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From my new video post on YouTube: Join Tiffany Koyama Lane, Portland City Councilor for District 3 and the first Asian American woman to serve on the council, as she discusses her journey, her role as Vice President, and the city’s government transition. Learn how collaboration, humanity, and effective leadership are shaping Portland’s future.

Council Updates

Zenith, Labor Updates, Federal Actions

This week it was announced that the City of Portland had processed the Land Use Compatibility Statement (LUCS) for Zenith, a fossil fuel transport company that currently operates a terminal on the Willamette River. I am very grateful for the many Portlanders who showed up on Wednesday for our City Council meeting to express their dismay at this decision. I was thrilled to see Sunnyside Environmental School's very own JAN ZUCKERMAN (pictured below) testify to Council. Her presence represented a direct connection between the work I'm doing here in City Hall and my life as an educator. I stressed in my closing statement that it's clear we need to work on shaping a culture along with the executive branch of government that includes transparency, oversight and community engagement. These are things that I will fight for as a Councilor, and will work on as the Chair of our newly-forming Governance Committee. 

The Zenith topic is NOT finished. Councilors Green and Morillo have filed a resolution that will be taken up by council and council committees. I have added my name to that resolution and look forward to working with YOU in the public on this important topic. 

Jan Zuckerman, founding teacher at Sunnyside Environmental School, testifying at City Hall this week. 

City Labor Agreements in the News

After the AFSCME bargaining arrived at a settlement last week, avoiding a strike, the DCTU bargaining arrived at an 11th-hour agreement this week, averting a strike that was slated to begin Thursday morning (today). At our Wednesday City Council meeting, we heard testimony from multiple members of another city workers union, CPPW. I intend to follow up with those city workers, so stay tuned for more labor updates in the near future!

POTUS Executive Orders Strain City Bureaus

As Portland deals with a difficult budget cycle, we are also faced with the roll-out of disruptive, arbitrary, and often illegal executive orders disrupting the normal flow of money allocated by our elected congress to local projects. Our city workers are working hard to evaluate which routine grants and processes are at risk. This is creating a huge amount of unnecessary anxiety, though some routine grant reimbursements have been restored. Learn more at this new city website: Federal Policy Impacts in Portland | Portland.gov

This Saturday at 9am, I'm hosting my monthly Constituent Coffee. This one will be VIRTUAL, on Microsoft Teams. In March, we'll return to an in-person location. Second Saturday of the month!

The link to register and attend Feb 8 Constituent Coffee is here. 

For day-to-day updates, social media users are invited to follow my Instagram @CouncilorKoyamaLane

To email me your thoughts, my office is available at Councilor.KoyamaLane@portlandoregon.gov 

Coping with POTUS stress

My neighbors and constituents keep asking me what they can do and are feeling panicked. This Insta live from veteran Congressional Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez was helpful to me and aligns with what I've heard from experienced people who learned lessons from enduring the assaults of Trump's first term: 

3 Quick Takeaways:

1. Get yourself regulated. Take a breath
2. We can stay steady to bring a percentage of folks back to our basic societal agreements. Pick what area you can focus on to help on— stay as regulated as you can, stay engaged and buckle in because it’s going to be a long 4 years and we need everyone 
3. Continue to EDUCATE yourself and keep engaging

This week I was so lucky to visit Sunnyside Elementary School and visit with 2nd and 3rd graders (see photo below) for some impromptu teaching and Q&A. 
Wishing you all many smiles this week!!