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.
Sharon Nasset, Portland mayoral candidate, in an undated provided photo.
Courtesy of the candidate
About the candidate
Name: Sharon Nasset
Neighborhood: Piedmont
Renter/homeowner: Homeowner
Education: Two years college, real estate sales license and broker, continuing education in subjects of interest
Occupation: Service worker
How long you’ve lived in the city of Portland: 53 years
Age: 65
Pronouns: she / her
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 mayoral 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.
Why are you the best candidate to serve as mayor at this time? Please point to specific accomplishments as part of your answer.
We remove bridges because of their condition and not their age. The 2005 I-5 bridge inspection states well maintained, 60 years of life left, value $1 billion, meets are requirements, no restrictions, and is historically protected. The I-5 freeway in North Portland Level Of Service (LOS) Federal Highway rating in 1980′s was F.
I help to stop the Columbia River Crossing project by helping to form the Smart Bridge Committee, holding public meetings with over 100 in attendance and taking citizen to lobby in Salem and Olympia.
I have been a community advocate for decades on land use, housing, and social justice issues. Listening to the community members and bring forth visionary ideas for solutions to problems we currently have. I know and love the city and the citizens and know my service will be a benefit to our town. I have proudly received two community awards and one national.
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What are one or two issues that you’d like to draw attention to or champion as mayor that are overlooked or receiving less attention than they deserve?
City lead classes, information, and fairs on boarding houses and creating a register of housing needs.
Housing such as boarding and rooming houses will take care of many of the issues that have harmed our city the most. Until the 1960s 40% -60% of Americans lived in boarding and rooming houses, less expensive, fixable styles, utilizes current properties, keep money local, less utility services needed, better for the social environment, changes the neighborhoods less. Less need to tax incentives that remove funds from vital services.
Congestion steals our time, our money, and spoils the environment. It keeps companies from coming here or staying here. We are 26th in size and 60th in density yet have been one of the top ten congested cities in the nation almost every year for 20 years we need honest factual conversations that includes all the stakeholder in one room.
What specific examples do you have that demonstrate your competence to oversee a city with an $8.2 billion budget?
None. I do however know how to find and receive excellent advice so I will need to rely on the experience of my top advisors.
I am practical about money and believe it to be a very necessary to accomplish set goals. However looking at how, why and when things are accomplish and by whom is very important too. I think it is smart to ask those in the system where to cut, how to add, and what would prove the best service. In my twenties I managed a small restaurant, we made money, and paid high than average wages.
What are your biggest concerns, if any, about the new form of government? What role do you think the mayor should play in it?
That the districts did not include areas with and without financially challenged areas in them. Therefore some areas will be stronger than others. The breaking up of the city into districts and instead of staying whole and having the commissioners rotate the responsibility of an areas of town may become a challenge. If the districts would have not used current boundaries, instead doing a stripped line across the city having people on the west and the east sides being in one district. They have very different needs and difference in approach. This working together to lift all boats in that “district” would look at education injustice, equaling out what the two sides have and working on what is best for the entire district, not just seeking more of what you already have and the other side does without. The Mayors set the tone of the town.
How would you work to promote and boost Portland nationally as mayor and reinvigorate people’s sense of civic pride?
First by setting for a model on boarding houses that helps the national problem of loneliness, isolation, and homelessness.
Second pointing out that we are open for business with a variety of skills and talents branding Portland made products like Made it Oregon does “Portland’s Got Talent” work on selling and sending as many made products as possible out to the world. Bring in money from outside to purchase produces raising our economy. Pointing out the uniqueness and acceptance of very different parts of town and work on establishing and reestablishing town traditions. When we are happy again people and business will invest in Portland.
I do not want the push on “entertainment and food” to be such a main draw, it’s important for our quality of life however it is boom and bust for our economy. The jobs are low wage without upward mobility and few benefits.
Related: Issues important to Oregon voters
Mayor Ted Wheeler has already warned that next year’s budget will be a difficult one as costs rise and forecasts call for lower revenue. What would guide your decisions in developing a budget, what specific ideas would you explore to minimize service reductions and are there specific areas where you would look to make cuts?
Asking city employees and citizen to write in ideas on how to save money, and ways of working that would be more efficient. This is one of the many ways President Clinton cut some of the government was.
I would see what purchases we can put off. Including the the city care keeping an older fleet.
I believe pedestrian and bike amenity are important and need their own funding separate from transportation. Although I do not want to see more taxes in Portland, with Oregon state action an acceptable funding source would be to apply a non-refundable deposit on the containers excluded wine and distilled alcohol from the recycle bottle bill. A ten cents container fee when you are paying $20 on a pint of your favorite will mostly likely be acceptable. Transportation funding can then be overhauled and focus on its mission with pedestrian new funding source.
How can the city of Portland and Multnomah County improve their existing partnership to more effectively address the homelessness, addiction and behavioral health crises?
By creating an umbra citizen task force that helps set out goals, measurement for meeting the goals and points out when they are going astray. The task force should have regular public meetings and talk openly about what is working and not working and why in real time instead of month or years later looking at what they are doing or have done.
If elected, you will oversee the police chief. What is your opinion of police bureau priorities and operations and what changes, if any, would you make? Would you push for the city to fund hundreds more police officers than the City Council has already authorized? If yes, where would you find the money?
Yes.
I would have quarterly weekend long open houses with the police and citizens. They can hang out get to know each other have safety classes, informational forums, games and answer questions.
I would work on hiring from within the City of Portland as often as possible including setting up a recruitment task force and help with providing what the individual needs to succeed as a new officer.
A free speech and March area need to be set up at Waterfront Park hopefully at “the bull dog” as it RIP long the at war it gave us great place to protest, be seen, heard and not interrupt the town and our business community.
See if “double” dipping can be allowed for first responds. Once they reach required age on receiving benefits, they should be able to receive all and start again at base pay.
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 have refused repeated offers of shelter, such as the option to sleep in a city-designated tiny home cluster?
Yes, after repeating offensese.
Have the problems impacting downtown Portland received too much or too little attention among current city leaders? Are there other specific neighborhoods in the city that have not received enough attention?
I think the attention downtown has be focused mostly on problems and there are workable solutions that they a just not doing. You need bathrooms bring in some trailers. Well unfortunately all parts of towns are suffering and the east side has the largest needs.
Do you support the decision to use millions from the Portland Clean Energy Fund to backfill budget holes in various city bureaus? Would you seek to continue, expand or halt that practice?
No. Maybe a few emergency services.
Do you support a potential change to the region’s homeless services tax that would direct some of the program’s unanticipated revenue to construct more affordable housing? Why or why not?
Adding bedroom, bathrooms to our current housing stock is necessary. The money should be spent to upgrade and full utility our current housing stock protecting industrial , commercial and our urban growth boundary We can not build our way out with new homes.
Describe the qualities and experience you will seek in a city administrator. Describe the working relationship you plan to build with the top administrator and their half dozen deputies.
I like that you asked quality first. Can do attitude, inclusive, good listener, understand of working with others. Willing to think out of the box, has patience. Knows when to draw a bottom line. Business experience more important them government. Pleasant, open, and willing to find a workable solutions.
