Meet Stanley Penkin, candidate for Portland City Council District 4

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.

Name: Stanley Penkin

Neighborhood: Pearl District

Renter/homeowner: Homeowner

Education: B.S. Civil Engineering, Lafayette College; M.S. Urban Planning, Columbia University

Occupation: Retired – formerly construction management

How long you’ve lived in the city of Portland: 21 years

Age: 80

Pronouns: He/him

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 it 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.

I would increase Police and Fire Bureau funding to expand the workforce, but it will take several budget cycles to phase in. We currently fund 881 police officers when the optimum for a city our size is 1,200. With a current vacancy of 69 officers and impending retirements, we should increase the number, but we will have to incentivize recruitments with higher pay. Due to a lack of sufficient firefighters, the bureau is spending large amounts on overtime, which is also affecting the morale of its members, which affects productivity.

Lining up seven votes will be dependent on the makeup of the Council and how well we organize the everyday workings of Council, and how we collaborate and build trust with each other. Some of that trust is forming now as we are on the trail sharing ideas and our common desire to make the city work.

What previous accomplishments show that you are the best pick in your district? Please be specific.

As President of Pearl District Neighborhood Association, I developed programs to clean up trash, graffiti and cigarette butts and enhanced livability through greater engagement. I raised $213,000 to purchase 150 trash cans which were donated to the city.

As Co-founder of Northwest Community Conservancy, we helped 1500 unsheltered people into services and shelter, improving public safety.

As Founding Co-chair of Home Share Oregon, we connected people to affordable housing, preventing homelessness before it starts.

As President of Oregon Children’s Theater, we provided free access to shows for underprivileged kids, teaching them to express themselves creatively through educational programming.

As Co-founder of QuietClean PDX, we attained an ordinance to transition toxic gas leaf blowers to electric.

As President of Public Safety Action Coalition, we educated the public and advocated for public safety.

City Committees – Civic Life Bureau Advisory Committee; Community Involvement Committee for Portland Plan and Comp Plan; Arts Affordability Committee.

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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?

• Streamline permitting and speed up inspection process. Assure efficiency in the implementation of the Permit and Development Department.
• Encourage ADU’s, duplexes and triplexes. Review SDC and other fees for possible reductions. Encourage building shared two family homes to double the people housed on one lot.
• Encourage housing with communal spaces to reduce cost. Reconfigure ground floor retail space to be apartments or live work.
• Review outcomes of Portland’s Residential Infill Project in developing middle housing and consider additional zoning changes.
• Incentivize the conversion of viable commercial buildings;
• Buy and renovate motels, hotels and other properties.
• Build public-private-nonprofit partnerships.
• Expand rental assistance to keep people in their homes.
• Longer term, explore the feasibility of manufactured housing.
• Support innovative solutions such as Home Share Oregon that utilizes a large existing inventory of spare rooms to house people quickly and affordably.

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?

Different constituencies may have different priorities, but everyone needs essential services such as being kept safe with adequate police and fire resources, a responsive 911 system, clean and safe streets, functioning water and sanitary systems, parks and recreational spaces, pothole free and maintained roads and other infrastructure, and a communication system that keeps constituents connected to its government.

This is not a time to be raising fees and taxes as people are leaving the city which erodes our tax base. I expect that the new configuration under a professional city administrator will lead to greater efficiencies to reduce financial waste and duplication across all bureaus. This will allow for a better allocation of funds. The city should seek ways to monetize assets such as property and look for other sources of revenue from the State and Federal governments.

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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?

I generally would not want to eliminate measures that have already passed with a high approval percentage. However, we should audit the measures to determine if they are in fact meeting the goals established for them. As with Measure 110, if something isn’t working we need to reevaluate and change course.

That said, I am fiscally responsible, and inflation has increased substantially since many measures were passed. I would, therefore, look to index the measures so as to relieve a growing burden on taxpayers, including middle class families who may have been pushed into a higher bracket due to increased earnings. I do not support new taxing measure at this time as high taxes are causing individuals to flee the city thus affecting our tax base which will have longer term negative consequences on our budget.

Do you have any concerns with the changes coming to city elections and city governance? If so, what would you like to see change?

An overwhelming number of people don’t understand the new structure or this novel version of ranked choice voting for the City Council. The new system is an opportunity to reset priorities, establish strong policies and move the city forward. But it will take a major collaborative effort within the districts, across the districts and across to the administrative side of the new structure (and the County) to get the government functioning efficiently and to rebuild trust and confidence that we can again be the city that works. I have concerns about an undervote for City Council due to confusion and potential errors in how ballots will be filled out.

As currently formulated, I am concerned about effective constituent relations with only one designated staffer per councilor, a reliance on constituents calling 311 rather than having direct engagement and the lack of local district offices. These are things I would change.

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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?

Yes, but only as a last choice for the worst offenders after every effort has been made to bring them to shelter and services. Continuing to enable people to live on the street is inhumane and negatively affects our neighborhoods and our entire city.

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. The bureau is understaffed, which affects the safety of all communities. The next budget will be challenging, but I expect the new configuration under a city administrator will lead to greater efficiencies across bureaus, allowing for better allocations of funds, but It may take more than one budget cycle.

Do you support putting the Clean Energy Fund measure back on the ballot? What, if any changes, would you support?

Voters overwhelmingly approved the fund. After a rocky start there has been pragmatic pivoting to fund city needs. It’s now successfully funding climate related projects, and I believe should continue. It should be periodically evaluated to ensure effective use of the funds and make adjustments if it’s not fulfilling impactful results.

Which would you prioritize: Creation of more protected bike lanes and priority bus lanes or improved surfacing of existing degraded driving lanes?

I support bike lanes and priority bus lanes; however, I would prioritize filling potholes and improving degraded streets. It’s imperative that we maintain our infrastructure, or it will continue to deteriorate, and we will never catch up. Our $4 billion backlog on road maintenance is an example of that.

Have the problems impacting downtown Portland received too much or too little attention from current city leaders? Why?

I feel there should have been a greater sense of urgency following the protests and Covid, but I applaud the city’s efforts in the last two years in the creation of joint government-public committees such as “Problem Solvers” and the “Central City Expediting” groups in which I was a participant.