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Street Roots • July 1-7, 2016
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CITY HALL OVERHAUL
Portlanders fed up with the 'tyranny o f the majority' are pushing fo r a City Council made up o f district
representatives in lieu o f at-large commissioners. A n d they believe that this time, the effort stands a chance.
BY THOMAS BUELL JR.
C O N T R IB U T IN G W R ITER
eborah Harris ran for mayor of Portland
because she believed African-Americans like
her needed a stronger voice in city
government She saw how skyrocketing housing costs,
homelessness and other issues were taking a
disproportionate toll on people of color, and she
thought that running for the city’s highest office was
the best way - perhaps the only way - for her to
make a difference.
But when the ballots were tallied in May, Harris
came up with less than 1 percent of the 193,000
votes cast
In many other U.S. cities, Harris might have
considered running for a city council seat
representing her neighborhood. She could rally the
support of her neighbors, campaign on local issues,
and then carry their voices to the halls of city
government.
But not in Portland.
The city that is seen as one of the most
progressive in the nation is the only major
metropolitan area in the United States still using what
many experts on the subject consider to be a
distinctly non-progressive form of government - a
small city commission composed of five members, all
D
elected on an at-large basis in what is known as a
weak-mayor system.
While much attention was paid to the election won
by State Treasurer Ted Wheeler, the title of Portland
mayor is largely ceremonial. In reality, the mayor is
just another city commissioner, sharing voting power
equally with four other
commissioners. The mayor
wields no veto pen and has no
hiring/firing power or other
particular leadership authority
except to assign bureaus and
propose budgets.
Past Portland mayors have
made names for themselves
Deborah Harris
more by the powers of
persuasion and personality than
by political fiat. Consider Vera Katz, who, during her
three terms from 1993 to 2005, channeled her larger-
than-life persona to promote bike-friendly streets and
the revitalization of certain city neighborhoods.
But some wonder if the commission form of
government is up to addressing Portland’s
21st-century challenges of burgeoning growth,
gentrification, homelessness and boomtown-style real
estate development.
Passed as an anti-corruption model in 1913 and
having survived eight votes to change it since, most
recently in 2007, Portland’s commission form of
government could now be seen as regressive, even
racist, said Karen Abrams, an urban affairs specialist
recently named a Loeb Fellow at Harvard University’s
Graduate School of Design.
“This kind of reminds me of the ‘tyranny of the
majority,’ said Abrams, a Harlem, N.Y., native who has
spent the past five years managing community
outreach at the Urban Redevelopment Authority in
Pittsburgh, another city facing challenges of growth.
“At-large commissioners may feel beholden to the
thoughts of the majority, while suppressing rightful
representation of minority voices,” she said. “And it is
critical that traditionally underserved communities,
which have and continue to face discrimination and
racism, be represented by people they are able to
elect.”
It’s as simple as that, says Paul T. McCoy, a small
business owner in Northeast Portland, and son of
Gladys McCoy, the first African-American member of
the Portland School Board and later the first black
person to chair the Multnomah County Board of
Commissioners.
“The Portland City Commission was never
See COMMISSION, page 5