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: Tony Morse
Age: 43
Pronouns: he/him/his
Neighborhood: Woodstock
Are you a renter or homeowner? Homeowner
Education: Western Oregon University, BS, Economics; New England School of Law, JD Occupation: Recovery Advocate
How long you’ve lived in the city of Portland: Off and on throughout my entire life, and all together for approximately 21 years.
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.
Expand distribution of Opioid addiction treatment medication by Portland Fire. Portland recorded 301 drug overdose deaths in 2023, up from 158 in 2022. As of August 10, 2024, Portland Police has reported 178 suspected fatal overdoses. Every overdose death is preventable. More supportive addiction services are critical now that HB 4002 is in effect.
I support PSU’s proposal to build a new multi-use facility rather than closing Keller Auditorium for an extended period to renovate it. Business and Labor agree it will help revitalize Downtown, and protect the hundreds of jobs we’ll lose if we close the Keller.
I’m a convener and collaborator and helped pass the 2023 Fentanyl Education Bill 59-0 in the Oregon House. If I can unite 59 state legislators from throughout Oregon, I can unite 7 Portland City Councilors. My wide range of endorsements show I can get things done with many different types of leaders.
What previous accomplishments show that you are the best pick in your district? Please be specific.
Helping elect pro-choice champions to statewide office in 2022 demonstrates I’m in step with my district’s values, and voters can trust me on critical issues most important to them. The drug and addiction crisis has impacted District 4 hard, and I’ve worked with Dr. Maxine Dexter, Democratic Nominee for Congress, on the fentanyl crisis, and I’ve helped protect Oregon kids from fentanyl by helping pass the Fentanyl Education Bill (SB 238, 2023).
District 4 includes Downtown, and we need a productive partnership with Multnomah County that helps people get off the streets and into treatment and safe housing. To that end, I helped push Multnomah County to deliver more recovery housing to fight homelessness and addiction in 2023.
As a person in long-term recovery with substantial legislative experience, I offer District 4 a unique combination of lived experience and professional experience to effectively lead in our new form of government.
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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?
We need to build more housing to catch up with Portland’s needs. That means removing barriers to construction, such as making our permitting system faster and easier to navigate. It’s time to reduce touch points throughout the permitting process, and to ramp up the pace of our construction volume. We should incentivize (such as with tax policy) building more housing of all types, including market rate, middle housing, and affordable housing. Portland needs to create a culture of yes to find ways to facilitate more construction more quickly.
We also need more rental housing and additional renter resources. Rental assistance plays a key role in safeguarding housing stability, especially in inflationary environments with higher costs of living. Rental assistance reduces the risk of homelessness, and improves economic resilience in our communities. Multnomah County SHS revenue remains underutilized, and could be used more impactfully on helping renters meet their housing needs.
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?
Portlanders deserve to feel safe in their communities. Period. Prioritizing public safety helps provide everyone with a foundation for prosperity–we need to be committed to Portland being a safe place to live, work, and play. That means ensuring that Portland Police are equipped with the resources they need to keep Portlanders safe.
My vision for public safety includes police and behavioral health specialists working together in coordinated partnership to protect our communities, and working to ensure that those experiencing a crisis of any kind get the right type of help they need. Public safety includes fire protection, and that means giving Portland Fire and Rescue the support they need.
Budget decisions are about priorities, and prioritizing public safety is critical for a thriving Portland. We need a Tax Advisory Group to identify improvements to our local tax structure that will strengthen Portland’s economic competitiveness and establish sustainable lines of revenue.
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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 not to renew? Are there specific taxes or levies you would support creating? Why?
Portland is the second highest tax city in the nation, and we aren’t far behind New York City. Our locally approved tax measures are collecting revenues that far exceed what voters expected, and local governments struggle to spend all of what they collect. I support a moratorium on new taxes and fees, as per Governor Kotek’s Portland Central City Task Force’s recommendations.
Specialty local taxes contribute to affordability issues, and they impact Portland’s economic competitiveness. The current tax environment is contributing to Portland losing households and businesses, which erodes our tax base, and makes it harder to deliver the every-day services that Portlanders need.
I agree with the recent Multnomah County Commissioners decision to delay a preschool for all tax increase. But, if we are going to have income-based taxes designed for high income earners, they should be indexed to inflation to ensure that middle-income earners aren’t hurt over time.
Do you have any concerns with the changes coming to city elections and city governance? If so, what would you like to see change?
Portland needs to hire the best City Administrator possible. We need a Mayor and City Council committed to an energetic and serious recruitment process that positions us to land someone with top-level talent and experience.
A key feature of Charter Reform moves management of bureaus into the hands of the City Administrator and a team of deputies. This is a major change, and Portlanders need this transition to be as seamless as possible. A functional City Manager selection and confirmation process will be one of our new government’s first big tests, and we must get it right.
Our new system of government is designed to be more focused on responding to constituent needs, and that means we need to make sure we have enough constituent service staff. This is an issue we will need to be considerate and iterative about as we stand up our new city government.
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?
Yes. Portland City Council unanimously approved the new regulations regarding camping on public property, and the ordinance promotes livability while striking a good balance between protecting public safety and the need to provide shelter options for those struggling with unsheltered homelessness.
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 national average is 2.4 officers per 1,000 residents. Portland has 1.2 officers per 1,000 residents. Improving public safety and reducing gun violence depends on adding police officers. Sustainable funding for all services requires growing the tax base and potentially rethinking things like PCEF funding.
Do you support putting the Clean Energy Fund measure back on the ballot? What, if any changes, would you support?
Before we talk about the ballot, we need to have a serious conversation about PCEF and the results it’s showing. After multiple rounds of investment, we need to talk about outcomes and potential needs for program modifications. Portland has revenue challenges, and a discussion about PCEF revenue allocation is appropriate.
Which would you prioritize: Creation of more protected bike lanes and priority bus lanes or improved surfacing of existing degraded driving lanes?
Improved surfaces of existing degraded driving lanes. The fact is that driving is the most common form of transportation that Portlanders use. Priority bike and bus lanes play an important part of Portland’s transportation systems, but by prioritizing driving lanes, we deliver critical value to more people in need.
Have the problems impacting downtown Portland received too much or too little attention from current city leaders? Why?
Not enough. Downtown is the economic and cultural heart of Portland. Our post-pandemic recovery has progressed slower than in peer cities like Milwaukee. We need more urgency around improving public safety to bring more visitors to Downtown, and we must do more to keep companies like US Bank from leaving.