Charter Review Commission Recommends Sweeping Changes To Portland City Government

PORTLAND, Ore. —  After a year of work by 20 resident volunteers, the Portland Charter Review Commission voted unanimously on proposals to reform city government.

Portland is one of the last cities in the country to use a Mayor and Commissioner style of government.  Thursday night’s meeting advances three major changes:

• Allowing voters to rank candidates in order of their preference using ranked choice voting.
• Four new geographic districts with three members elected to represent each district, expanding the city council to a total of 12 members.
• A city council that focuses on setting policy and a mayor elected citywide to run the city’s day-to-day operations with the help of a professional city administrator.

More than 6,000 residents have weighed in over the past year through public comment, surveys and community discussions.  Many of them indicated they want changes to what’s looked at as an inefficient and ineffective form of government.

The city attorney’s office will draft the charter amendments.  The commission will release them in May and allow more feedback from the public.  The final vote by the Charter Review Commission will happen in mid-June.  Portlanders can vote on the proposed changes in the November 8th, 2022 general election.