Portland,
As election results arrive, it is becoming clear that I will not be your City Commissioner for the next four years. While I'm disappointed by this outcome, I remain determined to keep fighting for a more inclusive and just city for all from outside of City Hall.
I have given this city my heart and soul as an activist and advocate for the past thirty years; I have no intention of stopping now. We have made significant, groundbreaking progress together. From the strongest protections Portland renters have had since WWII to historic cuts to the Police Bureau to Universal Representation for people facing deportation to the Rose Lane Project. We have advanced progressive policy that prioritizes renters, vulnerable and underserved communities, and our climate. I'm incredibly proud of what we've accomplished together despite monied, organized opposition from special interests who have held sway over Portland politics for too long. I hope you are proud, too, and I hope you take a moment to celebrate these achievements. By centering the least well-served communities in all our work, we've made Portland a better city for all.
I stand by my commitment to you—we're not done. There is more progress to be made. We need to defund the police to invest in BIPOC Portlanders and upstream solutions to community safety. We need to combat our climate crisis and ensure that the next generation of climate activists have a seat at the table. We need economic relief from our state and federal governments. We need to preserve arts and culture in our recovery. We need safety, equity, and sustainability in transportation. We need to dismantle systemic racism and ensure that every Portlander has a voice in our community. And—depending on how the rest of tonight goes—we may need to come together to resist the current occupant of the White House.
I may not be your City Commissioner in 2021, but I will keep fighting for you. I'm in this for the long haul. This week, I will support Commissioner Hardesty's amendments to cut $18M from the PPB budget. I will work to make as much progress as I can on rethinking public safety, vital transportation efforts, protecting immigrant communities, and other critical issues through the end of the year. Come January, I will continue to be your neighbor and your advocate.
And let me take this opportunity to speak to the monied, organized opposition that plans to capitalize on my absence in Council Chambers—I know the pressure points in City Hall, I know the codes we need to change, I know the bad actors as well as the good, and I am not going to stop fighting for the equity and justice every Portlander deserves.
There are too many people to thank—I'll share the full list separately—but I want to thank every Portlander for your support, input, and collaboration over the past five years. I especially want to thank all of the individuals and organizations who have stood by me during this campaign. It has been the honor of a lifetime to get to know you all, be your Commissioner, and work with you to make our City a better place for all.
Keep loving, keep fighting, and keep each other safe,
Chloe