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What's been on my mind lately
Preparing for public safety budget conversations with annual ride alongs
 Councilor Ryan during a 2025 visit to Fire Station 24 in North Portland’s Overlook neighborhood.
Every time I meet with these teams, I leave with indispensable insights about what parts of the safety system is working and what’s not, where short- and long-term shifts could lead to better outcomes, and importantly, what they need to provide emergency services to all Portlanders. These ride alongs and site visits inform my discussions and deliberations at City Council about each fiscal year’s public safety budget.
In past ride alongs with Portland Fire & Rescue’s CHAT program, I visited a deflection center to check in on an individual who had been treated for opioid use disorder and was on the long-term treatment path toward stability. We also went on an aftercare visit to an individual suffering from many chronic conditions related to untreated acute diabetes—the patient had been a frequent 9-1-1 caller and was finally receiving condition stabilization medications they so desperately needed. On a ride along with Portland Police, I joined North Precinct officers on patrol of North and Northeast neighborhoods during the night shift, as well as saw Emergency Communications’ 9-1-1 call dispatching in real-time.
In the coming weeks, I'll be sitting with and riding alongside the first responders of these agencies again. It ensures I am keyed into current priorities and challenges, and it'll help inform upcoming budget conversations headed into 2026-27.
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Asking what access to outreach services looks like on Portland’s streets
 Councilor Ryan being interviewed by KGW’s Blair Best about the recent incident at Elephants Deli, the City’s Storefront Support Program, and more.
In the wake of the fire that destroyed Elephants Deli’s flagship location in Northwest Portland, I found myself coming back to a couple of questions over and over again. Why was the woman who started the fire cold and alone on the streets of Portland that night? Did anyone working within Portland’s outreach ecosystem have connection with her, and if so, why wasn’t she receiving needed services from the shelter on NW Northrup just blocks away? More broadly, what are the breakdowns in our system that allowed this to happen? They’re the same breakdowns that have devastated businesses in District 2, as well, from St. Johns and Mississippi to NE Broadway and beyond. I feel for the folks on our streets who are hurting, and I feel for small business owners whose livelihoods are impacted so greatly by incidents like these. As Elephants Deli's CEO Martin McClanan said, "We [also] have deep sympathy for neighbors experiencing hardship. But compassion alone cannot come at the expense of safety and stability."
I was glad to have the opportunity to talk with KGW's Blair Best about this incident, where I asked questions about our approach to outreach, reinforced that improved emergency response times are vital in scenarios like this, and highlighted my work in alignment with Mayor Wilson and City Administrator Lee on Portland's Storefront Support Program.
Relatedly, this week, we held a joint homelessness and housing work session with Multnomah County at City Hall. The takeaway is that the one-time COVID-era Federal funds helped the City of Portland and Multnomah County build out robust programs to better meet the community’s service needs. We knew the funding would end and it means that we must work together to prioritize the Supportive Housing Services (SHS) funds from the Metro measure approved in 2020 more strategically. The fiscal cliff for rent vouchers, shelters with services, outreach, building housing, and abatement services are all on the table.
This is not isolated since almost all expenses are outpacing revenues, so the City of Portland faces big budget challenges in 2026-27 and beyond. We know difficult cuts will be required. Meanwhile, the needs of our unhoused and housing-insecure neighbors continues to grow. More conversations ahead on this, of course. Stay tuned as we make challenging trade-off decisions to protect our basic public safety and public works services and support Mayor Wilson to remove public camping from the right of way while providing on ramps to stability.
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Council recess and spring break activities for Portland families and kids
 Registration is now open for Portland Parks & Recreation’s spring break camps, taking place March 23-27, 2026.
A seasonal shift is afoot, Portland—the days are longer, the daffodils and cherry blossoms are blooming, and we're headed into City Council's spring break recess this week. On the heels of visiting our sister city of Kaohsiung, Taiwan, a non-stop schedule with council and committee meetings, as well as in-district meetings with D2 constituents, I'm looking forward to embracing a slower pace of life this week during City Council's recess. We've got so much important work teed up for April and beyond, including diving into Mayor Wilson's 2026-27 proposed budget and our new Council committee assignments. This brief period of rest is vital to showing up focused, replenished, and ready to get things done for Portlanders.
If you're looking for spring break activities for this week, be sure to check out what's on offer at your local community center, as their slate of events, arts programs, and activities for all ages run all year. There are six serving North and Northeast Portland, including the Portland Tennis Center, Matt Dishman Community Center, the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center, Peninsula Park Community Center, Charles Jordan Community Center, and the St. Johns Community Center.
PS: Mark your calendars because applications for Portland Parks Preschool will run from April 1-30 for the 2026-27 school year and registration for PP&R's summer camps will open up in May.
📣 Over on Facebook and Instagram, Kaohsiung City Council Speaker Kang Yu-Cheng and I are challenging Mayor Wilson and the City Administration team to a dragon boat race against both the Kaohsiung and Portland City Councils. Here are the details:
🐲 What: Portland Rose Festival's Dragon Boat Elected Official Cup Challenge
🐲 Where: Tom McCall Waterfront Park
🐲 When: Saturday, June 6, 2026, at 12 p.m.
Kaohsiung and Portland City Councilors will be there, and we hope the Mayor and City Administrator will be, too! May the best dragon boat team win. 🥇
On a related note, the start of the 12-week-long Rose Festival Dragon Boat Race Season will officially start with the Eye Dotting Ceremony on March 29 from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. The event will include a Buddhist ceremony blessing the dragon boats, the formal dotting of the eyes of traditional-style dragon boats by dignitaries, a Chinese drum line performance, and a parade of dragon boats with a Portland Fire boat display. Let the festivities begin!
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Celebrating the life of Avel Gordly (1947-2026)
 Senator Avel Gordly's celebration of life, held March 17, 2026.
I was among the hundreds of Portlanders who gathered on March 17 to celebrate the incredible life of Avel Gordly. Just a few weeks ago, Avel said that she wanted to be remembered as a “Brown girl from Northeast Portland who believed in justice, hard work, and taking care of each other”. Her legacy reflects her wishes.
In 1996, Avel was elected to the Oregon State Senate and became the first Black woman to serve in that chamber. She was known as the “Conscience of the Senate” because of her integrity and the mutual respect she shared with her colleagues. She worked to have Juneteenth officially recognized in Oregon, helped remove racially discriminatory language from Oregon’s Constitution, and worked to raise Oregon’s minimum wage. She pushed for state hospital reform and helped establish the Avel Gordly Center for Healing at Oregon Health and Science University to address gaps in access to mental health services in the Black community. She taught at Portland state, ran programs for the Urban League and the House of Umoja, and much more.
Thank you for always matching your words with your actions, Senator Gordly. Rest in peace.
More recent photos from around town
 Recognizing the 10th anniversary of Oregon’s designation in perpetuity of March 28 as Minoru Yasui Day.
Before we began City Council’s March 18 evening session, we paused pre-gavel to recognize the 10th anniversary of Oregon’s designation in perpetuity of March 28 as Minoru Yasui Day. City Councilors were joined by community members from a wide range of organizations, including but not limited to Tsuru for Solidarity, Japanese American Citizens League, Japanese American Museum of Portland, Minoru Yasui Legacy Project, members of the City of Portland’s Hapa, Asian, and Pacific Islander (HAPI) employee resource group, family, friends, and others.
Yasui was born in Hood River on October 16, 1916, and in 1939, he graduated from the University of Oregon’s School of Law. He became the first Japanese American member of the Oregon Bar! He made national history by challenging the constitutionality of the military curfew imposed on Japanese American citizens in World War II in Executive Order 9066.
In 2015, Yasui was awarded a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor, for challenging the incarceration of Japanese Americans in concentration camps during World War II and for his leadership in civil and human rights. He is the first Oregonian to receive that medal.
 Councilor Ryan and Diversified Marine Inc.'s Director of Business Development Nathan Schmitt.
I recently visited two family-owned businesses on North Portland’s working waterfront—Schooner Creek Boat Works and Diversified Marine Inc.—both of which stand to be impacted by the potential Environmental E-zone changes discussed at the East Columbia Neighborhood Association meeting I attended earlier this month.
During these visits, I learned that my hometown’s history of ship and boat building continues because Portland offers easy access to freshwater ports. Schooner Creek is a full-service boat repair and manufacturing yard that employs 35 highly skilled boat builders and mechanics on their 9-acre site. Diversified Marine Inc. is the largest fabricator of tugboats on the West Coast with 75 employees and great training opportunities.
Both companies say that if the City of Portland was a better partner, from E-zones to permitting, they could double the number of team members they employ. This is something we should prioritize because bringing family wage jobs is vital to building up a prosperous city.
 Councilor Ryan at the Gonzaga vs. Texas game, part of the March Madness tournament, in March 2026.
The vibe at Moda Center was electric on March 21, as No. 11 Texas pulled off an upset win against No. 3 Gonzaga. I was certainly in my happy place, watching the game courtside alongside my nephew and great-nephew. Big games like these bring a lot of joy to a lot of people, myself included, and they bring a welcome economic boost, too. Keep up the great work, Sport Oregon.
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Traducción e Interpretación | Biên Dịch và Thông Dịch | अनुवादन तथा व्याख्या 口笔译服务 | Устный и письменный перевод | Turjumaad iyo Fasiraad Письмовий і усний переклад | Traducere și interpretariat | Chiaku me Awewen Kapas
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