Meet Will Mespelt, candidate for Portland City Council District 2

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: Will Mespelt

Age (and when/whether that will change before the election): 30 (NOV 30)

Pronouns: Did not respond

Neighborhood: Piedmont

Are you a renter or homeowner? Homeowner (Previous renter)

Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Public & Interpersonal Communication - NC State University, OREA Licensed Property Manager

Occupation: Property Manager

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

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:

For each of the following questions, please limit your answer to no more than 150 words. If you run over, we will at our discretion cut your response to meet that limit.

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.

First, I would change the permitting department’s self funding model with a dedicated budget for staffing needs to allow for faster permitting efficiency, we cannot afford to miss out on new housing and slow down development any longer. From the current City budget: “The requirement to be self-supporting, combined with the challenge of accurately predicting construction activity and fee revenues, makes it important for Permitting & Development to maintain sufficient reserves to ensure bureau services remain stable when revenues fall.”

Secondly, I would immediately push for the ‘affordable’ housing rental rates and incomes to be dropped by 20-30%. The Portland housing bureau adopts the federal HUD standard which is not actually affordable and goes up every year. We will get 7 votes by displaying the immediate value to my colleagues regarding quick solutions to decreasing housing costs and increasing housing supply without spending tax dollars on development as a City.

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

Being a licensed and experienced housing/real estate professional is of the top most needed areas of expertise on City Council. I have successfully managed and stewarded over 15 multifamily properties all over Portland worth hundreds of millions of dollars and promoted success for both property owners and more importantly Portland residents. I have interacted with thousands of residents all over Portland and have the privilege of taking care of their homes and giving them the best and safest place to rest everyday despite living in a City that is full of critical challenges. This experience gives a vital glimpse into the actual needs and desires of Portland citizens and what they expect from City Hall. People want affordable housing, safe/clean neighborhoods, and amazing local businesses/restaurants to visit.

Related: What you need to know about voting in Oregon and Southwest Washington

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 are on track to deliver less than 500 units in 2024. We are 15k short since 2022 alone! Quick steps that I would take include: cut/waive/quicken the permitting process for housing development, waive permitting fees for affordable and some market rate housing, assign a permit manager to large projects, promote TIF districts and land leases for private development, increase urban core building height limits, and create development incentives for local construction/architecture companies. The large scale and herculean challenge we face is making Portland a City that is friendly to business, safe, and clean. These major items are lacking and I will be a huge advocate that we are open for business and want employers to come invest in Portland again.

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?

To name a few huge items that eat up lots of the budget that we absolutely have to have include: Environmental services (water/sewer), public safety (Police,Fire,PSR), PBOT, Permitting, and Parks. A specific project that will continue to be a major funding commitment is the new Bull Run filtration project that is already running over $2 billon in total cost. Unfortunately, residents are going to be getting rate hikes to foot that bill. However, the City has an obligation to mitigate those costs through responsible stewardship. At City Hall we will need to be willing to trim programs that are not essential to the flourishing of human life. Keeping people safe, healthy, and housed come first. Mayor Wheeler is already sounding the alarm that 2025 will be extremely challenging. On Council I will be prepared to make unpopular decisions if that means keeping people safe and preventing tax and fee increases on our community.

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?

The number one complaint I hear from Portland voters other than safety is they believe the city is wasting precious tax dollars they receive because we are not getting good results despite our high tax rates. As a rule of thumb I do not support additional tax measures and would generally choose not to renew them. I believe that if an item is important to Portlanders, City Hall should include that item in the operating budget rather than depending on a ballot measure every few years. Secondly, accountability, action, and transparency in virtually every single case is non-existent and the money is not handled responsibly. Portlanders deserve for their tax dollars to be put to good use.

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 am excited for the changes to government in Portland overall and look forward to a fresh start and hopefully more accountability at City Hall. I have a couple concerns as well. First, many voters are not aware of the new structure, the Small Donor Elections program, and especially ranked choice voting. Secondly, I am concerned about existing city staff or others involved in transitioning to the new government system influencing new City Council members with their own expectations of how the government should run rather than the elected City Council members blazing their own trail and creating a system best for Portland and their districts. I would like to see Portland and Multnomah County be more proactive in getting information to voters and local political organizations for how the new system works, however, I think this will improve some naturally in the next election after voters have more experience.

Related: Issues important to Oregon voters

For the five remaining questions, please 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, however there will need to be a very specific policy on this issue. If we provide services and they are refused people can move along or face consequences. If someone has mental illness or clearly cannot live with other people we need to have options available to them as well.

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, In 2005 we had 1001 officers and now we have 801. So a goal of adding 200 is reasonable overtime. Probably around $30-32 million added in costs needed that would certainly be pulled from another program. Portlanders are demanding we restore safety.

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

Yes, voters should have a say if we are going to renew this program. I think we should require more concrete and measurable results from grant projects and tie them to our goals as a city more clearly.

Related: Listen to 'OPB Politics Now'

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

Depends on the neighborhood and need. I would prefer protected bike lanes and bus lanes. However, as a bike rider potholes are more dangerous if it forces a rider in the street or a car to swerve.

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

Too little. We should pride our city on our amazing downtown. Instead, downtown remains a detractor for tourists and residents. City leaders need to prioritize clean up and revitalization to attract employers, businesses, and residents back to the urban core.