District 4 candidates Olivia Clark, Eric Zimmerman and Tony Morse at a recent event
District 4 candidates recently delved into some thorny issues at a mixer organized by Future Portland, a grassroots organization focused on livability issues. Taking questions from voters, the eleven candidates in attendance spoke about everything from Portland’s gridlocked permitting system to their views on the city’s public camping ban.
While all candidates rallied behind permitting reform and the need for more affordable housing, their views diverged on issues like policing and the city’s response to mental health emergencies. Olivia Clark, a former high-level staffer at both TriMet and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, called for boosting the city’s police force.
“I know this can be controversial, but we don’t have enough police, and we don’t have enough firefighters in this city,” she said, pointing out that Portland’s officer-to-population ratio hovers around 0.9, while the national average is 2.4. “We don’t need 2.4, but we really need about three to four hundred more officers to have a fully functioning police department,” said Clark, who is endorsed by the police and firefighters unions.
Meanwhile, Lisa Freeman, a conflict resolution specialist who previously worked for the City of Portland’s Community Safety Division, emphasized her support for a “third branch” of the city’s emergency response system. With around-the-clock operations focused on addressing mental health emergencies, a dedicated department could take pressure off both police and firefighters, she said.
“I believe that’s the future of public safety, and eventually, this is where all cities are going,” Freeman predicted.
Candidates Diverge on Mandatory Treatment
Multiple candidates, like Bob Weinstein, Tony Morse, Eric Zimmerman, and Stan Penkin, emphasized the importance of enforcing Portland’s public camping ban and moving those living on the street into shelters.
“We need to get adult about enforcing the public camping laws that we have,” said Eric Zimmerman, an army veteran who currently serves as chief of staff to County Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards. “At this point, we have created so many types of shelter, and there are so many beds going unused every night, that we have to get serious about enforcement,” added Zimmerman, who is endorsed by the police union.
The most vivid discussion of the evening came in response to a question about whether candidates supported mandatory treatment. While the question didn’t specify whether the treatment was in response to an emergency or an offense such as drug possession, it showed some marked philosophical differences between candidates.
“I’ll say it, compelled treatment is effective and has high success rates of participation and successful completion of treatment,” said Tony Morse, a former policy and advocacy director for Oregon Recovers—a statewide coalition supporting Oregonians in recovery from addiction. “Recovery is about meeting people where they’re at but not leaving them there,” said Morse, who is himself a person in long-term recovery and is endorsed by the police union as well as multiple addiction and mental health specialists.
His position was seconded by Eric Zimmerman and Bob Weinstein, a former mayor of Ketchikan, Alaska, who posited that a civilized society does not allow people who are a threat to themselves or others to be on the streets.
“If we’re going to revitalize the community and revitalize downtown, we have to move people off the streets into shelters and on the continuum of housing with supportive services,” Weinstein said.
Lisa Freeman offered a contrasting perspective:
“I think we have jumped way too fast to talking about mandatory sheltering and mandatory treatment when we do not have the services available for people who want treatment and for people who want shelter. Let’s do that first. Let’s invest our energy there first,” she said.
Freeman received support from Moses Ross, the President of the Multnomah Neighborhood Association, who called mandatory treatment “paternalistic,” saying it raised serious questions about who should make decisions about people’s lives.
“I feel strongly that we need to build up the available resources first and then, and only then—once we have locations for them, all of them—maybe we can start talking about mandatory X and mandatory Y,” said Ross, whose mother suffered from addiction.
Portland Must Prepare for Climate Resiliency, Candidates Say
Many candidates also emphasized their commitment to climate resiliency. Olivia Clark predicted that Portland will become a climate refuge and said the city needs to tighten its emergency response in the case of extreme climate events and ensure that housing stays affordable for Portlanders as more people migrate to the city. Sarah Silkie, who works as an engineer for the City of Portland and holds a PhD in environmental engineering from UC Berkeley, said her run for office was propelled by her frustration with the city’s management.
“I’m running because I want things to work and I am so tired of being part of a bureaucracy that doesn’t function,” she said. “I’m also running because it’s time to get serious about the climate crisis. These 115-degree days—unfortunately they are going to happen again. And we need to attack it on two fronts. We need to reduce our carbon emissions and we need to make our city resilient so that we can survive and not have people dying every time there’s a fluctuation in our temperatures,” added Silkie, who is endorsed by multiple labor unions.
To learn more about the platforms of candidates in District 4, visit Rose City Reform’s expanded candidate tracker.
