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Hey Portland,
I’m incredibly grateful for everyone who took time out of their busy schedules to show up and testify at today’s council meeting to offer their perspective on our City’s budget. We heard from City workers speaking on behalf of themselves and their coworkers. We heard from small business owners and local community leaders. We heard from many everyday Portlanders on topics ranging from the tree canopy to emergency response.
I understand that this process is imperfect. Councilor amendments dropped late on Friday, giving people little time to fully review them. Coming down to City Hall or logging on virtually on a Monday isn’t possible for everyone – especially for East Portlanders.
I want you to know that if you didn’t get a chance to testify live, you can still submit written testimony or email councilors with your thoughts about the budget (highly recommend you submit your testimony ASAP).
These are your dollars, and you should have a say in how they’re spent.
Candace Call to Action: Submit written testimony here! You can see the email contact information for council offices here.
Over the next two days, Councilors will be weighing the different amendments that were submitted to the Mayor’s proposed budget and finalizing decisions. If you follow me on social media (and if you’re on Bluesky, Instagram, or TikTok you should be!) I’ve been pretty vocal over the weekend on two amendments in particular: Avalos 1 and Clark 1.
The reason I’m encouraging you to advocate for YES on my amendment, Avalos 1, and the reason why I want you to tell council NO on Clark 1 comes down to the same reason: we have to respect voter intent.
Avalos 1 keeps PCEF dollars exactly where they need to be — advancing environmental justice, climate resilience, and clean energy jobs. It protects PCEF from once again being used as the City’s piggy bank to fill holes and finance activities outside of PCEF’s core goals. Voters passed PCEF for a reason, and the City can’t continue to act like the community doesn’t get a say in how these dollars are spent.
Clark 1 or Clark/Novick/Pirtle-Guiney/Ryan/Smith 1 takes $10 million from our voter-created police accountability system (that more than 80% of voters supported!) and puts those dollars towards completely different public safety uses – including a new senior PPB position. To be clear: Community Board for Police Accountability (CBPA) is due 5% of the PPB’s budget per CHARTER.
I don’t care if this is “technically okay” based on our city attorney’s read.
For me, it’s about the principle. Police accountability dollars should be for police accountability work. Diverting funding to other activities sends a message that our City isn’t serious about independent police oversight and doesn’t care about what Portland voters want.
There are also other councilor amendments that get to the same goal – funding emergency response – without raiding a dedicated fund.
Need some written testimony inspiration? Here’s a sample of what Portlanders were saying today:
In support of Avalos 1:
“We voted for PCEF to help deal with effects of climate change, which hit hardest in East Portland, where many of our most vulnerable citizens live. I volunteer weekly at an East Portland elementary school that serves students who have no shade on their way to school and few parks with mature trees in which to play. They need shade just as much as my neighbors and I.”
“PCEF's mission is not simply to fund anything environmentally friendly. It's a mission to deliver direct climate and economic benefits to frontline communities. Instead, the city is repeatedly using PCEF to backfill existing legacy programs in order to reduce pressure of the general fund and offset ongoing budget shortfalls that is deceptive and contrary to the mission voters approved.”
“I was one of the hundreds, maybe thousands of Portlanders who collected the signatures and canvassed door to door across Portland in order to make PCEF a reality. I did that because of the bold vision of PCEF that recognized that we needed serious and targeted investments in a clean energy transition, really looking towards a different model for our future. I did not put my heart and time into creating a general purpose fund for the city to use when it needs Band-Aids.”
“Like so many residents, young people across Portland are facing financial hardship. Our budget cannot be balanced against their future. We cannot go against the will of the voters, making our own interpretations and stretching the definition of what qualifies for use of PCEF funds. We strongly urge you to return money to PCEF through Avalos 1.”
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