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Hi everyone,
I can’t believe we’ve reached the end of my first year on Portland City Council, and Council’s first year under this new form of government. It was a building year, but amid the growing pains and learning curves we were able to make strides for labor, for small business, for parks, for housing development, and for Portlanders targeted by the Trump administration.
After a heavy and historic lift getting up and running this year, I am confident that we can use our momentum to both accomplish important things for the City and refine how we operate as a Council in 2026. But first, I want to take a moment to reflect on 2025, to highlight some wins my office led on, and to celebrate some big Council wins that I was proud to support. So often, these milestones get lost as we immediately move on to the next thing, but it’s important to take a moment to acknowledge what we’ve accomplished so far as we chart a course for the New Year.
Charter reform
This year was full of behind-the-scenes work implementing charter reform, ensuring we could operate successfully as the first governing body to enter City Hall from Portland’s newly drawn Districts. As this system’s first Council President, this required some of the less shiny (but critical) work of launching the City’s first policy committees, working with our Clerk’s team and the administration to update procedures to reflect the new Council, and managing and scheduling day-to-day Council operations.
Parks levy
Portlanders sustained the programs that we care deeply about in our city’s parks when voters approved the new parks levy that Council referred to the ballot. Thanks to tall of your support, we will be able to keep our community centers open, keep our playgrounds and bathrooms clean and safe, and provide essential programming that is accessible to every kid and every senior in our community, regardless of economic background.
 Response to federal overreach
When the Trump administration targeted Portland this fall with hateful rhetoric and violent threats, Portlanders banded together – and Council had their back. We acted quickly to unanimously pass a resolution (the “Protect Portland Initiative,” which I was proud to co-sponsor) and an ordinance shoring up protections for Portlanders. We also unified around a shared strategy, standing in solidarity with those exercising their First Amendment rights and our targeted neighbors, and elevating resources for immigrants in our community. And ultimately, we saw success in the court of law and through support from allies across the country.
 Electeds and community leaders celebrates the unanimous passage of the Protect Portland Initiative and Councilor Sameer Kanal's Sanctuary City ordinance.
SDC exemption for housing
In June, Council waived system development charges (SDCs) for three years on housing projects – a call to the development community that Portland is open for business. While SDCs are a critical tool to ensure our infrastructure keeps up with our growing population, at this time it is also critical that we develop the housing our community needs. This may well be the single most impactful thing Council did this year in support of housing development at a critical moment for our city.
Albina Settlement
In the midst of our spring budget season, Council voted unanimously to increase the settlement from $2 million to $8.5 million for a group of Black residents and descendants from the Albina neighborhood, who were displaced by urban renewal policies dating back to the 1960s. I’m thankful to Councilor Smith for putting forward the proposal that allowed us to do more.
If we’re serious about rebuilding trust in this City, we can’t stop with this settlement. We will continue to act — with transparency, with accountability, and with urgency — to repair past harms and co-create a stronger, more just future. That includes ongoing work to restore community, homeownership, and wealth to families who were displaced from the Albina neighborhood.
 Community members celebrate the Council's decision to amend the settlement.
Small business and workforce in budget
During the budget cycle, I negotiated a critical package to fund investments in small businesses and workforce development, both predominantly left out of the Mayor’s initial budget proposal. Our small businesses, creatives, entrepreneurs, and makers drive the culture of our city – and we can’t support this culture without a community that can afford to work, live, and thrive here.
Maintaining staffing at PP&D
Also during the spring budget, I put forward an amendment funding Portland Permitting and Development’s staffing levels through September 2025, which passed. While this amendment was only a Band-Aid, and PP&D continues to look at sustainable, long-term funding solutions, we can’t make development opportunities more straightforward and accessible in our city without the hardworking PP&D staff who streamline these processes and work with community to make projects come to life.
Contractor disparity studies
In October, Council initiated disparity studies that will identify inequities in our City contracts and government-sponsored workforce agreements, getting us the information we need to pass policies that center equity and training, and help our City do better.
From my experiences as an advocate for working people, I know the importance of requiring employers to hire and retain a diverse workforce and to offer exceptional training opportunities, and I know that it takes an active effort to get there. Considering the changes forced on us by an increasingly adversarial federal government, disparity studies that help us see where we’re reaching all Portlanders with great job opportunities, and where we’re leaving some community members behind, are even more critical. I’m extremely thankful to Councilor Smith for bringing this policy forward and excited to help get these studies over the finish line.
Time in community
Portlanders asked for big changes when they voted for charter reform. In order to meet your call to action, our newly representative Council has worked to be more accountable, more transparent, and importantly, more in community.
During this first year, I held or attended over 24 town halls/community conversations, attended 13 neighborhood association meetings, launched office hours in-District with my staff, and attended dozens of other events with community groups that bring our neighbors together.
Next year, I hope to visit each neighborhood association at least once throughout the year, and hold a town hall event and office hour sessions with staff each and every month. Each conversation I have with you all, I carry with me in the work I do – I can’t make policy without community. I really believe that.
 Thank you all for your engagement this year – for holding me accountable, for telling me your stories, and for giving me your trust. I hope you’re proud of what we’ve accomplished this year, and, like me, I hope you see the vision for how far we have to go. It means so much to me to have you all here as a part of this work – we are just getting started.
In solidarity,
Elana Pirtle-Guiney
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