Sameer Kanal is a candidate for City Council in District 2 (North/Northeast Portland).
Before stepping down to run for office, Sameer Kanal was a Inclusive Policy Manager at the City of Portland Public Safety Service Area, where he focused on community-engaged policing, police oversight, and support for Portland Street Response (the team dispatched to handle non-life threatening mental health emergencies). He is also the Executive Director for the Northwest Association for Global Affairs (NWA), an educational non-profit.
Kanal’s priorities include community engagement, consensus-building, community safety, and sustainability. Specifically, he advocates for the Safe Routes to School program and addressing Portland’s pothole problem.
Kanal has committed to the ‘Save Portland Street Response’ pledge, vowing to prioritize, introduce, and vote in favor of full funding for Portland Street Response to operate 24-7 in every budget cycle. Additionally, he has signed the ‘No Fossil Fuel Money’ pledge, committing not to accept contributions of over $200 from the oil, gas, and coal industries, and the ‘No Police Money Pledge’, rejecting contributions or endorsements from police unions or associations. Further, he is a signatory of a pledge to vote in favor of a Gaza Ceasefire resolution, and a pledge to establish a Renters’ Bill of Rights expanding protections for renters.
For more information about Sameer Kanal’s platform, please visit his campaign website.