Council candidates answer our nine questions

Written responses put incumbents and leading challenger on the map

Clockwise from upper left: Eli Arnold, Mitch Green, Eric Zimmerman and Olivia Clark.

The NW Examiner asked for brief written answers from District 4 candidates. Below are their responses.

1. Does the city’s neighborhood program, Office of Community & Civic Life, need a different place in the city’s organizational chart? It’s now placed under the City Administrator, where its unique role in supporting independent citizen participation depends on the discretion of one official.

Regardless of where the Office of Community & Civic Life is on an organizational chart, neighborhoods and neighborhood associations are too important for one person to propose and implement major changes without oversight. That means consideration of the proposed changes by the City Council.

Eli Arnold

Yes. I think the neighborhood program should exist as an office that reports directly to the council president to create a closer connection to constituent services and policy making.

Mitch Green

Keeping it in the city administrator’s office means less interference by council offices. Moving it and the neighborhood program to council operations leaves it vulnerable to the influence of councilors who might be tempted to leverage it during a campaign. Rest assured that I will remain a strong neighborhood association advocate.

Olivia Clark

The bureau needs significant leadership. That’s why I am supportive of the direct leadership and accountability of that bureau to the city administrator while they work out the old culture that tried to dissolve neighborhood associations and has not produced a meaningful community engagement program in years.

Eric Zimmerman

2. What changes are needed in the city charter? How soon should such changes be brought to the voters?

I would recommend moving to an odd number of single-member districts. This would provide better geographic representation. For example, no District 4 councilor currently lives in the northwest or southeast portion of the district. At a minimum, such a change should be proposed during the regular charter review.

Eli Arnold

The charter needs two amendments: Strike reference to Prosper Portland from the charter. The city should have the option to reconfigure its economic development agency at any time. The charter should be amended to facilitate reform of the Fire and Police Disability and Retirement system so we can move to an actuarial-based system for the legacy retirees.

Mitch Green

Reduce the number of councilors, give the mayor a vote and the veto and either remove ranked-choice voting or drop the peculiar Portland “single-transferable-vote” system. Normally, charter evaluation happens every 10 years but could be sooner. Let’s give it two more years to settle in.

Olivia Clark

I think reducing the size of the council to eight is appropriate and keeps elected representatives accountable to the majority of their district. The mayor should serve as the presiding officer with at least a tie-breaking vote on all matters. Any changes must be voter approved.

Eric Zimmerman

3. Should Portland Street Response remain a separate agency, or can mental-health incidents be handled better through the Portland Police Bureau’s own Behavioral Health Response Team?

Street Response can remain a separate agency, though coordination between PPB’s behavioral health responders, Project Respond, and PSR needs to improve. If PSR is going to meaningfully assist in handling call load, we need to work on improving their utility.

Eli Arnold

PSR should remain separate and independent.

Mitch Green

PSR should be under the Police Bureau to better coordinate with the bureau’s Behavior Health Response Team and the city’s emergency response system. When PSR was created, it should have been part of the police bureau, but politics sent it to the Fire Bureau.

Olivia Clark

We have a serious issue on our streets and in our communities with mental health issues. PSR, like BHRT, has a place within our emergency response system. I don’t have a problem with PSR being its own agency, insofar as it is integrated as part of our emergency response system.

Eric Zimmerman

4. What will you do to curtail severance payouts to former bureau managers? Can nondisclosure agreements covering managers be banned or limited?

The issuing of golden parachutes needs to end. No one else in the city—nor in the private sector—receives such generous payments on the way out the door. I’ll work with the rest of the council to implement a plan to address this excess.

Eli Arnold

I have indicated to the city attorney that I want this practice ended and the use of NDAs as part of separation discontinued. I have indicated my willingness to bring forward a policy that curtails the practice. He has assured me that he shares my interest. I’m ready to bring a policy if he doesn’t lead on this.

Mitch Green

This is an administrative issue. Current City Administrator Raymond Lee inherited this situation as it was written in contracts. It is a vestige of the initial acting city administrator’s implementation of charter change.

Olivia Clark

The mayor and administrator are responsible for the hiring and firing of our senior employees. During transition we have seen significant turnover. I expect as the permanent officials are hired, we will see a reduction of this practice and become more aligned with other cities across the country.

Eric Zimmerman

5. Should people be allowed to camp in the public right-of-way if they decline available shelter?

We cannot allow street camping. We have an obligation to provide emergency shelter, but not to tolerate illegal camps in front of our homes and businesses. We are not helping people struggling with mental health issues or addiction when we allow it to continue without intervention on our streets.

Eli Arnold

This is not really a matter of opinion, as the city is under a legal settlement to clear sidewalks of camps at a rate and annual expenditure defined by that settlement. We should work with the county to ensure that we have a shelter-housing continuum that is evidence based and invests in adequate behavioral health and addiction treatment services.

Mitch Green

No.

Olivia Clark

No.

Eric Zimmerman

6. Should the council exert influence to require city employees to return to their offices?

It is desirable for more employees to return to work downtown. There is a tension now that remote work has become more normal, and I understand the desire for greater flexibility from workers. The city should engage with the unions and move toward increased presence downtown.

Eli Arnold

No

Mitch Green

Yes, but with minimal influence. Flex schedules have become a union bargaining issue. In executive sessions, when the council is consulted regarding union contracts, councilors can weigh in and express their opinion to the administration.

Olivia Clark

Yes, and I have tried to do that. My office leads by example, by being present in office every day. Work from home is a great flexibility, but it should not be the norm for any of our city work units. I support the mayor’s continued requirement of managers in office.

Eric Zimmerman

7. What norms or rules were violated when two City Council members participated in confidential negotiations with PGE? Does the public have a right to know on what authority they participated? Should they be recused from participating in a likely rehearing of the land-use proposal to extend power lines through Forest Park?

I don’t know if rules or norms were violated, but the public should be told what their role was in the discussions and how they were selected. Since they have information that other councilors do not possess, it seems they will have to recuse themselves if the upcoming decision is appealed to the City Council.

Eli Arnold

This is an odd question given that no councilors engaged in confidential negotiations with PGE. Councilors should always disclose any ex parti communication or declare conflicts of interest ahead of land-use proceedings. I will be disclosing this question as ex parti communication should a decision be referred to council.

Mitch Green

I don’t know that any rules were violated or at what point the two councilors left the negotiations. The public should have a right to know the authority on which they participated. Their recusal is a question for the city attorney. I am unclear as to whether they were part of an actual negotiation or merely an opening discussion with interested parties.

Olivia Clark

At this point, Councilors have not been briefed on what is coming forward to Council. I did not participate in any post-decision negotiations, knowing that we’d likely see another land-use case in front of us. As to the norms, councilors need to address those themselves.

Eric Zimmerman

8. Can the council continue to give assurances of support for Portland State University’s proposed performing arts center without undermining the future of Keller Auditorium?

Two things are clear. First, the city has no money available for a new performing arts center at PSU. Second, the city has no plan (or funding) for the Keller should a PSU facility be built.

Eli Arnold

Council acts by resolution. The most recent amended resolution provides the green light to engage in a non-binding design process for PSU, while expressing its commitment to the ongoing presence of the Keller. I think it’s largely a moot question because the city funds for neither of these projects. I laid those concerns into the record when we adopted the resolution.

Mitch Green

Yes. At the request of the Halprin Landscape Conservancy and my own deep support for the Keller, I brought forward the amendments requiring that the planning for the future of the Keller take place in tandem with work on the PSU proposal. It will incumbent on councilors and Keller advocates to remain vigilant through this process.

Olivia Clark

Yes, but we also have to acknowledge that this fiscal environment is extremely challenging. Councilor Clark and I brought forward an amendment that directed the city to pursue funding partners for the Keller. PSU needs to make their case and the city must plan for the Keller.

Eric Zimmerman

9. Was the Northrup Street Shelter a fair test of what happens when an overnight shelter is placed in a residential neighborhood?

Yes, it was a fair test. We need shelters, but we also need to protect neighborhoods from potential harms. If the city cannot, or will not, meaningfully address trash, mental health issues and addiction playing out in a neighborhood, then it isn’t a good location for a shelter.

Eli Arnold

There was insufficient public engagement ahead of rollout with that shelter. Neighbors didn’t feel heard or have trust from the start. That was abundantly clear in the communications I received and Northwest District Association meetings that I attended on the matter. There was also inadequate oversight for expenditures related to the site. I hope the city administrator and mayor learned from that experience.

Mitch Green

Yes. I was very unhappy with the siting of the Northrup Shelter despite the mayor’s promises (shelter operation, security, etc.). These promises were not upheld. Had they been, the situation might have been somewhat improved, but the shelter still attracted both homeless and drug dealers into the neighborhood and neighborhood parks.

Olivia Clark

Not all overnight shelters have had as large an impact on the neighbors as Northrup Shelter did. The mayor’s shelter plan allowed for camping enforcement. I support that. I am glad the city fixed the Northrup issues, and I remain focused on the cleanup and enforcement around shelters.

Eric Zimmerman