Portland City Council District 2 Candidates

PORTLAND, Ore.– James Armstrong, a candidate for Portland’s newly created District 2, has experience in taking care of his neighbors’ eyes.  “I’m the owner of three eye care clinics with my wife, Alberta Eye Care on Alberta Street, one in St. John’s called Cathedral Eye Care, and a pediatric eye care clinic called Eyestrong.”

He uses his own eyes to scope out fraud.  “I’m also a forensic accountant. I do fraud investigation work.  I’ve worked on some pretty high profile cases and I’ve worked on some local cases in Portland.”  He also points out his work helping his community in other ways.”I served as the board chair of Alberta Main Street for five years and worked in the St. John’s community with the boosters, helping small businesses navigate the city of Portland.”

He wants voters to consider electing him because, “I think when we look at this election, it’s about representation. It’s about the new districts and I really want to use my experience as a small business owner, my experience, in the North and Northeast neighborhoods to help represent what it’s like to own a business and operate a business.”

Armstrong spoke to the East Portland Chamber.

Reuben Berlin is a lifelong resident of Northeast Portland.  “Out of college, I’ve worked in non- profits. I was a housing case manager, rent assistance person, since moved on to finance.”

He says if voters choose him, he’ll work toward getting more of the community’s local money to stay in Portland, enabling people to buy homes, pay bills, and raise families. To do that, he says a long term plan is essential, and he supports the idea of funding a forward thinking endowment.  “If we have an $8,000,000 budget, trying to take 10 percent of that and then establishing a long term endowment based off the Norwegian wealth funds that we can perpetually fund some of these social services.”

Another idea he supports is buying now discounted commercial buildings in Portland to help the city establish and maintain services in the future for mental health, affordable housing, and good jobs.  “I’d like to talk about business incubation centers with some of these commercial spaces that are coming available for dirt cheap. Taking advantage of buying some of those buildings so. I really just like to make sure that the people that live here in the city can have good, well paying jobs.”

Michelle DePass is running to represent District 2. “I’m born and raised here in Portland and I’m the daughter of grandparents who came to Portland through the great migration from New Orleans.  My family has also lived in Washington D. C. for my dad’s job as an economics professor.  And my mom returned to school to become an elementary teacher here in Portland. I attended PSU to earn a bachelor of science and community development.”

She served education in the city.  “In my second term on the Portland School Board, I’m the current vice chair and the former chair of the board. At the difficult time, when we were returning students to the classroom, teachers were experiencing burnout post COVID.”

And here’s why she says she wants the job on Portland’s new city council.

“Portlanders deserve value for their tax dollars. They want clean streets, clean, safe neighborhoods, and thriving business districts.  They want to see people housed. Families able to make it here and more than just to make it but to thrive. They want and deserve clean air and water, green spaces, and healthy ecosystems.”

Marnie Glickman is running to represent District 2, which includes all of north Portland, and much of Northeast reaching its eastern edge just before Portland International Airport.

“I first moved to Portland in 1992, and I fell in love with it.  I had a room for 425 bucks a month. Portland was a spirited place for democracy and a vibrant city.”

But she says since then, things have changed.  “I decided to run this time because I refuse to believe this is the best we can do in our city.”

She says she can work hard for her community.  “I raised three children successfully through the pandemic. I’m a black belt martial arts instructor. I am a graduate of Lewis and Clark law school. And when I temporarily lived in the Bay Area, I served on a school board for four years. I have worked for many elected officials Oregon Congresswoman Elizabeth Furze and Darlene Hooley.   We need to continue to work harder on addressing racial disparities when it comes to housing.

Mariah Hudson is running for Portland’s City Council.  “I’m a working mom and leader at OHSU.  I help neighbors and small businesses working with the city on everything from streetlights to skinny homes, from potholes to public safety, helping them navigate our city.” She’s campaigning on a promise of return to:  “The Portland that I love, that we love is safe and it’s affordable and it’s sustainable. It’s a city where a solo parent like me can make it work. It’s a city where my son who rides the bus to his middle school can take his to safely and ride the bus. We’re a city of doers and makers, and we’ve lost some of that.   At Oregon Health Science University, I helped operationalize our pandemic response.  I’m a Portland public schools budget chair. I also chair the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s Budget Committee.

Sameer Kanal was born in North Portland’s Overlook neighborhood. He’s from a union and small business family that’s lived in the area for 50 years. His parents immigrated from India. “I’m a person who lives with a mental health condition myself, I’m also a person who has family members who have experience with addiction.”

He attended Vancouver’s Clark College and the University of Washington in Seattle, studying economics and political science. He worked for Governor Jay Inslee, the Gates Foundation, then moved home to Portland as the city’s project manager for the Police Accountability Commission. From 2021 to 2023, he worked with the Mental Health Alliance, as well as the Albina Ministerial Alliance Coalition, “To talk about how city government actions affect everyone, but in particular, the people most affected, which in the case of policing are health conditions, as well as people of color.”

He describes what he wants to do next, represent the people of his hometown and neighborhood.  “Continue the work that I’ve been doing, of bringing people who are most affected into the places where decisions are actually made on City Council.”

Debbie Kitchin owns a company specializing in sustainable homes and buildings.  “I’ve been a small business owner for the last 30 years and before that I was a regional economist.”  Building a better community in District 2 means addressing something personal for her.  “I do have family experiences with drug and alcohol addiction, and it really tears apart families.”

She believes the city has been sorely lacking in solutions for years.  “I do believe that you have to help people when they are ready to be served and we don’t have enough programs now. We don’t have enough healing beds, we don’t have enough detox. We need a sobering center.”

As a home builder, she’s keenly aware of the need for more housing to address homelessness.  “We need long term housing and that is a key part of my goals for being on City Council is to look at long term housing, making sure that housing is more affordable, available and flexible for everyone.”

Portland District 2 candidate Mike Marshall describes himself as a person in long term recovery.  “January 29th of this year, I celebrated 16 years clean and sober.”

And now he is also, “An Executive Director of Oregon Recovers, the statewide advocacy campaign with the mission of ending Oregon’s addiction crisis.”

He describes what sparked his interest in running for City Council.  “The city closed its sobering center four years ago, Then spent $1.5 million on a consultant to bring stakeholders together to reopen it.  We don’t have a sobering center. Four years later, $1.5 million later. It made me realize that without having folks on, for those who are in recovery that have lived experience and also the policy experience on the City Council, we are not going to address this issue that impacts the quality of our parks, the quality of our public safety. I’m excited to be running for City Council. This new form of government gives us an opportunity to lean in and address issues, whether it’s policing, whether it’s homelessness, whether it’s addiction.”

Will Mespelt lives in North Portland’s Piedmont neighborhood.  “I managed four buildings and every day we deal with the effects of not addressing substance abuse and addiction and not addressing mental illness.”  He’s worked in local property management since 2017, experience he believes will help him lead Portland through the current housing crisis.  “At each building, we see people who live on the street, people who eventually lived on the street, and people who are at risk at living on the street. We often get people with mental illness, and we often get people who are addicted. They usually don’t have any family connections around. There’s no one looking after them and their well being. It is heartbreaking as a person working there and seeing that happen over and over again.”

He says he’ll bring a fresh perspective to Portland City Hall.  “We’ve got all this money and to not actually see that action take place is very difficult to do. It’s one of the primary reasons I wanted to throw my hat in and represent our district so that we can do the real hard work and take real action at addressing these issues.”

Christopher Olson lives in northeast Portland’s Sullivan neighborhood.  “I’m a renter, I’m a community organizer, an activist, worked in the non profit space for the better part of ten years.”

He’s lived in Portland for about three years.  “I’m running because I want someone on city council that’s an everyday Portlander, that’s dealing with the struggles that everyday people face.”

Struggles like mental health, which he says needs to be a big focus.  “I have a relative who ended up attempting suicide over 15 times.”

Olson works as a communications specialist for the Neighborhood Health Center, a non profit serving low income and at risk patients in the Portland area.  “As a city councillor, I would do everything I can to make sure that we create a continuum of adequate shelter and housing for everyone. Continue to help people stay housed through the Renters Bill of Rights and supporting that and making sure that we do everything partnering with the state, the county, at every level, to have increased access to adequate mental health resources.”

Jennifer Park has a professional background working on solving homelessness.  “Six years working in supportive housing. We housed 450 chronically homeless adults with acute mental and behavioral health crises.”

That’s the type of experience she says the city needs.  “It was foundational to why I want to represent you in City Council because I believe that my experience in public service can marry really well with our new form of government.”

But it’s more than a professional interest to her.  “I did lose someone very, It’s very close to me to opioid addiction.” She believes the community’s current strategy won’t work.  “We are not going to deter people from choosing houselessness because of jail. When we talk about deflection, we need somewhere to deflect them to. If we don’t have beds available the system doesn’t work.”

Tiffani Penson has already worked for the city of Portland for more than 20 years. She’s the city’s people and culture manager.   “I envision a Portland where people and businesses are thriving, supported by policies and practices from city government.”  To make that happen, she says she wants to represent District 2 and fight problems like, “Mental health and addiction, it’s our responsibility as a whole to take care of the most vulnerable populations.  The challenge is ensuring that all of us are working together to solve the root cause.”

She looks at what she calls her own family’s lived experiences.  “My mother’s side, six of them have been drug addicted.  On my father’s side, one of them was addicted to drugs. I have a cousin who is incarcerated because of drug addiction Nobody sets out and chooses to be mentally ill or addiction.  We have to take care of our people. Your city is only as healthy as the people.”

Antonio Jamal PettyJohnBlue says,  “I’m a native from Portland, Oregon, Northeast.”  He didn’t have an easy start and was even involved in crime, he says.  “I come from poverty-stricken circumstances of drug related being caught up in that environment.”

But that was then. Now he says he’s committed to a life of serving others, “Prepped up to be the next local agent to help the world, help people unite and bring love and unity by protection through my experience through the street world, giving my life up to God.”

And he says if voters elect him as a 2nd  District representative, he can make Portland safer.  “There’s an issue with public safety out here and we’re not going to be able to reach these people, unless you have a certain background, you’re not going to listen. We proved that I’m able to reach them. I’ve stopped it several times, formed the Global Unity Network. It’s a non profit, a lot of people are partnered with us.”

Elana Pirtle-Guiney describes herself as an advocate, mom, organizer, small business owner, and neighbor.  “I worked with labor unions, helping working people learn how to advocate for their communities and work for two governors doing policy work.”

Here’s why she thinks Portland needs serious change on its response to homelessness and drugs.  “What happens when you arrest somebody?  Not for a violent crime, but because they’re homeless or because they did something that if they weren’t in the middle of experiencing a crisis, they probably wouldn’t have done. We arrest them and put them in county jail and they’re there for about a week and then we let them out and they’re still homeless and probably didn’t get the treatment that they needed. We have so many people who have done things that are petty crime, right? Not violent crime. Who are being put into our jail system.”

Dan Ryan’s been serving as a Portland City Commissioner since 2020 under the current system in which voters select all the members from throughout the whole city.  “I hope to serve and help build this new city council.” Under the new system this year, he is hopeful to win as one of three representatives of District 2. He’s a longtime Portlander who prioritizes this issue.  “Everyone can relate to mental health. I have seven older siblings. Three were clearly having troubles when they were younger. They took pills. I don’t know what they did, but I can tell you those were the same three. Older, medicated with recreational drugs and are all three passed away at young ages. I also had two friends, really high functioning, people you would never know would take their life. And they did.”

Now he says he wants to keep serving his hometown with policies that help families thrive, making tough decisions about public safety and homelessness, and powering Portland’s economic comeback.  “To rebuild the system, it’s time to get to work.”

Sam Sachs says his own family came to Portland 80 years ago as first generation immigrants, so he’s familiar with the challenges that people face when they get to a new home.  “I’ve been in public safety and law enforcement for 30 years.”  And he says he’s found his own way to bring the community and police together to build trust.  “I run a non profit called the No Hate Zone. I’ve organized breaking bread, breaking barriers, which are dinners that bring community and police together, specifically communities of color.” He’s worked as a human rights commissioner from 2013 to 2015 and as a park ranger for the city.  “I have unionized the city of Portland Park Rangers. I’m probably the only candidate who’s actually unionized city workers.”  The District 2 Portland City Council candidate says he saw firsthand the impact of homelessness, mental health issues, and addiction on the citizens of Portland.  “When I see a situation or an issue that’s important, I look at the problem. I find a solution and then I act.”

Bob Simril describes himself as, “A glass ceiling breaker, a person of color in a private sector career, the son of a Black man and a white woman, was born in California.”  His family moved to Portland in 1974.  “I live in the Northeast Portland area.”  For 40 years, he’s worked for companies including Coca Cola, Microsoft, and insurance and tech firms. He says he has a drive not just to identify problems, but to solve them, and he argues Portland’s ready for a voice pushing for progress and change.  “I think that with a 70% disapproval rate in the city, people are really frustrated. We’ve got a billion dollar budget not producing the results.”

He outlines what he sees as Portland’s biggest issues.  “We’ve got a houseless crisis. We’ve got an addiction crisis. We’ve got a fiscal accountability crisis, and we’ve got infrastructure.”

He promises to collaborate and deliver results with transparency and accountability.

So I’m crafting policy. 25 pages right now that goes into great detail

Laura Streibb is the founder of Vibe, an arts education non profit that’s been serving Portland for the last 17 years.  “My background is in arts and music education, and that is someplace where addiction and houselessness shows up with the kids we serve. One story I have is from one of our ceramics classes where a family became houseless.  And from that moment on every time this kid had clay in his hands, he was making a piece of furniture.”

She’s lived in Saint John’s for more than two decades and is a parent of three children in Portland Public Schools, as well as a small business owner.  “I’ve been listening to people who have boots on their ground, working at Do Good Multnomah and Do Good Northwest. One of the things that they’ve noticed is when people have a place where they can lock their door and be safe and sleep, that really helps them.  Are we going to work on paying our mental health professionals living wage so that they can support the people that are out on the streets?”

Nat West describes his business, which he pitched and sold to national retailers.”You may know me as Nat of Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider. I ran that hard cider manufacturing company here in Portland for 12 years. And closed the business last fall.”

He outlines a tough small business environment in which he repaired broken windows in the middle of the night only to wake up and do it again. And a childhood in which he saw, “Mom worked at a mental hospital when I was eight and nine and 10 years old. And every day after school, I would go hang out in the lobby while she finished her job. Fast forward to a few decades, 1996. And that hospital closed due to lack of state funding.”

Now, he says he’ll bring his willingness to work hard with other council members and community leaders to solve problems.  “As a small business owner, you’ll hear me talk about the costs and how we choose to spend our money. We have plenty of money to solve a lot of the problems that are facing us, but we choose to spend it on other things.”

It’s Nabil Zaghloul’s first time running for public office, and he’s seeking to represent Portland’s new District 2.  “My goal and my vision is very simple. It’s a Portland where our children want to live and they want to call Portland home as adults. And you can’t do that unless you invest in people, in the human capital.”

He says he’s demonstrated a commitment to public service for 30 years, “Holding jobs and leadership positions in Multnomah County related to justice and health, mental health, drug and alcohol, social economic justice, youth services.”

He leads a county human services program providing behavioral health and substance abuse services to people in the Cully neighborhood.

“We need to move forward. forward. It’s about making Portland better.” He’s originally from Morocco and lived in Spain before moving to Portland more than 30 years ago.  “Building a strong, vibrant community in the city of Portland. That’s really what motivated me to run.”