Eric Zimmerman, a candidate in District 4, has made the issue of RV camping a central focus of his campaign for City Council.
“It’s time to ban RV camping on Portland streets,” Zimmerman recently wrote in an email to supporters. “They have ruined too many quiet neighborhood streets and they are hard to get removed.”
Zimmerman, an Army veteran who serves as Chief of Staff to County Commissioner Julie Brim-Edwards, cited concerns about possible criminal activity as a reason for his opposition to the parked vehicles. “At best, they’re the once-mobile version of tents on sidewalks. At worst, they’re a haven for hard drug usage or sales, hot spots for human trafficking,” he wrote.
He proposed legislation to ban RV camping and secure funding for the removal of these vehicles. Zimmerman also pointed to Temporary Alternative Shelter Sites (TASS) as a safer, more regulated solution for addressing homelessness. TASS sites are designated areas where people living unsheltered can camp with access to basic services such as sanitation and healthcare.
Zimmerman acknowledged that his stance might provoke criticism, saying, “If only one City Council candidate has the guts to say it, then I’ll be the one.”
