A campaign for mayor should be more than a sales job to gain political position; it should be a conversation about where we want to be as a city, and how we’re going to get there.
Below is neither a complete list nor a set of final answers, but rather some prompts to start a conversation…one that I hope you’ll join.
- Work
- Home
- Safety
What Do You Think?
An Economy Worthy of Portland: we can set a national example for an economy that is prosperous, sustainable, and fair. We can think big thoughts, and we also need to be a city that makes things.
Portland can’t fix all global woes, but there are things we can do. We can invest in smart infrastructure and neighborhood-scale public works projects. We can work with partners to retrofit public buildings and homes. We can work with the State to help health care and education systems to compete in a global economy. We can work with County services to foster fairness and equity. We can keep industrial jobs on the rivers.
When talking about jobs, we often talk of “hunting” big companies to relocate. Most new jobs actually come from younger, smaller, homegrown companies. Through “economic gardening” strategies, like we’ve led with Grow Oregon, we can cultivate businesses already here. (Harvard Kennedy School recently named the concept a “Top 25 Government Innovation.”) We can complement the Seed Fund with technical assistance and mentorship so incubator spaces aren’t just real estate, but innovation ecosystems.
What Do You Think?
If you ask people about their dreams for their lives, most people will describe a dream about a home. Listen to a young child describe her bedroom, or her garden, or where the recycling goes. Safe, decent and stable housing is a cornerstone of a healthy society.
So many of us struggle to pay the bills. The rental market is tight. Rents are up. People are underwater on their homes and tight credit makes it impossible to respond to significant life changes. The nightmare of foreclosure continues to loom. Close to 5,000 people experience homelessness in Portland. Low income residents have been displaced in huge numbers from inner Portland neighborhoods, resulting in overcrowded schools east of 82nd Ave.
We can have a permanent source of funding for housing. We can have a community-based response to our foreclosure crisis. And we can develop better strategies to fight displacement and housing instability.
What Do You Think?
No city can neglect public safety and still thrive.
Our police officers, firefighters and 911 operators are there when we need them. It’s a tough job, and too often a thankless one.
Their jobs aren’t getting easier. With a steep decline in economic opportunity in our neighborhoods, and budget cuts to vital programs, stress is running high and some people aren’t holding on.
Our best way forward is to remember that we are a community. Our lives are bound together, in ways that are familiar and also unpredictable. We can keep more neighbors from slipping through cracks so they are not left to struggle alone. We can engage the community in citizen safety efforts and prevent more crime. This is the heart of community policing.
We can also have the best training and standards for police officers, and we can bolster partnerships to address homelessness, mental illness, gang involvement, and youth violence.
- Good Government
- Getting Places
- Equity
What Do You Think?
Every Portlander has a stake in good government, and I am passionate about it. I have championed budget transparency for Oregon so citizens know where our money goes, pushed to preserve Oregon’s performance benchmarks, and carried the bill to reduce middle management in State Government.
Major projects need to be guided by our best priorities, not just who can grease the skids. That’s one reason I’m not taking contributions from out-of-state corporations or out-of-state groups.
Portland is renowned for civic engagement, but today too many people feel powerless. Other places are innovating “crowd-source” solutions to listen more quickly and find cost-savings; Portland can lead the nation on that score. As someone who has worked all of my adult life to increase citizen involvement, I will ensure that we strengthen the connection of the people of the city with the power of the city. And when we get off track, I won’t be afraid to make changes.
What Do You Think?
Because of our engaged and intelligent citizenry, we have the opportunity to do things that are not possible in other cities. We can make it easier to get around town, cut time for freight transit, and build a far more energy-efficient transportation system. It will take intellect, innovation, and resources.
We can do what hasn’t been done in the United States: make a municipal transportation system that curbs the growth of greenhouse gas emissions, increases safety, addresses economic disparities, and creates more certain and durable jobs.
To make that happen, we need to make sure our major transportation projects fit into a comprehensive transportation context. We can address major challenges for our region, but also pave roads, add sidewalks, improve bike infrastructure, and modernize traffic signals.
It’s no secret that I have been a critic of the Columbia River Crossing. Going forward, we need projects that match our values and that we can afford.
What Do You Think?
Portland can be the city that works…for everyone.
Portland needs to finally meet its promises to struggling people – to communities of color, folks east of 82nd, and families being priced out of their neighborhoods. Portlanders need a government that looks out for their needs – no matter where they live.
Equity needs to start in our schools. While local school districts run our schools, the city participates–sometimes willingly and sometimes accidentally–in shaping the health of our education and students. Schools can and should be the centers of our neighborhoods. The city should play an important role here.
We need an unflinching focus on fairness. We need to honestly face where Portland is failing Portlanders. It is an economic and moral imperative that we invest in equity across city government. We have to manage our spending and strive for economic diversity in our neighborhoods as we build a city that is prosperous, fair and sustainable – for everybody.
- Jefferson and his wife, Katy
Jefferson Smith was born and homegrown in Portland, Oregon. After attending Grant High School and the University of Oregon, Jefferson graduated from Harvard Law School. He left a high-paying corporate firm in New York to avoid defending big tobacco and to return home to Portland.
He became a nonprofit entrepreneur and gathered friends together to start the Oregon Bus Project, which grew into a national model of hands-on democracy for future generations. In the decade since, the Bus Project has developed hundreds of future leaders, registered tens of thousands of new voters, launched national activities in multiple cities across the U.S., won local and national awards, and inspired democracy efforts from Oregon to Colorado and Africa.
In 2008, Jefferson was elected to to succeed Jeff Merkley to represent East Portland in the Oregon House. He successfully worked with citizens, lawmakers and stakeholders to champion common-sense, high-road economic solutions like the landmark water investment program, the “Cool Schools” jobs program, and the “economic gardening” plan for homegrown Oregon businesses.
His innovative good government work led to Oregon’s online voter registration act as well as the transparency act to share Oregon’s budget with the world. His commitment to challenged neighborhoods like his helped advance one of the State’s first efforts to curb human trafficking.
He has been a cattle-hand in eastern Oregon, run programs for inner-city kids in Washington, DC, coached youth basketball in Eugene, rick-rolled the Oregon House, and done dozens of cartwheels for good causes. He lives with his wife Katy in East Portland.
