Meet Lisa Freeman, 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.

Name: Lisa Freeman

Neighborhood: Multnomah Village

Renter/homeowner: Homeowner

Education: M.A., International Peace & Conflict Resolution; B.A., Political Science & Intercultural studies; Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education, Driving Government Performance: Alternative 911 Emergency Response

Occupation: Government Transition & Community Safety Specialist

How long you’ve lived in the city of Portland: 8 years

Age: 44

Pronouns: She/her

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.

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.

We need to commit and invest in Portland Street Response, and follow the lead of other U.S. cities (like Durham, Albuquerque, and Seattle) that have created co-equal branches for unarmed community responders alongside police and fire. I would prioritize funding PSR for 24/7 operations, ensuring it has the ability to drive clients where they need to go, and expanding the types of calls it can respond to.

I would also lead on addressing the risks posed by the Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub, where 90% of Oregon’s liquid fuel is stored between a river and a forest. While the CEI Hub is in District 4, it poses a risk to the whole city in the event of an earthquake and stands in opposition to our climate goals.

The lack of movement on these issues to date reflects the unrepresentative nature of our current Council.

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

I’ve supported government transitions in over a dozen countries experiencing political instability. I worked with local governments in Afghanistan, first responders in Syria, and the government of Nigeria, and more, to address critical community priorities in order to earn trust in the midst of change.

When I worked at the City’s Community Safety Division, I led gun violence reduction initiatives that led to an over 30% decrease in gun violence since the peak of the crisis in 2022. I did this by supporting the Office of Violence Prevention and providing outreach and services to neighbors and neighborhoods most at risk of gun violence. This work is an essential part of keeping our community safe.

I’ve made a career of delivering results on tough problems in the midst of political change, and I will bring this track record to City Council during this critical moment for Portland.

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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?

I’m encouraged that developers and affordable housing advocates are on the same page about some key steps to increase housing availability. First, permitting needs streamlining. The city took an important step in merging permitting functions and providing housing regulatory relief. I will be watching to make sure these reforms make things more efficient. Second, we need additional zoning reforms to allow for more housing density. The Residential Infill Project and the Inner East Side for All campaign are great examples for how to do this.

Some downtown office buildings are more conducive to residential conversion than others and I would prioritize this transition to downtown’s new post-pandemic future. Oregon was just awarded a EPA grant, some of which can be spent on this. I’d also advocate for single stair reform at the state level, following in the footsteps of many other states who have recently made this change.

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?

A key function of the city (and any government) is to keep its residents safe. This requires a strong first responder network that will send the right responder to your call, in a timely manner, when you are in crisis. We completed a Call Allocation Study that tells us at least a third of 911 calls can be diverted to non-traditional responders, which are also less expensive.

Safety also requires investments in services that prevent the need for that 911 call in the first place. This means having safe and affordable housing, safe transportation infrastructure, clean air and water, climate resilience, and a strong sense of community connection for all residents.

The next City Council can navigate difficult budget decisions by asking: “Does this service keep us safe? Is it an investment in the future safety of our community? Or is this a band-aid that provides no return on investment?”

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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 support the will of voters in approving new tax measures and I’m proud that we made these investments in the health and safety of our city. These initiatives allow us to build the climate-resilient and family-friendly city that our children deserve.

I acknowledge that our housing and houselessness crises have not improved at the rate we hoped given the investments we’ve made. I’ve heard the frustrations and I get it. I will work to improve accountability and effectiveness; however, now is not the time to disinvest. I would offer the perspective an investment manager might: let’s have patience. Investments take time to produce returns, and COVID slowed us down. I’m betting on Portland, let’s hold onto our shares. In the meantime, I would devote effort toward better communicating where the money is going and leading with City core values of fiscal responsibility and transparency.

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’m thrilled about the changes. Management of City services by a professional administrator will make service delivery more efficient. Multi-member district representation through ranked choice voting will make our City Council more representative and accountable. These are the changes we need to move Portland forward.

The concerns I have come from my experience working on government transitions overseas. Transitions are times of opportunity, but also uncertainty. They are magical and precarious. And sometimes they fail. They fail when there is an absence of stable, collaborative, and visionary leadership to build confidence in the new way. They fail when people get scared and decide to go back to what is familiar. The number one job of our new City Council is to build confidence that the new way is working, in the face of shifting power dynamics and critics who would like to see it fail.

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?

No, especially because we cannot provide shelter for everyone who wants it. Arresting and jailing people is expensive and ineffective. Sending someone to jail for refusing shelter might get them off the street for a week, but then puts them back on the street in worse circumstances.

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?

The police bureau has nearly 100 vacancies it needs to fill before we authorize new positions. In 2022, I led a 911 call study that found at least a third of calls should be diverted to unarmed responders. We need to modernize our first response system before funding more police.

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

Portlanders were clear when we passed PCEF with a strong majority. We gave ourselves a gift because there is no shortage of bold action we must take to address our climate emergency. We need PCEF in its current form to build the green future our kids need to survive.

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

When we look at world class cities, they are often walkable, bikeable, and have efficient transit systems. This infrastructure is good for the climate, makes the city more affordable, and attracts visitors who want to explore the city, dine and shop. These investments pay for themselves.

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

Downtown is important to the vibrancy of the whole city, and I take the issues seriously, especially as a District 4 candidate. District representation is a game-changer for Portland, which will provide downtown the attention it deserves while providing other areas of the city attention as well.