We have a housing affordability crisis in Portland, and it in turn is making numerous other problems worse. We need more housing, we need all types of housing, and we need it now. The people of Portland have already generously voted to fund affordable housing, so the challenge now goes back to implementation. I would go line by line through our zoning laws, our building code, our fees, our publicly owned property, etc. to find ways to make building more housing cheaper. I have often heard the biggest problem is the time and confusion of so many agencies which were part of their own commissioners fiefdom. Every delay is another day someone goes without affordable housing and every delay costs money meaning we build fewer units overall.

I would work with stakeholders to make converting office units into housing as easy as possible. I would work with local and state agencies on how to build affordable units on or above existing government property. I would work with anyone to find creative solutions and to make the whole process faster and cheaper for both new public and private housing.

Ultimately, almost all issues come back to housing. Obviously, homelessness is closely tied to housing affordability but it goes way beyond that. If we care about attracting good teachers that is a lot easier when they can afford good housing near the schools. If we want to reach our climate goals we need people to be able to live in walkable communities. If we care about a vibrant and weird art scene we can't price out all the artists. If we care about transgender people, having Portland in theory be one of the safest and healthiest places for them to live doesn't mean much if most transgender people can't afford housing here. The same is true for people with disabilities, immigrants, BIPOC, and other communities we need to support.

The record rise in homelessness in Portland is a multiple cause problem which will require a multiple process solution. We need to understand that people experiencing homelessness are not a monolith which has one easy answer. People become homeless for a broad spectrum of reasons from job loss, to escaping an abusive relationships, to serious mental illness. Each can require a different solution.

For people at risk of experiencing homelessness due to financial distress my ideas to make Portland housing more affordable overall is the best way to help. The more affordable rent the farther someone can stretch their savings or unemployment insurance. The more affordable rent is, the more people per dollar limited city, county, state, and non-profit funds can help.

There will soon be large pools of new money to help address the issue. First, money is coming from the state as a result of new legislation. Additionally, federal funds will become available due to the recent 1115 Medicaid waiver. Portland needs to rapidly reform our city infrastructure to be able to take advantage of this money quickly and efficiently. The issue will not be securing new funds but implementation -- this is a rare opportunity that shouldn't be wasted.

For people who are experiencing homelessness due to substance abuse disorder and serious mental health issues, Portland has too long considered it an act of compassion to let people who are inherently incapable of making sound decisions the freedom to suffer. Allowing people who are mentally incapable of knowing what is best to slowly destroy themselves in public is not the answer. We first need to provide more resources, more treatment beds, more counselors, more access to methadone and buprenorphine, etc. Next, we need to use our power to aggressively encourage people to use these resources. Make it clear that Portland is not a place that will let people suffering from treatable mental health issues slowly die in public because of a misguided idea that those who aren’t of a sound mind should get that choice.

As a father of two young children, safety is a top concern for me. The steady rise in traffic accidents and traffic fatalities is a clear policy failure. Even one traffic death in our district would be too many. I will make all infrastructure in district 3 about what works best for the people who actually live here, not people dangerously speeding through it. A big part about that is modifying our roadways for safety. I will go block by block in the district to find ways to reduce spending, improve visibility around corners, improve visibility at night, and create protected bike lanes. The next element is going after problem drivers. A relatively small number of extremely reckless drivers are responsible for a disproportionate share of accidents. Our clearance rate for hit and runs is unacceptable. We need the resources so every hit and run is fully investigated and prosecuted. Traffic cameras let us identify who they are and we need to prevent them from killing someone. For the plan to work the city needs to get serious about making sure cars are registered and have license plates.

There have been serious issues with law enforcement in the country and in the city, but there is no society without a fair, responsive, and well functioning legal system. For the city to prosper we need people to feel secure about their safety and their property.

The causes of crime are multitude and as a city we should understand law enforcement is not the first line of defense but the last. We should do all we can to reduce poverty, reduce addiction, improvement mental health but that doesn't take away from the fact that the city has a duty to make people feel secure.

Purposely lawlessness is not an acceptable solution to any problem. If we believe a law is being enforced unfairly the solution is to modify the law or reform how it is enforced. Encouraging a mass ignoring of laws just erodes the fabric of society itself.

Like all other government services I would focus on implementation. How to make our law enforcement more efficient and fairer. We need to improve our investment in investigating serious crimes and clearance rates. We should work to change the ways police officers are trained in Portland to make it easier to train recruits locally with a focus on our unique urban issues. Over the long term we should reconsider how officers' contracts are designed to not economically trap officers in the career even if they realize they are not well suited for the work.