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Dear Portlanders,

As the City Council prepares to take a brief recess, I'm so happy to be here in my hometown spending the holidays with family. December is magical here, and from the Christmas Ships Parade to the plethora of holiday markets, to Peacock Lane and the menorah and tree lighting ceremonies at Pioneer Square, there's no end of festive things to do.

This first year in office has been immensely fulfilling. I've heard from so many Portlanders at my monthly town halls and weekly constituent meetings, and I'm so grateful for every person who took the time to come to an event or reach out to share their thoughts and experiences. It truly is an honor to serve North and Northeast Portlanders.

I'm also grateful for my team and my colleagues on Council. Together we've been able to achieve some significant accomplishments for Portlanders, like:

• Protecting Portland Parks & Recreation, including reducing proposed cuts to community center hours and facilitating passage of the Parks Levy to preserve funding for recreational programs.
• Supporting holistic, prevention-focused community safety, including maintaining funding for the Safe Blocks and CHAT programs, ensuring police overtime is spent on priorities like burglary and human trafficking, and passing the Portland Street Response resolution to protect, support, and expand the program.
• Codifying Portland's Sanctuary City status.
• Passing a social housing resolution to explore new pathways for addressing our housing affordability crisis.

The work continues in the new year, and I'm ready and excited to do it. Don't hesitate to reach out to my office with your ideas about how we can make our beloved city even better.

And check out some opportunities below to see holiday lights, pick up those last-minute gifts from local makers, and get a safe ride home on New Year's Eve!

With gratitude,
Sameer Kanal

Councilor.Kanal@portlandoregon.gov 

Highlights

PCCEP Public Safety Forum

The Portland Committee on Community-Engaged Policing held a forum at Grant High School—One Year In: Public Safety Under Portland's New Form of Government. I was pleased to join my fellow Councilors Steve Novick and Elana Pirtle-Guiney, Mayor Wilson, Deputy City Administrator Bob Cozzie, Community Safety Director Stephanie Howard, and PPB Deputy Chief Chris Gjovik for a discussion about public safety accomplishments and challenges over the past year and how community input can continue to drive improvements to our system.

Watch the video of the forum.

Genocide Victims Remembrance Vigil

The Genocide Victims Remembrance Vigil and bridge-lighting ceremony was a deeply moving tribute to those we've lost and those who carry the memories. The Portland region is home to more than 100 Holocaust survivors, nearly 1,000 Rohingya refugees, and many more refugees from across the globe fleeing persecution.

Genocide is preventable, yet time and time again, the world has failed to act and has failed to learn. We're not going to fail to learn here in Portland though. We're committed to protecting and supporting our refugee communities and Portlanders facing persecution.

May we continue to listen, to learn and to act until "never again" actually means never again—for anyone.

Tree Planting in North Portland

They say, "A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in." While I'm (arguably) not old yet, I hope this tree I planted with Friends of Trees volunteers in North Portland will be one day, and I'm grateful to get to meet committed Portlanders expanding our tree canopy, one sapling at a time.

Standing with Legacy Advanced Practice Providers

Portlanders deserve access to high-quality healthcare. But we risk losing that if we can't retain our skilled healthcare workforce due to burnout and uncompetitive wages. That's why I'm proud to stand with striking Advanced Practice Providers at area Legacy Health facilities who unionized 18 months ago and are still fighting for their first contract.

Advanced Practice Providers—like nurse practitioners, physician associates, certified nurse midwives and clinical nurse specialists—make up 41% of healthcare providers nationally and are the backbone of our care system. I'm grateful to them for all they do to care for our communities.

Green Muse

Green Muse is a local, Black-owned cannabis dispensary, and the first with a hip-hop theme. It was great talking with Karanja and all the wonderful folks who run this Northeast Portland small business and hearing about their experience in this important Oregon industry.

Hot Topics

Three things I’m hearing a lot about from constituents:

• The condition of our roads
• ICE and the federal government
• Overnight shelters

Council Updates

New City Administrator

Last week, the City Council unanimously confirmed the appointment of Raymond Lee as Portland's next City Administrator. Mr. Lee previously served as the city manager of Greeley, Colorado.

More than 100 people from across the country applied, and the thorough recruitment process produced several strong finalists. Incoming City Administrator Lee has broad expertise and is committed to being out in the community. I look forward to collaborating with him to ensure smooth flow of information between Council and the Administrator's office to help move Portland forward.

I also want to thank Michael Jordan, our outgoing City Administrator, for his service to our city during a difficult and important transitional period in our history.

Amending the City Investment Policy

The City Council recently voted to adopt the City of Portland's Investment Policy, and I'm pleased that an amendment I proposed passed. Our investment policy will soon include additional values-based criteria to ensure that the City doesn’t invest in companies that enable or facilitate armed conflict, human rights abuses, or genocide.

We already don't invest in oil, correctional facilities, or gambling. It's time human rights is part of our screening criteria too.

PSR Committee Members Appointed

Today, Council confirmed the appointment of the inaugural members of the Portland Street Response Committee. This is a key step on the path to expanding and fully resourcing Portland Street Response as a co-equal branch of our first responder system. Congratulations to the new members!

Detention Facility Fee Passes

Council also recently passed Councilor Angelita Morillo's Detention Facility Impact Fee ordinance, which ensures fairer cost-sharing to reduce the burden of high-impact land uses on Portland taxpayers.

The public health, environmental and public safety resource costs of detention centers to our communities should be borne by those who facilitate those activities. Neighboring residents and businesses should not have to shoulder the harm and costs of living next to detention centers, and the fee creates a fund to compensate for that.

This legislation doesn’t do everything we need—no one piece of legislation does—but it does move us forward in addressing the impact of such facilities on our communities.

Council Winter Recess

The City Council will officially be on recess from December 22-January 2 with no Council or committee meetings scheduled. Happy holidays!

Events

Town Hall Dec. 19 at Lloyd Center

Join me for a town hall at AfroVillage in the Lloyd Center, Friday, Dec. 19 from 5:30-7:00 p.m. We'll be talking about the Lloyd Center, housing, and whatever else in on your minds! AfroVillage is on the first floor of Lloyd Center near the old Marshall's.

The Winter Market at Lloyd Center

The Winter Market at the Lloyd Center will be open for three full days of festive shopping, featuring over 125 local makers offering handcrafted goods, unique gifts, and delicious treats.

December 19-21, from 11 a.m.-7 p.m., attendees can enjoy holiday cheer with opportunities to shop, eat, drink, and take photos with Santa. 

Holiday Lights at Portland International Raceway

It's not December without the “Largest Holiday Light Show West of the Mississippi”: the Winter Wonderland Holiday Lights at Portland International Raceway. See over 250 colorful light set pieces and fully animated scenes from the comfort of your own vehicle.

The lights are up through Dec. 31, Mondays-Thursdays from 5-10 p.m. and Fridays-Sundays from 4:30-11 p.m. at Portland International Raceway,1940 N. Victory Blvd.

Safe Ride Home New Year's Eve

PBOT is sponsoring a safe ride home for New Year’s Eve by providing a limited number of coupons for discounted Uber or Lyft rides. Whether your plans include the Drone Show at Pioneer Square or seeing the Grateful Brass at the Alberta Rose Theater, download a coupon to get up to $10 off your ride and get home safe on New Year’s Eve.

City Council Meetings

City Council meetings are held every Wednesday, with one evening meeting a month. The next meeting is January 7 at 9:30 a.m. Community members are welcome to attend the meeting in person at City Hall or view the live broadcast on YouTube. Agendas post on the City website the Friday before each meeting.

Committee Meetings

City Council Committees meet on the second and fourth week of the month. The next meetings are:

• Monday, January 5, 12 p.m.: Finance
• Monday, January 12, 9:30 a.m.: Transportation and Infrastructure
• Monday, January 12, 2:30 p.m.: Governance
• Tuesday, January 13, 9:30 a.m.: Arts and Economy
• Tuesday, January 13, 12 p.m.: Homelessness and Housing
• Tuesday, January 13, 2:30 p.m.: Community and Public Safety
• Thursday, January 15, 9:30 a.m.: Climate, Resilience, and Land Use
• Thursday, January 15, 12 p.m.: Labor and Workforce Development

Community members are welcome to attend meetings in person at City Hall or view the live broadcast on YouTube. Committee agendas post online the Thursday before the meeting.

Neighborhood Association Meetings

The City of Portland posts upcoming neighborhood association meetings on its website. See when your neighbors are gathering this month and view construction and maintenance updates for your area!