A strong list, but it leaves out an obstacle that may underlie several of the others. Portland and Multnomah County governments are excessively focused on equity and racial and social justice. They are supported and encouraged in this by a large and highly influential ecosystem of nonprofit leaders and activists who rotate onto city and county committees and into government itself as appointees or elected officials. That machinery second-guesses plans, slows decisions, and makes outcomes unpredictable, which is exactly the "lack of certainty" that keeps developers, lenders and employers away.
The most recent example is the Lincoln statue. In 2024 the City Council voted unanimously to restore it. The Office of Arts and Culture and RACC then quietly decided to take Lincoln off his pedestal and set him at ground level, a decision that came to light only through a public records request. At the city's September "public conversation," a city-selected panelist called Lincoln a murderer, and the demotion was presented as final. An intersectional sweepstakes panel was poised to ratify what vandals did by force in 2020. It took Mayor Wilson's common sense to stop it.
If a unanimous council vote on returning the Great Emancipator to his pedestal can be overridden by an arts bureaucracy and its hand-picked advisers, why would anyone trust that a permit, a zoning decision or a downtown recovery plan will hold? Until Portland confronts this culture, the other fixes on this list will keep stalling.
Separately, some elements of Portland's left view business interests' participation in government as illegitimate. When the Portland Business Alliance or a downtown property owner weighs in, it's sometimes denounced as corporate interference. When a city-funded nonprofit director sits on an advisory panel or moves into an appointed post, it's celebrated as "community voice."
That double standard rules out the very thing this article identifies as essential. Denver and Philadelphia are making progress because government and business work as partners. Seattle lacks that alignment but makes up for it with the Downtown Seattle Association, a business organization strong enough that city government can't ignore it. Portland sometimes treats employers, property owners and investors as suspects rather than stakeholders, then wonders why they don't invest. We won't get public/private alignment until the people who create jobs and pay the taxes are welcomed at the table as a legitimate constituency, and not merely tolerated.
I agree that the first step toward Portland’s recovery is addressing public safety and homelessness in a meaningful way.
I would, however, caution against focusing too narrowly on “affordable housing.” Ideally, downtown should reflect the full range of income levels across the city, with a healthy mix of apartments and condominiums that are affordable across the entire income spectrum.
It's always nutty to compare little Portland to two or three bigger cities, each with unique economies and civic culture. Having lived in both Seattle and Philadelphia, allow me to reassure Mr. Perkins that these towns are really different than Portland.
Philadelphia, for instance, tried what seems (maybe) to have worked in Denver, closed its main downtown shopping street (Chestnut) to traffic, and it was a dismal failure. Philly has always had a lresidential downtown (ever heard of Society Hill?) and anyone who holds up Seattle as a success story in anything beyond having the good fortune to have the guy who started Amazon living there is on happy drugs.
Portland's issues can be reduced to: Too much planning, too many taxes, too many dopes in government and a disconnected bunch of recent arrivals that hates doing the basic homework for civic participation. East Coast heirs to capitalist fortunes trying out their wacky ideas on the woodland gnomes doesn't help either.
It is interesting to compare budgets between Portland and Denver, with Denver having approximately 50k more people. Denver’s overall operating budget is approximately 4 billion, while Portland’s overall budget is approximately 8.5 billion. Denver has twice the sworn police officers, approx 1600 to Portland’s 800. Until Portland realizes that public safety is essential to bringing people downtown, nothing will change. We have invested billions in our mass transit system yet it remains underutilized because of safety concerns. Open drug use and dealing is still tolerated in Portland as well. And to have a block of city council members (DSA/Peacock) who openly loathe the police and are anti-business does not help either.
Thank you Richard.
For me the challenges ahead are highlighted by these observations:
Each city has a Democrat Party mayor and each state has a Democrat Party governor
The state education rankings:
CO is 9th
PA is 22 nd
WA is 32nd
OR is 44 th
Real change is required
Good article. Thanks.
A strong list, but it leaves out an obstacle that may underlie several of the others. Portland and Multnomah County governments are excessively focused on equity and racial and social justice. They are supported and encouraged in this by a large and highly influential ecosystem of nonprofit leaders and activists who rotate onto city and county committees and into government itself as appointees or elected officials. That machinery second-guesses plans, slows decisions, and makes outcomes unpredictable, which is exactly the "lack of certainty" that keeps developers, lenders and employers away.
The most recent example is the Lincoln statue. In 2024 the City Council voted unanimously to restore it. The Office of Arts and Culture and RACC then quietly decided to take Lincoln off his pedestal and set him at ground level, a decision that came to light only through a public records request. At the city's September "public conversation," a city-selected panelist called Lincoln a murderer, and the demotion was presented as final. An intersectional sweepstakes panel was poised to ratify what vandals did by force in 2020. It took Mayor Wilson's common sense to stop it.
If a unanimous council vote on returning the Great Emancipator to his pedestal can be overridden by an arts bureaucracy and its hand-picked advisers, why would anyone trust that a permit, a zoning decision or a downtown recovery plan will hold? Until Portland confronts this culture, the other fixes on this list will keep stalling.
Separately, some elements of Portland's left view business interests' participation in government as illegitimate. When the Portland Business Alliance or a downtown property owner weighs in, it's sometimes denounced as corporate interference. When a city-funded nonprofit director sits on an advisory panel or moves into an appointed post, it's celebrated as "community voice."
That double standard rules out the very thing this article identifies as essential. Denver and Philadelphia are making progress because government and business work as partners. Seattle lacks that alignment but makes up for it with the Downtown Seattle Association, a business organization strong enough that city government can't ignore it. Portland sometimes treats employers, property owners and investors as suspects rather than stakeholders, then wonders why they don't invest. We won't get public/private alignment until the people who create jobs and pay the taxes are welcomed at the table as a legitimate constituency, and not merely tolerated.
SPOT ON.
My only question: who says were even being "tolerated"?
Excellent point. Jessica Vega Pederson is infamous for her anti-business rhetoric when the chamber of commerce stands up to her.
I agree that the first step toward Portland’s recovery is addressing public safety and homelessness in a meaningful way.
I would, however, caution against focusing too narrowly on “affordable housing.” Ideally, downtown should reflect the full range of income levels across the city, with a healthy mix of apartments and condominiums that are affordable across the entire income spectrum.
It's always nutty to compare little Portland to two or three bigger cities, each with unique economies and civic culture. Having lived in both Seattle and Philadelphia, allow me to reassure Mr. Perkins that these towns are really different than Portland.
Philadelphia, for instance, tried what seems (maybe) to have worked in Denver, closed its main downtown shopping street (Chestnut) to traffic, and it was a dismal failure. Philly has always had a lresidential downtown (ever heard of Society Hill?) and anyone who holds up Seattle as a success story in anything beyond having the good fortune to have the guy who started Amazon living there is on happy drugs.
Portland's issues can be reduced to: Too much planning, too many taxes, too many dopes in government and a disconnected bunch of recent arrivals that hates doing the basic homework for civic participation. East Coast heirs to capitalist fortunes trying out their wacky ideas on the woodland gnomes doesn't help either.
It is interesting to compare budgets between Portland and Denver, with Denver having approximately 50k more people. Denver’s overall operating budget is approximately 4 billion, while Portland’s overall budget is approximately 8.5 billion. Denver has twice the sworn police officers, approx 1600 to Portland’s 800. Until Portland realizes that public safety is essential to bringing people downtown, nothing will change. We have invested billions in our mass transit system yet it remains underutilized because of safety concerns. Open drug use and dealing is still tolerated in Portland as well. And to have a block of city council members (DSA/Peacock) who openly loathe the police and are anti-business does not help either.