Portland City Council holds final meeting under old form of government

It’s the end of Portland City Council as we know it, with Mayor Ted Wheeler as the head of the legislative branch.

“I will be the last mayor in the history of this city to preside over the Portland City Council,” said Wheeler. “I’ll be honest with you. I think that’s good. The mayor should never have been the presiding officer of the city council.”

Portland will shift from a commission form of government established in 1913 to a mayor-council form of government with a city manager in the new year.

Mayor-elect Keith Wilson and the new 12-member city council will be sworn in tomorrow and take office on Jan. 1, 2025.

On Wednesday, Wheeler spoke candidly about what he’s most proud of during his term.

“Crime is down. Economic activity is up. Livability issues are being addressed,” he said.

Commissioner Rene Gonzalez, who lost his race for mayor to Wilson, said there are some big problems the new city council will have to tackle.

“We’ve also underinvested in public safety for a generation and that’s manifesting itself in slow 911 response times from police and at times a sense of lack of safety in the City of Portland,” he said.

Both agree the new form of government, with more council members representing each district and the mayor functioning separately, has some advantages.

“The mayor should be working with the executive branch. The city council should be separate from the executive branch, focusing on legislation and constituent services,” said Wheeler.

Both think separating the two branches provides more opportunities to focus on problems by neighborhood.

“To be tied into specific districts is an advantage that we just didn’t have under the existing form,” said Gonzalez.

Wheeler thinks the new system will be more successful in solving the existing problems of fentanyl and homelessness.

“You have a city administrator. You have a team of deputy city administrators working collaboratively with all 26 of our bureau directors to get things done that the public wants done,” he said.

Gonzalez is skeptical, saying the relationship between the city and county needs to be a priority first.

“I think that division of labor is problematic,” he said.

Mayor-elect Wilson and the 12 new city council members will be sworn in on Thursday.
https://katu.com/news/local/portland-city-council-holds-final-meeting-under-old-form-of-government-keith-wilson-mayor-politics-new-year-meeting-chambers

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News post in at: December 20, 2024, 3:00 am.

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