or not – at the very least wish us good luck.
Mitch Green
For Portland's first 173 years, this government was the product and reflection of an economic development program that concentrated wealth and power in the hands of just a few rich white men. And for all that accumulation of wealth, we're left with a city that is too expensive to live in unless you have multiple people with multiple incomes. Too expensive to raise a family in. And too expensive to age in place. We lack basic infrastructure – many of our roads and sidewalks just haven't been built. And we have an inadequate public health system that leaves our most vulnerable people suffering on the streets.
But I'm looking around and I see that's about to change; I'm honored to join this brilliant group of leaders ready to write a new history for Portland, where we go big and build the public goods that we deserve. To allow working class families to thrive, to preserve our urban forests and have the courage to protect our neighborhoods some dangers that fossil fuel infrastructure poses.
Charter reform was a gift to our city by an exhausted electorate, who in the face of crisis said, “okay fine, Portland, you get one more shot.” So, to the mayor, my fellow councilors: let's not squander that gift. Let's show this city we can still do big things, and let’s go.
Eric Zimmerman
I heard recently that you shouldn't work hard at something that you're not already naturally drawn to, if you're just going to be average. Instead, work hard at who you already are so that you're great. And when I think about Portland, while we have so much in front of us, Portland doesn't need a reimagining. Portland needs to be great at who we are. I think this council represents who we already are, and I think it's time that we get to work.
City Auditor Simone Rede
Who we are matters, and I'm proud to bring my lived experience and that of my ancestors to this important role. I stand ready to continue my office's mission of open and accountable government. I'm here to carry on a legacy of performance auditing that was brought to you by the late Jewel Beck Lansing, who was an early advocate for transparency and empowered my office to dig deep into city spending, looking beyond compliance and into policy outcomes. Being directly elected by the people of Portland means that my office meets the highest mark for accountability. That allows us to do our work objectively.
I am honored to continue working with you, and I look forward to leading our office through an unprecedented era of change – one that will require vigilance and trust from within and without city government. Portlanders are counting on us to realize their vision of a more just and representative government. And to the newly elected mayor and councilors: I look forward to delivering on these promises with your leadership. I’m confident that we'll make Portland a place where everyone can thrive.
Mayor Keith Wilson
This election – which drew supporters from every walk of life – represented an important step in rebuilding our community and our togetherness. Rebuilding that togetherness requires trust. To honor that trust we must restore a sense of personal safety to the public. We must share burdens and prosperity equitably across our city. Our neighbors must once again trust that the sweat and savings they put into purchasing a car, or buying a home, or starting a new business will be protected by a local government that won't tolerate break-ins, theft and vandalism.
Rebuilding togetherness requires connection. That means riding transit together, working, making, and creating together. Sharing streets between cars and bicycles and gathering freely in public parks and our plazas. We're not a city of gated communities, we're a city of block parties and shared gardens. We're a city that protests injustice and celebrates diversity. Rebuilding togetherness means we must all play by the same rules again.