District 2 Councilors 'finding lane' in new Portland government
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- A mixture of University of Portland students and residents in North Portland gathered Monday night for a candid and casual question-and-answer session with the city council's District 2 representatives.
Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney and her colleagues Dan Ryan and Sameer Kanal answered a range of questions from those who came to the event. They touched on the city's homeless crisis, the city's $93 million budget deficit, the potential of losing some community centers including in St. Johns, were among the topics discussed.
"It's a tough budget. I totally get that, too," Councilor Sameer Kanal said. "But tough budgets give us the opportunity to figure out what our priorities are."
Ryan -- the lone holdover from Portland's previous city council before its expansion to 12 representatives for 4 city districts -- said community centers are key in getting Portland back on its feet.
"Portland has always been the city that attracts families. They attend our public schools. They might go away for a while, come back and raise their families here, and, more importantly, build their businesses here. So, we have to keep that flow going," Ryan said.
"So you can't close community centers, because when I talk to parents, that's something that helps them live and thrive in Portland is having something to do for their kiddos, evenings, weekends and summers. That's when kids really need those services and when parents desire them. So those have to be prioritized."
Asked how this new form of government is working over the first 100 days, Pirtle-Guiney said she thinks "it's going well, but I do think salty is the appropriate word, though. There's a lot of salt."
"I think it's really important that we're more transparent than the previous forms of government," Kanal said.
"I think we need to keep finding where our lane is and where we can have influence and impact," Ryan said. "When we when we go into voting, we have a perspective that's based on all those voices that we're getting in in real time."
One of those who attended, Mary, said she didn't know much about Portland's government. "So this was kind of like hearing that this whole new setup starting this year was completely new to me, and it was exciting to hear more details about that."
The City Council is still working on a budget. Mayor Keith Wilson is expected to release the final budget in June. The public's input is welcome over the next few months.