January 5, 2025 • 30 mins
Portland has a new form of government. Learn how it works. Multnomah County released a report that shows homeless deaths are up significantly. Portland used ranked choice voting for the first time in 2024 and elections officials want to know how it can work better.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to Local Voices. I'm brad Ford. This week Portland
has a new form of government. We'll explain how it works.
The number of homeless debts in Milton McCatty rose significantly
in twenty twenty three, and elections officials are examining how
they can improve voter knowledge about rank choice voting. As
of January first, the City of Portland transformed to a
(00:25):
new form of government. To explain how it works, Tate
White joins us on Local Voices. Tate is helping to
coordinate the transition of governments. Let's start with the mayor.
What is the mayor's role?
Speaker 2 (00:35):
So, as you're likely aware, we've been operating under a
commission form of government for over one hundred years now,
and the mayor was really the first among equals, really
serving an executive and legislative role, as was the rest
of council. And a huge shift that's happening with the
(00:58):
mayor council form of government is the operation between those
executive and legislative functions. And so the council, which has
now expanded, of course, will be primarily legislative and the
mayor will be the chief executive and so the mayor
will be working with a professional city administrator to oversee
(01:18):
the day to day operations of the city itself. So
they're overseeing, you know, all the employees, all the resources,
all the facilities, really focused on you know, what's happening
every day and accountable for that.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
So you mentioned city council has expanded. There are now
twelve members, three come from each of four districts around
the city and then the general election, the elections were
held for those positions. So what will be the role
of the city council members.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
So the city council will have legislative authority as well
as quasi judicial authority, which is is mostly focused on
land use hearings and different things like that. But their
legislative authority will be focused on setting policy, passing laws.
They will have the power of the purse, which means
(02:13):
they will be approving the city budget, approving appropriations, raising revenue,
levying taxes, anything like that will be part of their role.
But another key change that the community was really looking
for with this change in government is that they'll have
more time to connect with their constituents and so in
(02:36):
their legislative role, they'll be holding public meetings and they'll
be taking more time to connect with those constituents in
their districts to really understand what their needs are and
to help and to help let that influence their policy making.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
So who will run the city council meetings? Do they
elect a president of the city Council.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
Yes, you're absolute correct.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
So the first council meeting will happen on January second,
and the Council Clerk will be presiding officer until the
elect council President and vice president in that meeting, and
from then on, the council President will preside at meetings,
and when the council president is not there, the vice
president will preside.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
So Portland now has a city administrator. What's the role
of the city administrator.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
So the city administrator is a professional that is appointed
by the mayor and confirmed by Council, and their job
is to really efficiently administer all city affairs. And so
they're appointing and reassigning and removing all directors of bureaus
and department heads. They really oversee all employees at the city.
(03:50):
They are executing and enforcing all the laws that are
adopted by council, and they're preparing an annual budget, working
with the deputy City administrators and leadership team that the
really provide to the mayor and work with the mayor
on and then ultimately submit that to council.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
So how a legislation, if that's the right word, how
all legislation moved through city council? Where does it start?
And then do they treat it like a bill?
Speaker 3 (04:21):
That's a great question.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
And you know that Schoolhouse Rock cartoon with how a
bill becomes a law. It actually is kind of similar
to that. We you know, because of the separation between
the legislative and executive branches, there are some similarities to
the federal government and how they operate. Now, it's not
exactly the same thing, so we have to be careful,
(04:43):
but it is similar to that.
Speaker 4 (04:45):
We you know.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
I'm I'm a part of the transition team, and we
have been working with the city attorneys and council clerk
offices and now the Council Operations team who who are
on the newer side of things.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
To help support this council.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
We've all been working to understand how this works and
how we update our existing systems and codes to help
facilitate this government being able to function on day one. However,
it's really the new City Council that has authority to
establish rules about how they work together as a team
(05:22):
and how they govern themselves. So we've been sharing with
them what we have prepared to like the scaffolding to
help this government function, and then they will really take.
Speaker 3 (05:34):
It from there.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
However, I can say that counselors will be working with
their staff as well as the Council Operations team to
really draft legislation. We will now have council policy committees
that legislation might start in those committees so that it
can have a lot of discussion before the legislation has
(05:59):
ultimately moved being to council meetings for a decision.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
So we currently have resolutions and ordinances that move through
city council. Will they be called the same thing in
the new city Council.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Yes, for the time being, they will be called the
same thing, and that's something that the Council Clerk has
been reviewing with the councilors elect already.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Well, the format of the city council meetings change.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
For regular council meetings, they're going to be pretty similar
to what they are today, unless, of course, the new
council makes significant changes. One thing that's changing more are
council agendas and what is placed on those council agendas
because now that you have a chief executive with the mayor,
(06:47):
the can make a lot of administrative decisions.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
That don't need to go to council.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
So, for example, right now, if a bureau wants to
apply for a grant, they have to go to city
council just to get approval to apply. But in the
mayor council form of government, they can work with the
mayor this applying for a grant doesn't have an impact
on the budget, So that's something that they can do
(07:15):
without having to go to council.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
And so that's just one.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
There are other examples, and so that means that council
meetings will be more focused on what's in their authority
for decision making.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
So when council passes an ordinance or a resolution, does
it then go to the mayor to be signed.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
That's a great question.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
No, some mayor council forms of government do have a
system like that, but that is.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
Not required for our for our according to our charter.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
But I'm glad you asked it because it touches on
what legislative powers the mayor does have, and according to
our charter, the mayor votes in the case of a
tie among council and then another key power the mayor
has is to add things to the council agenda. So
(08:07):
that's another shift that we have and it speaks to
that legislative process to sort of support the feedback loop
between the administration and the council. The bureaus and leadership
can work with the mayor to bring items forward to
council through that function.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
So how the city council chambers changed. We got to
see that in the last City Council meeting of the year.
How is it different?
Speaker 2 (08:37):
It is so much lighter and brighter and pleasant. I
will say that our colleagues in our Facilities Group at
the City and the Bureau of Technology Services have been
working diligently over the past two years to work on
this renovation of council chambers at City Hall. They tried
(08:59):
to be really thought hold about, you know, cost efficiency
and everything, but we did need a bigger DIAS to
fit twelve councilors. And in that process of expanding that DIAS,
they have made improvements to technology and accessibility, just different
things like that that really support the public being able
(09:23):
to watch and engage in council meetings better, and just
modernizing any of the systems.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Because it is an old building.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
And so with these updates they tried to take advantage
of them to just help maintain the building moving forward
into the future while providing more space to facilitate these
expanded council meetings.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
Not like with any new process, there's a learning curve
what's done to instruct the new mayor and the new
city council members on how the process will work.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
Wow, it has been a busy couple weeks.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
We started after, you know, the week after the county
certified the election results.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
We started a little slowly. That first week, we just had.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Some new employee sort of benefit sessions so that they
could really understand what their new jobs were and what
was available to them. And then we started in on
sessions with the city Attorney's office where they talked about
you know, the city Charter, their new roles and responsibilities,
but basically ethics and land use law. We took them
(10:36):
to the city Archives where they got a tour and
they learned about public records law and how they manage
public records. We met with the Deputy City Attorney of
Budget and Finance, the city economists, and budget director to
understand kind of a high level budget one oh one
(10:56):
and what they can expect moving forward. So really just
sort of a baseline on.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
Really key topics.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
They've also had sessions to work on to talk about
their values together and how they're going to work together
as a team, to really just get them starting from
a good foundation. And then of course the educational sessions
will continue and so we're all we've also proposed ongoing
(11:25):
public work sessions to learn about the different service areas
and also tours so they can get out into the
field and really see some how these investments and policy
issues are looking on the ground.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
What a huge job. I mean, normally after an election
you might have maybe one counselor maybe a new mayor
to take through that process. Here you've got thirteen people
going through it.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
Yes, absolutely, and it is I mean it's a joy
to watch. But yes, it's obvious that it might be
a little too overwhelming, but we definitely wanted to provide
something and we're having a great conversation with them to understand,
you know, what should be prioritized in the future and
(12:12):
what can maybe wait a little later. But all the
councilors elect have expressed gratitude for having this opportunity to
learn before they're seated.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
What a historic time for the city. That is Tate
White with the City of Portland explaining how the new
mayor and City Council will work under the new form
of government that took effect New Year's Day. VOULDA mccunty
released its Domicile Unknown Report for twenty twenty three. It
details deaths of people who are homeless. Vulda mcauty Commission
Chair Jessica Vega Peterson says it is the highest number
(12:45):
of deaths since they started tracking homeless deaths.
Speaker 5 (12:49):
Today, we recognize the deaths of four hundred and fifty
six friends, neighbors, loved ones. We recognize that their deaths
were premature and for some that means by more than
thirty years. This is the highest number of deaths since
Maltnama County began its analysis, reflecting what health officials believe
(13:09):
is the height of the fentanyl crisis that swept through
our community in twenty twenty three. Our friends and neighbors
died because our complex systems didn't support them, and that
knowledge is devastating and heartbreaking. Some didn't have adequate housing
or the on ramp to treatment that they needed, and many,
as we've heard from countless families and loved ones, died
(13:33):
due to addiction despite the love, care, and support of
their family and community. We learn with this support that
deaths have jumped thirty seven percent on average every year
between twenty nineteen and twenty twenty three. This additional loss
of life is beyond humbling, and today we sit with
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the full weight of these losses. So today we also
take the time to honor those that have died, to
recognize their humanity, their dignity, and their stories. We slow
down during this time of year to consider what these
deaths have to teach us and to send a message,
especially to those who have lost the people that they
(14:15):
have loved, that the death of their loved one isn't acceptable.
We recognize that the best way to honor the four
hundred and fifty six lives we lost in twenty twenty
three is to continue our commitment to respond to this
crisis with the extreme urgency that's needed. Maltnam County, as
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the largest safety net government in Oregon. We often meet
people on their very worst days, and every single day
I hear that we don't have enough treatment and recovery
services to meet that terrible day. We all want healthy
and safer communities, so we need and we focus on
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both short term and long term approaches. Short term, we
must invest in and expand access to effective treatment, and
long term, we must continue to make housing more affordable
and available. Our Health Department, the Homelessness Response System, and
every department at Maltnama County are working closely with partners
to make more of these things possible. When a legislative
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bill to change our drugs law is pasted this past spring,
Maultnama County face and mandate to balance public safety and
behavioral health, making sure that the handoffs are strong and coordinated,
and that the people who are struggling on our streets
with addiction have a pathway away from the criminal justice
system and towards recovery. Deflection, which began on September first,
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provides us with new opportunities to connect people with recovery
and new bridges between law enforcement and behavioral health in
real time, including field based deflections and a coordinated care
Pathway Center that is in taking people experiencing substance use
disorder on our streets every day. As of this week,
we've served one hundred and forty two people with two
(16:04):
hundred and eighty six referrals to treatment, recovery and other
stabilization resources. This Pathway Center is a long term investment.
This spring, we are going to expand access with thirteen
sobering beds, opening the center twenty four hours, seven days
a week, and explore other deferral pathway options. As we
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reflect on the lives and losses in this report, we
must acknowledge the intersections between substance abuse and homelessness and
the impacts of that. Stability and support looks like getting
people off the streets with the three thousand shelter beds.
This year, we are focusing and helping people move through
(16:46):
our shelter system into housing so that they have shorter
stays and quicker connections to the stability that they need.
We have measurable and attainable goals in our Homelessness Response
Action Plan. Are committed to a fifty percent reduction and
those living unsheltered by December twenty twenty five. We want
to increase people's exits from shelter into housing by fifteen percent,
(17:12):
and we have a targeted and intentional reduction in the
racial disparities we see in people who are experiencing homelessness.
We also know that this looks like preventing people from
becoming homeless in the first place by partnering directly with
people who are experiencing homelessness to better understand them and
the needs to make sure that those living today, either
(17:36):
in unstable housing, who are recovering from crisis or an
existing foster care are known to us, tracked through our
by name list, and offered stability and support. Before I
pass it on, I want to end today with a
recognition of the human potential that is lost in the
lives of the four hundred and fifty six people that
we honor today. These are people's children, sisters, parents, cousins,
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and friends with their own big hearts, big dreams, and
big potential. At Multnomac County, we care deeply about those
dreams and that potential, and I can say that for
every single one of our Multnam County employees. As we
slow down to reflect on these losses, I want us
also to take a look towards the future that doesn't
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doesn't include such loss, one where homelessness is more rare
and more brief, where people aren't dying on our streets
and record numbers, and where they're better protected from the
worst outcomes. I care they're shown by our community. I
look forward to this future, and I know the incoming
Board of County Commissioners looks forward to it as well
(18:42):
and is eager to get to work. Now. I'll turn
things that were to doctor Emily Messiitis from our Health
department to take us through more of the specifics in
the report.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
That's Wilton mccunty commission Chair Jessica Vega Peterson with details
on the counties twenty twenty three Domicile Unknown Report on
the Deaths of People who are Homeless. Doctor Emily Messiitis
is the epidemiology manager for the Molnama County Health Department.
With more details about the report.
Speaker 6 (19:06):
For twenty twenty three, we analyzed both the accidental or
suspicious deaths that are investigated by the Moloma County Medical Examiner,
and in those data we found three hundred and ninety
four deaths. We also analyzed the deaths of sixty two
people who died at the hospital or under medical care
of some kind, and those were in death certificates. That
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gives us a total of four hundred and fifty six
of our community members who died at the hospital or
who died in twenty twenty three while they were experiencing homelessness.
This is the highest number of deaths since the report
began in twenty eleven, so I wanted to share a
couple things that might have contributed to that. First, because
(19:49):
we did use those two sources of data this year
as we did last year. Because housing status is available
on final death certificates, this gives us a more comprehensive
view of deaths, but it also just adds to the
total number, so we have more understanding of where and
(20:10):
how people experiencing homelessness are dying. Also, homelessness itself rose
between twenty twenty two and twenty twenty three, so the
underlying population of people who could be included in the
report was higher. And really, primarily, as the chair mentioned,
twenty twenty three was when we reached the peak of
(20:30):
fentonal mortality across the county. Fentonl overdoses contributed a large
proportion of the causes of deaths reported here. The average
age of death was incredibly young, just forty six years old.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
That's doctor Amily Massidas, the epidemiology manager for the Moulton
MC County Health Department, and details about the Domicile Unknown
report that details the circumstances of deaths among people who
are homeless. The county uses the information to determine what
services will help the homeless community. Holdoma County and the
City of Portland are reviewing how the first use of
(21:05):
ranked choice voting went in the November general election and
what needs to happen to help voters understand how it works.
James Echols for the City of Portland updated City Council
last month, issuing details from a new report.
Speaker 7 (21:18):
This report, the Election's Outcome and Preliminary Voter Education Report,
is intended to look at and analyze an array of
data points around voter experience, voter engagement, and voting behavior.
One of our primary goals in the Elections Division is
to ensure Portlander's vote Portland voters understand how to properly
(21:38):
fill out their ballot. It is paramount in my eyes
and the eyes of my division to do that through
an evidence based approach, and this report is the first
step in that process.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
They asked voters how do they learn how ranked choice
voting works.
Speaker 7 (21:53):
The number one response to that question was the one
page ballot insert that we created and went out with
every single to every single voter. After that comes the
written instructions on the ballot. I'm glad that they're looking
at that. And then the voter's pamphlet which the county
added ranked choice voting specific information two. And then the
(22:13):
fourth is the mailer that we sent out to every
voter every excuse me.
Speaker 4 (22:17):
Every resident in the city of Portland. So the top.
Speaker 7 (22:21):
Three materials that we see poll respondents going to for
instructions are all created by official sources. So the material
recreating is doing something to raise awareness, which is our goal.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
Eckel says, voters did better than the rest of the country.
Speaker 4 (22:35):
In this report, we see that.
Speaker 7 (22:39):
Those voters who voted and ranked at least three rankings
three candidates is between sixty three percent and seventy seven percent,
with District one following at the lowest. We also cover
here those who ranked at least two candidates. Now, our
goal and I'll cover why at a moment, is generally
to get to encourage voters to rank at least three,
(23:00):
but we did also track the number who ranked two,
because our data from the national partners at fair Vote
have tracked who ranked at least two, so we wanted
to have something to compare to national averages, and in
our first implementation of ranked choice voting, you can see
that in almost every contest we overcame that national average
of seventy four percent. Only in District one did we
(23:23):
not quite get there, and they still had a great
turnout with sixty nine percent. Now, I want to get
to why we care about this. Our goal generally in
the Elections division is to shoot for about three rankings,
but we want to be very clear when we're doing
voter education. If a voter ranks at least one candidate,
their vote will be counted. That's important, But we also
(23:44):
want to encourage them to rank more than one for
two main reasons. The first is that the more that
they select, the more of their voice is heard on
that ballot, the more of their intention comes across on
that ballot, So they may not unanimously like only one candidate.
They may feel split between a number of candidates and
feel that they would be comfortable with three or four
(24:04):
or five candidates even though they have a favorite. We
want them to have the ability and feel comfortable expressing
that on the ballot. The second reason is what is
generally called the spoiler effect. Implementation of ranked choice voting
is in part meant to reduce the impact of the
spoiler effect. The spoiler effect is when an unelected candidate,
a candidate who did not win, had an impact on
(24:27):
who did win the race. So an example might be
two relatively popular candidates from maybe the same general support
structure split the majority of the votes in half, and
that results in a third candidate that is less popular
than those candidates but ends up getting a plurality of
vote because of that split vote. Ranked choice voting is
(24:48):
intended to minimize that effect or reduce that effect, because
you will be able to rank both of those two
people that would normally be splitting the vote that you
support when your first ranking and your second ranking and
whatever order you use. Now, if every voter simply ranks
one single candidate, then the spoiler effect would not be
reduced at all, obviously, because we would effectively be implementing
(25:09):
a first past the post election. So that's why this
is important to us, and why that data matters.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
Eckel says they need to do a better job of
explaining why ranked choice voting is a positive.
Speaker 7 (25:20):
So in our initial source of voter education, we really
focused this first year on how do you fill out
the ballot? The instructions for doing the ballot. We did
not have a lot of instruction to voters on why
it might be good to do rank choice voting for them,
why there might be benefits. At times we would do that
as a responsive question, but it was not a paramount
part of our voter education. We are now seeing from
(25:40):
this data that there's a number of voters who are
disengaged with the process that may be more engaged if
they had a better understanding for why there's a benefit here,
for why it's good for me to rank three or
four or five. And as we can see from the
focus group turnout, a lot of those voters as they
sort of talk to each other and understood that better,
they started to say they would be interested in ranking
more or voting more often.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
They also looked at misinformation about ranked choice voting.
Speaker 7 (26:05):
So the first option here is a misstatement. It's a
piece of false information. Ranking more than one candidate dilutes
my support form my number one choice.
Speaker 4 (26:15):
This is a false statement.
Speaker 7 (26:16):
It's not mathematically true, but as we can see, there
is a disparate number of voters of color who agreed
with that statement. So this is again evidence that something
in our in our material, in our voter education, in
our messaging is not reaching members of this audience as
much as it is reaching the more mainstream audience.
Speaker 4 (26:36):
And white voters in Portland.
Speaker 7 (26:38):
The other two here are that I wasn't sure what
to do if I made a mistake in my ranking.
Again we see a desperately high number among Lakino voters
and Asian and Pacific Island voters. And finally we see
I feel the city provide a clear and accurate and
timely communication. And the biggest one here that we want
to draw attention to is that black voters in this
poll had less than half of black voters in this
(26:59):
poll said that they felt the city was providing them
the information that they wanted and needed. This is why
that peer to peer communication is so important. This is
why partnerships with those communities will be so important. We
can't decide the information that's going to be best for them.
Speaker 4 (27:15):
We need to work with them to figure that out.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
Some voters responded they were overwhelmed by the number of candidates.
Speaker 4 (27:21):
Another quote is that I think there were too many candidates.
Speaker 7 (27:23):
I don't want to say raise the bar of entry
for them to get on the ballot, but there should
be something where you have to put a little more effort,
like show that you actually want to do this beyond
having your name on the ballot. So there were one
hundred and eighteen candidates on the ballot. Some of that
we acknowledge is due to simply there were more contests
on the ballot than there ever have been. We have
an entirely new system of government, entirely new government. But
(27:45):
some of that we believe was also due to Portland
having the most accessible ballot, or one of the most
accessible ballots of any major city in the United States.
So getting on the ballot is easier in Portland than
comparable jurisdictions. For Portland City Council, it costs either seventy
five dollars or five hundred signatures. We had one candidate
(28:05):
that chose to fill out the petition signatures and get
them done because seventy five dollars is probably less of
a burden than trying to get five hundred signatures, so
this is an incredibly low barrier.
Speaker 4 (28:17):
We rose it.
Speaker 7 (28:18):
We did increase it before the twenty twenty four election
from what it was it was fifty dollars, so we
did increase it.
Speaker 4 (28:23):
We didn't want to increase it too much.
Speaker 7 (28:25):
But we also think it's still an incredibly accessible ballot.
Other jurisdictions include Seattle, where the filing fee is one
percent of the current salary office ranging from fourteen hundred
to and forty dollars, a lot more than.
Speaker 4 (28:37):
Seventy five dollars.
Speaker 7 (28:39):
San Francisco is five hundred dollars or one thousand signatures
to a higher number in both regards. Denver has no
monetary option and is simply one hundred to three hundred signatures.
And like I already discussed, probably getting signatures is more
difficult for the average candidate than just turning in some money.
And finally, Minneapolis is two hundred and fifty dollars, so
well over, I want to draw special attention to Minneapolis one.
(29:03):
Minneapolis is the only other city on this list that
has multi winner ranked choice voting like Portland does, so
it's a little bit more comparable. But Minneapolis also at
when they first implemented ranked choice voting, saw a similar problem.
They had a ton of candidates. They decided they needed
to do something about it. They increased the threshold for
(29:25):
candidates to get on the ballot, and they reported that
they saw a decrease in the number of candidates. So
they saw something like we did. They took action and
they've seen success in that action.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
That's James Echols, an elections analyst for the City of Portland,
and details on a report that looked at the first
run at ranked choice voting in Portland last November and
what they can do to help voters understand how it
works in future elections. Thanks for listening to Local Voices.
I'm brad Ford. You can hear past episodes on the
iHeartRadio app under the podcast tab. Local Voices is a
(29:55):
public affairs presentation from iHeartRadio.
Speaker 5 (30:00):
No.
Welcome to Local Voices. I'm brad Ford. This week Portland
has a new form of government. We'll explain how it works.
The number of homeless debts in Milton McCatty rose significantly
in twenty twenty three, and elections officials are examining how
they can improve voter knowledge about rank choice voting. As
of January first, the City of Portland transformed to a
(00:25):
new form of government. To explain how it works, Tate
White joins us on Local Voices. Tate is helping to
coordinate the transition of governments. Let's start with the mayor.
What is the mayor's role?
Speaker 2 (00:35):
So, as you're likely aware, we've been operating under a
commission form of government for over one hundred years now,
and the mayor was really the first among equals, really
serving an executive and legislative role, as was the rest
of council. And a huge shift that's happening with the
(00:58):
mayor council form of government is the operation between those
executive and legislative functions. And so the council, which has
now expanded, of course, will be primarily legislative and the
mayor will be the chief executive and so the mayor
will be working with a professional city administrator to oversee
(01:18):
the day to day operations of the city itself. So
they're overseeing, you know, all the employees, all the resources,
all the facilities, really focused on you know, what's happening
every day and accountable for that.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
So you mentioned city council has expanded. There are now
twelve members, three come from each of four districts around
the city and then the general election, the elections were
held for those positions. So what will be the role
of the city council members.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
So the city council will have legislative authority as well
as quasi judicial authority, which is is mostly focused on
land use hearings and different things like that. But their
legislative authority will be focused on setting policy, passing laws.
They will have the power of the purse, which means
(02:13):
they will be approving the city budget, approving appropriations, raising revenue,
levying taxes, anything like that will be part of their role.
But another key change that the community was really looking
for with this change in government is that they'll have
more time to connect with their constituents and so in
(02:36):
their legislative role, they'll be holding public meetings and they'll
be taking more time to connect with those constituents in
their districts to really understand what their needs are and
to help and to help let that influence their policy making.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
So who will run the city council meetings? Do they
elect a president of the city Council.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
Yes, you're absolute correct.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
So the first council meeting will happen on January second,
and the Council Clerk will be presiding officer until the
elect council President and vice president in that meeting, and
from then on, the council President will preside at meetings,
and when the council president is not there, the vice
president will preside.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
So Portland now has a city administrator. What's the role
of the city administrator.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
So the city administrator is a professional that is appointed
by the mayor and confirmed by Council, and their job
is to really efficiently administer all city affairs. And so
they're appointing and reassigning and removing all directors of bureaus
and department heads. They really oversee all employees at the city.
(03:50):
They are executing and enforcing all the laws that are
adopted by council, and they're preparing an annual budget, working
with the deputy City administrators and leadership team that the
really provide to the mayor and work with the mayor
on and then ultimately submit that to council.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
So how a legislation, if that's the right word, how
all legislation moved through city council? Where does it start?
And then do they treat it like a bill?
Speaker 3 (04:21):
That's a great question.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
And you know that Schoolhouse Rock cartoon with how a
bill becomes a law. It actually is kind of similar
to that. We you know, because of the separation between
the legislative and executive branches, there are some similarities to
the federal government and how they operate. Now, it's not
exactly the same thing, so we have to be careful,
(04:43):
but it is similar to that.
Speaker 4 (04:45):
We you know.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
I'm I'm a part of the transition team, and we
have been working with the city attorneys and council clerk
offices and now the Council Operations team who who are
on the newer side of things.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
To help support this council.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
We've all been working to understand how this works and
how we update our existing systems and codes to help
facilitate this government being able to function on day one. However,
it's really the new City Council that has authority to
establish rules about how they work together as a team
(05:22):
and how they govern themselves. So we've been sharing with
them what we have prepared to like the scaffolding to
help this government function, and then they will really take.
Speaker 3 (05:34):
It from there.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
However, I can say that counselors will be working with
their staff as well as the Council Operations team to
really draft legislation. We will now have council policy committees
that legislation might start in those committees so that it
can have a lot of discussion before the legislation has
(05:59):
ultimately moved being to council meetings for a decision.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
So we currently have resolutions and ordinances that move through
city council. Will they be called the same thing in
the new city Council.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Yes, for the time being, they will be called the
same thing, and that's something that the Council Clerk has
been reviewing with the councilors elect already.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Well, the format of the city council meetings change.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
For regular council meetings, they're going to be pretty similar
to what they are today, unless, of course, the new
council makes significant changes. One thing that's changing more are
council agendas and what is placed on those council agendas
because now that you have a chief executive with the mayor,
(06:47):
the can make a lot of administrative decisions.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
That don't need to go to council.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
So, for example, right now, if a bureau wants to
apply for a grant, they have to go to city
council just to get approval to apply. But in the
mayor council form of government, they can work with the
mayor this applying for a grant doesn't have an impact
on the budget, So that's something that they can do
(07:15):
without having to go to council.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
And so that's just one.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
There are other examples, and so that means that council
meetings will be more focused on what's in their authority
for decision making.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
So when council passes an ordinance or a resolution, does
it then go to the mayor to be signed.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
That's a great question.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
No, some mayor council forms of government do have a
system like that, but that is.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
Not required for our for our according to our charter.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
But I'm glad you asked it because it touches on
what legislative powers the mayor does have, and according to
our charter, the mayor votes in the case of a
tie among council and then another key power the mayor
has is to add things to the council agenda. So
(08:07):
that's another shift that we have and it speaks to
that legislative process to sort of support the feedback loop
between the administration and the council. The bureaus and leadership
can work with the mayor to bring items forward to
council through that function.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
So how the city council chambers changed. We got to
see that in the last City Council meeting of the year.
How is it different?
Speaker 2 (08:37):
It is so much lighter and brighter and pleasant. I
will say that our colleagues in our Facilities Group at
the City and the Bureau of Technology Services have been
working diligently over the past two years to work on
this renovation of council chambers at City Hall. They tried
(08:59):
to be really thought hold about, you know, cost efficiency
and everything, but we did need a bigger DIAS to
fit twelve councilors. And in that process of expanding that DIAS,
they have made improvements to technology and accessibility, just different
things like that that really support the public being able
(09:23):
to watch and engage in council meetings better, and just
modernizing any of the systems.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Because it is an old building.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
And so with these updates they tried to take advantage
of them to just help maintain the building moving forward
into the future while providing more space to facilitate these
expanded council meetings.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
Not like with any new process, there's a learning curve
what's done to instruct the new mayor and the new
city council members on how the process will work.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
Wow, it has been a busy couple weeks.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
We started after, you know, the week after the county
certified the election results.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
We started a little slowly. That first week, we just had.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Some new employee sort of benefit sessions so that they
could really understand what their new jobs were and what
was available to them. And then we started in on
sessions with the city Attorney's office where they talked about
you know, the city Charter, their new roles and responsibilities,
but basically ethics and land use law. We took them
(10:36):
to the city Archives where they got a tour and
they learned about public records law and how they manage
public records. We met with the Deputy City Attorney of
Budget and Finance, the city economists, and budget director to
understand kind of a high level budget one oh one
(10:56):
and what they can expect moving forward. So really just
sort of a baseline on.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
Really key topics.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
They've also had sessions to work on to talk about
their values together and how they're going to work together
as a team, to really just get them starting from
a good foundation. And then of course the educational sessions
will continue and so we're all we've also proposed ongoing
(11:25):
public work sessions to learn about the different service areas
and also tours so they can get out into the
field and really see some how these investments and policy
issues are looking on the ground.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
What a huge job. I mean, normally after an election
you might have maybe one counselor maybe a new mayor
to take through that process. Here you've got thirteen people
going through it.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
Yes, absolutely, and it is I mean it's a joy
to watch. But yes, it's obvious that it might be
a little too overwhelming, but we definitely wanted to provide
something and we're having a great conversation with them to understand,
you know, what should be prioritized in the future and
(12:12):
what can maybe wait a little later. But all the
councilors elect have expressed gratitude for having this opportunity to
learn before they're seated.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
What a historic time for the city. That is Tate
White with the City of Portland explaining how the new
mayor and City Council will work under the new form
of government that took effect New Year's Day. VOULDA mccunty
released its Domicile Unknown Report for twenty twenty three. It
details deaths of people who are homeless. Vulda mcauty Commission
Chair Jessica Vega Peterson says it is the highest number
(12:45):
of deaths since they started tracking homeless deaths.
Speaker 5 (12:49):
Today, we recognize the deaths of four hundred and fifty
six friends, neighbors, loved ones. We recognize that their deaths
were premature and for some that means by more than
thirty years. This is the highest number of deaths since
Maltnama County began its analysis, reflecting what health officials believe
(13:09):
is the height of the fentanyl crisis that swept through
our community in twenty twenty three. Our friends and neighbors
died because our complex systems didn't support them, and that
knowledge is devastating and heartbreaking. Some didn't have adequate housing
or the on ramp to treatment that they needed, and many,
as we've heard from countless families and loved ones, died
(13:33):
due to addiction despite the love, care, and support of
their family and community. We learn with this support that
deaths have jumped thirty seven percent on average every year
between twenty nineteen and twenty twenty three. This additional loss
of life is beyond humbling, and today we sit with
(13:55):
the full weight of these losses. So today we also
take the time to honor those that have died, to
recognize their humanity, their dignity, and their stories. We slow
down during this time of year to consider what these
deaths have to teach us and to send a message,
especially to those who have lost the people that they
(14:15):
have loved, that the death of their loved one isn't acceptable.
We recognize that the best way to honor the four
hundred and fifty six lives we lost in twenty twenty
three is to continue our commitment to respond to this
crisis with the extreme urgency that's needed. Maltnam County, as
(14:36):
the largest safety net government in Oregon. We often meet
people on their very worst days, and every single day
I hear that we don't have enough treatment and recovery
services to meet that terrible day. We all want healthy
and safer communities, so we need and we focus on
(14:56):
both short term and long term approaches. Short term, we
must invest in and expand access to effective treatment, and
long term, we must continue to make housing more affordable
and available. Our Health Department, the Homelessness Response System, and
every department at Maltnama County are working closely with partners
to make more of these things possible. When a legislative
(15:19):
bill to change our drugs law is pasted this past spring,
Maultnama County face and mandate to balance public safety and
behavioral health, making sure that the handoffs are strong and coordinated,
and that the people who are struggling on our streets
with addiction have a pathway away from the criminal justice
system and towards recovery. Deflection, which began on September first,
(15:42):
provides us with new opportunities to connect people with recovery
and new bridges between law enforcement and behavioral health in
real time, including field based deflections and a coordinated care
Pathway Center that is in taking people experiencing substance use
disorder on our streets every day. As of this week,
we've served one hundred and forty two people with two
(16:04):
hundred and eighty six referrals to treatment, recovery and other
stabilization resources. This Pathway Center is a long term investment.
This spring, we are going to expand access with thirteen
sobering beds, opening the center twenty four hours, seven days
a week, and explore other deferral pathway options. As we
(16:26):
reflect on the lives and losses in this report, we
must acknowledge the intersections between substance abuse and homelessness and
the impacts of that. Stability and support looks like getting
people off the streets with the three thousand shelter beds.
This year, we are focusing and helping people move through
(16:46):
our shelter system into housing so that they have shorter
stays and quicker connections to the stability that they need.
We have measurable and attainable goals in our Homelessness Response
Action Plan. Are committed to a fifty percent reduction and
those living unsheltered by December twenty twenty five. We want
to increase people's exits from shelter into housing by fifteen percent,
(17:12):
and we have a targeted and intentional reduction in the
racial disparities we see in people who are experiencing homelessness.
We also know that this looks like preventing people from
becoming homeless in the first place by partnering directly with
people who are experiencing homelessness to better understand them and
the needs to make sure that those living today, either
(17:36):
in unstable housing, who are recovering from crisis or an
existing foster care are known to us, tracked through our
by name list, and offered stability and support. Before I
pass it on, I want to end today with a
recognition of the human potential that is lost in the
lives of the four hundred and fifty six people that
we honor today. These are people's children, sisters, parents, cousins,
(17:59):
and friends with their own big hearts, big dreams, and
big potential. At Multnomac County, we care deeply about those
dreams and that potential, and I can say that for
every single one of our Multnam County employees. As we
slow down to reflect on these losses, I want us
also to take a look towards the future that doesn't
(18:21):
doesn't include such loss, one where homelessness is more rare
and more brief, where people aren't dying on our streets
and record numbers, and where they're better protected from the
worst outcomes. I care they're shown by our community. I
look forward to this future, and I know the incoming
Board of County Commissioners looks forward to it as well
(18:42):
and is eager to get to work. Now. I'll turn
things that were to doctor Emily Messiitis from our Health
department to take us through more of the specifics in
the report.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
That's Wilton mccunty commission Chair Jessica Vega Peterson with details
on the counties twenty twenty three Domicile Unknown Report on
the Deaths of People who are Homeless. Doctor Emily Messiitis
is the epidemiology manager for the Molnama County Health Department.
With more details about the report.
Speaker 6 (19:06):
For twenty twenty three, we analyzed both the accidental or
suspicious deaths that are investigated by the Moloma County Medical Examiner,
and in those data we found three hundred and ninety
four deaths. We also analyzed the deaths of sixty two
people who died at the hospital or under medical care
of some kind, and those were in death certificates. That
(19:29):
gives us a total of four hundred and fifty six
of our community members who died at the hospital or
who died in twenty twenty three while they were experiencing homelessness.
This is the highest number of deaths since the report
began in twenty eleven, so I wanted to share a
couple things that might have contributed to that. First, because
(19:49):
we did use those two sources of data this year
as we did last year. Because housing status is available
on final death certificates, this gives us a more comprehensive
view of deaths, but it also just adds to the
total number, so we have more understanding of where and
(20:10):
how people experiencing homelessness are dying. Also, homelessness itself rose
between twenty twenty two and twenty twenty three, so the
underlying population of people who could be included in the
report was higher. And really, primarily, as the chair mentioned,
twenty twenty three was when we reached the peak of
(20:30):
fentonal mortality across the county. Fentonl overdoses contributed a large
proportion of the causes of deaths reported here. The average
age of death was incredibly young, just forty six years old.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
That's doctor Amily Massidas, the epidemiology manager for the Moulton
MC County Health Department, and details about the Domicile Unknown
report that details the circumstances of deaths among people who
are homeless. The county uses the information to determine what
services will help the homeless community. Holdoma County and the
City of Portland are reviewing how the first use of
(21:05):
ranked choice voting went in the November general election and
what needs to happen to help voters understand how it works.
James Echols for the City of Portland updated City Council
last month, issuing details from a new report.
Speaker 7 (21:18):
This report, the Election's Outcome and Preliminary Voter Education Report,
is intended to look at and analyze an array of
data points around voter experience, voter engagement, and voting behavior.
One of our primary goals in the Elections Division is
to ensure Portlander's vote Portland voters understand how to properly
(21:38):
fill out their ballot. It is paramount in my eyes
and the eyes of my division to do that through
an evidence based approach, and this report is the first
step in that process.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
They asked voters how do they learn how ranked choice
voting works.
Speaker 7 (21:53):
The number one response to that question was the one
page ballot insert that we created and went out with
every single to every single voter. After that comes the
written instructions on the ballot. I'm glad that they're looking
at that. And then the voter's pamphlet which the county
added ranked choice voting specific information two. And then the
(22:13):
fourth is the mailer that we sent out to every
voter every excuse me.
Speaker 4 (22:17):
Every resident in the city of Portland. So the top.
Speaker 7 (22:21):
Three materials that we see poll respondents going to for
instructions are all created by official sources. So the material
recreating is doing something to raise awareness, which is our goal.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
Eckel says, voters did better than the rest of the country.
Speaker 4 (22:35):
In this report, we see that.
Speaker 7 (22:39):
Those voters who voted and ranked at least three rankings
three candidates is between sixty three percent and seventy seven percent,
with District one following at the lowest. We also cover
here those who ranked at least two candidates. Now, our
goal and I'll cover why at a moment, is generally
to get to encourage voters to rank at least three,
(23:00):
but we did also track the number who ranked two,
because our data from the national partners at fair Vote
have tracked who ranked at least two, so we wanted
to have something to compare to national averages, and in
our first implementation of ranked choice voting, you can see
that in almost every contest we overcame that national average
of seventy four percent. Only in District one did we
(23:23):
not quite get there, and they still had a great
turnout with sixty nine percent. Now, I want to get
to why we care about this. Our goal generally in
the Elections division is to shoot for about three rankings,
but we want to be very clear when we're doing
voter education. If a voter ranks at least one candidate,
their vote will be counted. That's important, But we also
(23:44):
want to encourage them to rank more than one for
two main reasons. The first is that the more that
they select, the more of their voice is heard on
that ballot, the more of their intention comes across on
that ballot, So they may not unanimously like only one candidate.
They may feel split between a number of candidates and
feel that they would be comfortable with three or four
(24:04):
or five candidates even though they have a favorite. We
want them to have the ability and feel comfortable expressing
that on the ballot. The second reason is what is
generally called the spoiler effect. Implementation of ranked choice voting
is in part meant to reduce the impact of the
spoiler effect. The spoiler effect is when an unelected candidate,
a candidate who did not win, had an impact on
(24:27):
who did win the race. So an example might be
two relatively popular candidates from maybe the same general support
structure split the majority of the votes in half, and
that results in a third candidate that is less popular
than those candidates but ends up getting a plurality of
vote because of that split vote. Ranked choice voting is
(24:48):
intended to minimize that effect or reduce that effect, because
you will be able to rank both of those two
people that would normally be splitting the vote that you
support when your first ranking and your second ranking and
whatever order you use. Now, if every voter simply ranks
one single candidate, then the spoiler effect would not be
reduced at all, obviously, because we would effectively be implementing
(25:09):
a first past the post election. So that's why this
is important to us, and why that data matters.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
Eckel says they need to do a better job of
explaining why ranked choice voting is a positive.
Speaker 7 (25:20):
So in our initial source of voter education, we really
focused this first year on how do you fill out
the ballot? The instructions for doing the ballot. We did
not have a lot of instruction to voters on why
it might be good to do rank choice voting for them,
why there might be benefits. At times we would do that
as a responsive question, but it was not a paramount
part of our voter education. We are now seeing from
(25:40):
this data that there's a number of voters who are
disengaged with the process that may be more engaged if
they had a better understanding for why there's a benefit here,
for why it's good for me to rank three or
four or five. And as we can see from the
focus group turnout, a lot of those voters as they
sort of talk to each other and understood that better,
they started to say they would be interested in ranking
more or voting more often.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
They also looked at misinformation about ranked choice voting.
Speaker 7 (26:05):
So the first option here is a misstatement. It's a
piece of false information. Ranking more than one candidate dilutes
my support form my number one choice.
Speaker 4 (26:15):
This is a false statement.
Speaker 7 (26:16):
It's not mathematically true, but as we can see, there
is a disparate number of voters of color who agreed
with that statement. So this is again evidence that something
in our in our material, in our voter education, in
our messaging is not reaching members of this audience as
much as it is reaching the more mainstream audience.
Speaker 4 (26:36):
And white voters in Portland.
Speaker 7 (26:38):
The other two here are that I wasn't sure what
to do if I made a mistake in my ranking.
Again we see a desperately high number among Lakino voters
and Asian and Pacific Island voters. And finally we see
I feel the city provide a clear and accurate and
timely communication. And the biggest one here that we want
to draw attention to is that black voters in this
poll had less than half of black voters in this
(26:59):
poll said that they felt the city was providing them
the information that they wanted and needed. This is why
that peer to peer communication is so important. This is
why partnerships with those communities will be so important. We
can't decide the information that's going to be best for them.
Speaker 4 (27:15):
We need to work with them to figure that out.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
Some voters responded they were overwhelmed by the number of candidates.
Speaker 4 (27:21):
Another quote is that I think there were too many candidates.
Speaker 7 (27:23):
I don't want to say raise the bar of entry
for them to get on the ballot, but there should
be something where you have to put a little more effort,
like show that you actually want to do this beyond
having your name on the ballot. So there were one
hundred and eighteen candidates on the ballot. Some of that
we acknowledge is due to simply there were more contests
on the ballot than there ever have been. We have
an entirely new system of government, entirely new government. But
(27:45):
some of that we believe was also due to Portland
having the most accessible ballot, or one of the most
accessible ballots of any major city in the United States.
So getting on the ballot is easier in Portland than
comparable jurisdictions. For Portland City Council, it costs either seventy
five dollars or five hundred signatures. We had one candidate
(28:05):
that chose to fill out the petition signatures and get
them done because seventy five dollars is probably less of
a burden than trying to get five hundred signatures, so
this is an incredibly low barrier.
Speaker 4 (28:17):
We rose it.
Speaker 7 (28:18):
We did increase it before the twenty twenty four election
from what it was it was fifty dollars, so we
did increase it.
Speaker 4 (28:23):
We didn't want to increase it too much.
Speaker 7 (28:25):
But we also think it's still an incredibly accessible ballot.
Other jurisdictions include Seattle, where the filing fee is one
percent of the current salary office ranging from fourteen hundred
to and forty dollars, a lot more than.
Speaker 4 (28:37):
Seventy five dollars.
Speaker 7 (28:39):
San Francisco is five hundred dollars or one thousand signatures
to a higher number in both regards. Denver has no
monetary option and is simply one hundred to three hundred signatures.
And like I already discussed, probably getting signatures is more
difficult for the average candidate than just turning in some money.
And finally, Minneapolis is two hundred and fifty dollars, so
well over, I want to draw special attention to Minneapolis one.
(29:03):
Minneapolis is the only other city on this list that
has multi winner ranked choice voting like Portland does, so
it's a little bit more comparable. But Minneapolis also at
when they first implemented ranked choice voting, saw a similar problem.
They had a ton of candidates. They decided they needed
to do something about it. They increased the threshold for
(29:25):
candidates to get on the ballot, and they reported that
they saw a decrease in the number of candidates. So
they saw something like we did. They took action and
they've seen success in that action.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
That's James Echols, an elections analyst for the City of Portland,
and details on a report that looked at the first
run at ranked choice voting in Portland last November and
what they can do to help voters understand how it
works in future elections. Thanks for listening to Local Voices.
I'm brad Ford. You can hear past episodes on the
iHeartRadio app under the podcast tab. Local Voices is a
(29:55):
public affairs presentation from iHeartRadio.
Speaker 5 (30:00):
No.
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