Meet Jon Walker, candidate for Portland City Council District 3

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.

Name: Jon Walker

Neighborhood: Richmond

Renter/homeowner: Homeowner

Education: Masters of Public Policy from Portland State University

Occupation: Policy Analyst for the Office of Actuarial and Financial Analytics at the Oregon Health Authority

How long you’ve lived in the city of Portland: 9 years

Age: 41

Pronouns: he/him

Portland is facing an 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:

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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.

This change comes at a minimal cost with no reduction in parking. I think it is a great example of the hundreds of small improvements the city has failed to make and what I want to do on city council.

Second, I would reform how we fund the Portland Bureau of Development Services, which in its current state is a great example of penny-wise but pound-foolish thinking. Currently, the bureau is funded almost entirely by permitting fees. When market conditions are unfavorable, the bureau is forced to cut services and staff, but when market conditions pick up, the Bureau has a huge lag staffing up to meet the demand.

I think I can easily get seven votes for my reforms because they are boring, and what Portland needs is lots of small technical, boring fixes. That is why I’m running.

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

As a policy analyst at the Oregon Health Authority, I spearheaded the creation of our new dental program. It will provide roughly $20 million in bonuses to dental providers if they increase access to dental services for low income people in Oregon.

I worked with both internal and external actuaries to determine how much money we could use. I worked with dental providers, dental networks, coordinated care organizations, patient representatives and policy experts. I brought together this expertise to create a program design that met the budget, could be approved by the federal government, would be possible to implement in a short time frame and would have clearly defined metrics for success.

This is the kind of work I would do for Portland. I can bring together the viewpoints and expertise of many different people to design a program that will work, can be rolled out quickly and includes specific metrics to judge it on.

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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?

First, we need to make it easier for new buildings to get permitted in Portland. Affordable housing builders say they never know how long it would take to get something approved by the city — and with interest rates so high, any delay is incredibly costly.

Second, we need to go through our building code to look for any improvements and updates we can make. Allowing single-stair apartment buildings or different elevator codes can reduce the cost per housing unit. Many small changes could add up to big savings.

The most important thing is giving builders a sense that the Portland city government understands the issue and is looking for real solutions. Sadly, many candidates for city council are currently promising the impossible, like mandating apartments be rented below even the cost of building them. If the city government does not seem serious, no one will build anything here, and our housing crisis will get dramatically worse.

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 essential services the city must provide are basic infrastructure, like water and transportation. The other services the city must provide include public safety, which includes police and fire. Education is also critical, but control of that falls more with the Portland Public School Board. These are the bare minimum for a functioning city, but a city that provides just the minimum is not going to be a place people want to live.

The way to sustainably fund a city is with a diversity of revenue sources, so that the city is less susceptible to any unexpected shock. The most important thing is good financial oversight and a clear understanding of budgeting. Those are the skills I can bring to the city council.

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 are no new taxes I plan to consider.

Portland already has numerous programs which we simply fail to implement effectively. I think the city government needs to prove it can deliver quality, efficient services with its existing programs before it considers any new ideas.

The one tax I would want to see eliminated is the art tax -- merely because of the administrative cost of running a website, mailing reminders, enforcement, etc. is so large relative to the small amount actually collected. I would like to see the art tax replaced with the same amount collected through a process which does not waste so much money and time.

Related: Listen to 'OPB Politics Now'

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 think it is natural to always have reservations about any new change. Having talked with many voters, I’m concerned there is significant confusion about how the new system will work. I’m worried that some voters will not fill out their ballot correctly or not understand the importance of ranking all six choices, which could produce a result that does not match the electorate’s intention.

I’m also concerned that while many of the candidates have a good heart, very few of them have any experience with drafting legislation, enforcing regulation, or dealing with government budgeting. Almost no one on the current city council is running for city council again. I’m worried that a new council with a new system and very little experience could lead to many avoidable mistakes, which would hurt the city.

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, unsanctioned camping is a major public health risk, a major fire risk, and dramatically increases the mortality rate of those camping. I also don’t believe the public will be willing to shoulder the cost of funding the services to end homelessness if we don’t end camping.

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?

Portland has a low officer-to-population ratio, poor 911 response times, and troubling clearance rates. The city could likely benefit from more law enforcement resources, but I will not commit to anything until I know the overall budget the city is facing once in office.

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

I don’t see the need to put it back on the ballot, but I think one change that is necessary is to put control of the fund in the hands of the city council — squarely with the people elected to decide what is best for Portland and how to spend the public’s money.

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

I think this is a false choice since when you replace a road you work on the whole project, but I think finally dealing with decades of deferred maintenance which previous city councils have left to only become more expensive needs to be a priority. We need to put our financial house in order.

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

Too little. You can’t say a problem has received too much attention if it is still a problem.