I made a promise to someone that I wouldn't tell her story until I see it through her eyes, but I can tell you that our current system is beyond broken. This isn't a problem Portlanders have shown that they know how to fix. We need accountability, transparency, and experts to come in and review our current system before we make additional changes.
In the meantime, don't make our neighbors without permanent addresses go unseen. Every Portlander deserves to be visible, and a smile or wave can go a long way.
The missing piece in pretty much the entirety of Portland's current struggles with its budget-funded programs, public resources, and elected officials is accountability, and the information that is out there often isn't easy for the layperson to find nor understand.
Public safety is a complex issue with many unclear and hazy gray areas that need to be reviewed before we tear down the parts that are present to rebuild anything. An in-depth cost-benefit analysis needs to be completed for all current programs and hypothesized prior any proposed budget changes. Portland also is and should always be a city for all, and we can't let that vision fall by the wayside via discounting the concerns its citizens have about our current policies and programs.
I don't think I need to explain why, but we need to ensure that all of our neighbors are safe. This means no new ICE facilities, enforcing current restrictions and imposing new ones as appropriate, holding ICE personnel legally responsible for their actions, and ensuring that Portland remains a sanctuary city.
Police response times are too long, and crisis intervention trainings need to focus more on mental health and neurodivergent conditions, assisting victims in domestic disputes, and additional de-escalation techniques. The budget needs to be unveiled for the public free of jargon and with a cost-benefit analysis attached.
I will say from personal experience that I have met more compassionate and ethical police officers here than in any other town or city in this country, but we all know that the bar still needs to be raised.
We live in Portland. Sustainability should be at the forefront of the majority of our decisions. When you review AQI reports, Portland consistently makes it into the top 50 cleanest cities in the world. I say we aim to keep moving up that list, especially considering how fragile our environments, internally, locally, and worldwide, are.
We're living in unprecedented times right now where most of the country, Portland included, is one missed paycheck away from an eviction, foreclosure, repossession, you name it. Our city council, the mayor, and other local government officials need to be cognizant of this in how we approach problems and spend the city's budget.
This includes ensuring that each city councilor's personal office budget is in line with national standards and that, at the end of each financial or calendar year as appropriate, any remaining moneys are returned to the city for use elsewhere.
When it comes to investing in our city, we need to not only consider the money we're allocating to certain places, but we need to look at the money, community, and buy-in we're getting back. If we're not willing to invest in the places, people, and properties in Portland that make this city what it is today and what Portlanders want it to be in the future, what are we investing in?
I'm going to be as succinct as possible here; a lack of accessible mental health treatment and easily gained education is the root cause of or one of the largest contributing factors in many issues our country, state, counties, and city face. The statistics speak for themselves, and efforts to resolve these issues have yielded fewer results than we should be seeing for the investments made.
A person in an unstopped mental health crisis creates a much larger drain on our system. As city councilor, it would be my job to help allocate funding to programs that are shown to consistently produce net positive results and to put accountability measures in place for all public services and nonprofits that receive funding related to mental health from the city.
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