Portland Business Alliance Endorsements: November 2022

OUR ENDORSEMENTS FOR NOVEMBER 2022: 

• Portland City Council Position 3 – Rene Gonzalez
• Clackamas County Commission, Position 2 - Paul Savas and Libra Forde 
• (dual endorsement)
• Clackamas County Commission, Position 5 – Sonya Fischer
• Multnomah County Chair – Sharon Meieran

• Measure 26-228, Charter Commission Referral – NO
• Measure 26-224, Portland Community College Bond – YES
• Measure 26-225, Metro Parks Levy - YES
• Measure 112 – YES
• Measure 114 – YES

The general election on Tuesday, November 8, 2022 takes place as our city reaches its most crucial inflection point. The unacceptable status of our region is clear and obvious for all Greater Portland residents to see. This election will provide us with an opportunity to vote for a positive alternative – sure, we can continue with the status quo, which has led to a record level of houselessness, violent crime, cost of living increases, employers leaving the city, and trash with no clear plan for recovery or we can elect practical, collaborative leaders who will get our city refocused on delivering basic services and act with clear, actionable strategies for solving the multitude of crises facing our entire Portland region.

We will fill out our ballots as a record number of Portlanders are living on our streets; as the city is on pace to break last year’s record number of homicides; as small businesses across the city are victimized by burglaries and robberies; as trash is strewn all across our city; and as a spiraling cost of living crisis burdens more and more families. All of this in our city, which now has one of the highest local tax burdens in the nation. Portlanders are justifiably angry, as revealed in our recent DHM Research community survey, with only 12% of voters saying our city is headed in the right direction. 

These crises have upended our lives and wrought widespread damage to Portland’s reputation as one of the most livable and affordable cities in America. The process of unifying our community to rebuild basic services that support an economy that benefits every Portlander will require deep collaboration between the public and private sectors for years, and perhaps even decades to come. 

Simply put: we will not be able to make the change necessary to get Portland back on track without sending a strong message at the ballot box – it is time for change. It is time to put an end to the radical ideological politics that got us into this position and get refocused on the basics – shelter and housing for all, public safety, cleanliness, affordability, and livability. The Alliance has endorsed leaders who are committed to building collaborative decisions across coalitions, value transparency, and are proven leaders in forming public-private partnerships to solve problems.

The candidates we endorse are not “pro-business” in the traditional sense. We would describe them as “pro-collaboration” leaders who understand the critical importance of partnering with the private sector to solve what seem like overwhelming crises. And finally, we have confidence that these candidates will take an urgent approach to reducing the number of unsheltered Portlanders on our streets, reducing violent crime plaguing our region, restoring cleanliness and livability in every neighborhood, and helping employers of all sizes rebuild thriving businesses. 
 
We are also proud to support Ballot Measure 112, which will remove slavery as a punishment for crime from our State’s Constitution. And Ballot Measure 114, which will strengthen background check requirements for gun purchases and ban the sale of large capacity gun magazines in our state. 
 
Lastly, we strongly encourage you to read The Oregonian and Willamette Week recommendations to vote NO on Measure 26-288. 

Last week, Alliance President and CEO, Andrew Hoan, sent a detailed message to Alliance members outlining we why we encourage a no vote on the deeply flawed charter commission referral, and to support Commissioner Mingus Mapps well-designed alternative next year.