PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland’s largest city has ushered in a new chapter by selecting a businessman devoid of prior public office experience as its latest mayor, in conjunction with a significantly redesigned government structure. The City Council chambers underwent extensive renovations to accommodate these changes.
Keith Wilson, a trucking executive and founder of a non-profit aimed at enhancing the capacity of homeless shelters, was elected by Portland voters last month. He made an ambitious promise to eradicate unsheltered homelessness within a year and was officially sworn in on Thursday. This ceremony also marked the expansion of the City Council from five to twelve seats.
Portland is facing issues related to homelessness, drug use, and increasing living costs. As a native of the city, Wilson seeks to achieve his goal of ending unsheltered homelessness by boosting the availability of nighttime emergency shelters in community centers and churches.
His campaign resonated strongly with residents, many of whom have expressed concerns about homelessness in recent surveys. Wilson competed against three seated City Council members to secure his position.
“The transformation of our city government reflects our commitment to innovation and our values,” Wilson stated onstage at the Newmark Theater in downtown Portland after taking the oath. “It is time for our new leadership to address the challenges at hand and resolve the issues that hinder our progress towards our full potential.”
Identifying homelessness as a crisis, Wilson highlighted the city’s newly announced initiative to add 200 overnight emergency shelter beds for the winter season. “Residents should not have to sleep in tents, tarps, or RVs, as we are committed to providing secure shelters for everyone,” he emphasized.
The mayoral race saw a wide array of candidates, with 19 individuals vying for the position, particularly since Mayor Ted Wheeler chose not to pursue re-election after holding office since 2017. Wheeler gained national attention amid the protests that erupted in Portland and across the country in 2020, following the police killing of George Floyd.
The council elections also attracted a diverse group of candidates, with nearly 100 individuals contesting the newly created district seats rather than participating in a citywide vote.
Wilson pointed out that the newly sworn-in City Council is more diverse than any previous assembly, with women filling half the seats and a number of council members being people of color, including the first two Asian-American representatives.
Significant renovations were made to Portland’s historic City Hall, which, originally built 130 years ago, underwent an $8.3 million renovation to accommodate the increasing number of council members. The remodeled dais can seat twelve, office layouts have been adjusted to create more workspaces, and various technological and accessibility updates have been added throughout the building.
“Renovating the council chambers is a rare opportunity,” stated Maty Sauter, director of Portland’s Bureau of Fleet and Facilities, to the outgoing council during their last meeting in the renovated chambers. “We’ve successfully modernized this facility built in 1895, making it contemporary and functional.”
Chris Shortell, an associate professor of political science at Portland State University, mentioned that assessing which changes are effective will take time.
In an additional innovative step for Portland’s governance, Wilson and the new council members were elected under the city’s updated ranked-choice voting system. Under this method, a candidate must secure over 50% of the first-choice votes in the initial round to win. If no candidate achieves this, the candidate with the least votes is eliminated in a subsequent round, and their supporters’ second choices are considered, continuing this process until a majority is reached. According to the final results, 34% of voters chose Wilson as their first choice.
The new City Council is slated to convene for its inaugural meeting in January.