Editor’s note: Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5. Stay informed with OPB on the presidential race, key congressional battles and other local contests and ballot measures in Oregon and Southwest Washington at opb.org/elections.
Portland is facing a historic election involving a new voting system and an unusually high number of candidates. Journalists at The Oregonian/OregonLive and Oregon Public Broadcasting share a goal of ensuring that Portland voters have the information they need to make informed choices, and we also know candidates’ time is valuable and limited.
That’s why the two news organizations teamed up this cycle to solicit Portland City Council candidates’ perspectives on the big issues in this election. Here’s what they had to say.
Moses Ross, candidate for Portland City Council District 4, in an undated photo provided by the candidate.
Courtesy of the candidate
Name: Moses Ross
Neighborhood: Multnomah
Renter/homeowner: Renter
Education: Evanston High School, Evanston, Wyoming
Occupation: Political consultant
How long you’ve lived in the city of Portland: 35 years
Age: 58
Pronouns: He/him/his
For each of the following questions, we asked candidates to limit their answers to 150 words.
Name two existing city policies or budget items you’d make a priority to change. Why did you select those and how do you plan to line up at least 7 votes on the council to make them happen? Please avoid broad, sweeping statements and instead provide details.
My two policy priorities are increasing the speed and the clarity in the permitting process. Our housing and economic needs are too great for the delays we’ve been seeing in BDS. I chose those because there is hesitancy with the general public that any increase in permitting speed of efficiency would mean a dip in standards, and while I know we need more and better housing, we also must protect the environment and character of our neighborhoods.
Speaking with candidates in my district and throughout the city, there is a large group of candidates speaking about the need for more agile permitting, including two of the leading candidates for Mayor. With so many people focusing on this issue, I hope to be a facilitator of a policy that works for each district and the city as a whole.
What previous accomplishments show that you are the best pick in your district? Please be specific.
As chair of the Multnomah Neighborhood Association, I worked with Commissioner Dan Ryan as the City was setting up a new Safe Rest Village (SRV) in our neighborhood. I held community forums, inviting all the stakeholders together to have a frank and honest conversation about the facility. I then brought local residents (stakeholders), the City of Portland, JOHS, and the SRV service provider to the table and we negotiated a Good Neighbor Agreement. It was all about listening, learning, and respecting the residents in the neighborhood.
I was appointed to the Multnomah County Charter Review Committee in 2015 where I proposed and championed the county-wide Campaign Finance Reform measure onto the ballot where over 80 percent of county voters approved it! This laid the groundwork and the momentum to get the City of Portland Honest Elections measure on the ballot, which passed by over 80 percent approval of Portland voters.
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Portland is on track to permit the fewest number of multifamily units in 15 years and remains thousands of units below what’s needed to meet demand. What steps would you take to dramatically and quickly increase the availability of housing?
We can incentivize through tax incentives and streamlined permitting the building of affordable housing throughout the city. I would work to identify and plan to convert unused office buildings in downtown into affordable housing, with the understanding that only between 10-15% can be converted, which still represents hundreds of affordable housing units. We also need to collaborate with faith-based and community-based organizations to identify and convert unused properties into affordable workforce housing.
The next City Council is going to have to make some very difficult decisions regarding what to fund and how. What essential services must the city provide and how should the city sustainably fund them?
The most essential services that the city must provide deal with public health and infrastructure. First and foremost, we need to ensure that clean drinking water is available for all of Portland and that waste water is properly disposed of, meaning that we must finish the Bull Run Treatment Plant before the Federal Government begins fining the city for non-compliance.
PBOT and other bureaus are backlogged with billions of dollars of deferred maintenance, causing headaches for both residents and for a city government trying to meet its climate goals.
We must move beyond fossil fuel taxes as the main funding source for PBOT, especially as we further decrease our reliance on combustion vehicles. Alternate funding can be partially from the Clean Energy Fund, when operations are targeted on removing pollution and improving efficiency.
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Portlanders have approved many tax measures in the past decade – supporting affordable housing, free preschool programs and green energy initiatives. Are there specific taxes or levies you want eliminated or would choose to not renew? Are there specific taxes or levies you would support creating? Why?
There is a reason voters passed these measures and I am against taking that money away from their designated use. Having said that, I would strongly advocate for better accountability, much more transparency, and much more public input as to how the money from these measures is being spent.
Do you have any concerns with the changes coming to city elections and city governance? If so, what would you like to see change?
I have full confidence in our election workers to conduct and implement the ranked-choice voting system in the upcoming election. I wish we could have done more public outreach to educate the public about the new system, as I
am sure many will still have questions once they get their ballot so I am hopeful that our election workers, civic groups, and my fellow candidates are prepared to give additional support to voters that may have very common questions.
Related: Listen to 'OPB Politics Now'
For the five remaining questions, we asked candidates to answer in 50 words or fewer:
Do you favor arresting and jailing people who camp on public property in Portland who refuse repeated offers of shelter, such as the option to sleep in a city-designated tiny home cluster?
I am not in favor of criminalizing unauthorized camping. We must improve the inventory of housing options, and “tiny home clusters” are an integral part of that inventory. Also, we must work more aggressively with our community based organization partners to increase our mental health and addiction treatment bedspace.
Would you vote yes on a proposal to fund hundreds more police officers than the City Council has already authorized? Why or why not? How would the city pay for it?
Yes, I would. The number should be at least, full staffing 24/7/365 without the need for excessive overtime. Budgeting is one of the most important duties of the incoming city council, and we’ll have to find the resources to staff, train, and oversee that large of an increase.
Do you support putting the Clean Energy Fund measure back on the ballot? What, if any changes, would you support?
No, I do not. I do feel we can apply the project funding requirements of the measure to a broader variety of projects, under the auspices of climate change mitigation and still stay in integrity with the intent of voters.
Which would you prioritize: Creation of more protected bike lanes and priority bus lanes or improved surfacing of existing degraded driving lanes?
We need to fill the potholes! It’s a fundamental city service and this failing (the deference of street maintenance) is the most obvious failing to residents.
Have the problems impacting downtown Portland received too much or too little attention from current city leaders? Why?
Too little attention has been paid to improving the business environment and the livability environment in downtown. Downtown revitalization is the linchpin in our city-wide community, economic and environmental revitalization. I blame the current siloed culture and will work to change that culture.