End Unsheltered Homelessness
As mayor, my primary focus is ending unsheltered homelessness in Portland by providing enough nighttime walk-in emergency shelters to take in every unsheltered person in Portland. Nighttime emergency shelters provide safety, security, shelter and sleep, and work in tandem with daytime resources to assess individual needs, connect with services and permanently help our neighbors off the streets.
This model, based on previously successful efforts from around the world, can rapidly scale into underutilized city and private facilities, driving costs down and ending unsheltered camping. The humanitarian crisis on our streets impedes our progress as a City at every turn, and I will work with all of our partners to address it with the necessary urgency.
Restore Public Safety, Health and Confidence
Our unsheltered homeless — less than a single percent of our population — are responsible for tying up half of our police and fire resources. It’s unsustainable, and these critical services have been strained to the breaking point. Cost-effective sheltering will quickly bring our overextended resources back under control and allow our first responders to get back to the job at hand, including keeping our streets, parks and trails safe for everyone, ending open-air drug use and reducing gun violence in our communities.
Rapidly Expand Affordable Housing
Meeting Portland’s housing goals will require a ‘strike team’ with unprecedented access and authority to remove barriers and eliminate the delays that stagnate critical permitting. Between incentives, federal development funds, and local reform, we’ll supercharge affordable housing and empower residential developers to do what they do best.
Make Local Government Smarter and More Effective
Drawing inspiration from the groundbreaking success of LEANOhio and similar initiatives, I’ll bring leading innovation practices back to Portland. We’ll return to the civic culture and commitment that made us extraordinary, once more living up to the promise of The City that Works.
Make Portland a Climate Leader
Our city wants to lead the nation in green tech and climate adaptation. It’s time to end black carbon greenhouse gas pollution in Portland by phasing out petroleum diesel in favor of lower cost, higher performance renewable diesel. Additionally, between federal grants, state rebates and credits, and the plunging cost of high-capacity battery technology, there has never been a better time to convert Portland’s vehicle fleet to electric power. Electric truck rebates and our existing charging infrastructure will significantly reduce the operating cost per vehicle while protecting our rivers and skies.