Portland, Oregon
| Portland, Oregon | |
 | |
| General information | |
Mayor of Portland
Ted Wheeler | |
| Last mayoral election: | 2020 |
| Next mayoral election: | 2024 |
| Last city council election: | 2022 |
| Next city council election: | 2024 |
| City council seats: | 5[1] |
| City website | |
| Composition data (2019) | |
| Population: | 645,291 |
| Race: | White 77.4% African American 5.8% Asian 8.2% Native American 0.8% Pacific Islander 0.6% Two or more 5.3% |
| Ethnicity: | Hispanic 9.7% |
| Median household income: | $71,005 |
| High school graduation rate: | 92.4% |
| College graduation rate: | 50.4% |
| Related Portland offices | |
| Oregon Congressional Delegation Oregon State Legislature Oregon state executive offices | |
Portland is a city in Multnomah County, Oregon. The city's population was 652,503 as of 2020, according to the United States Census Bureau.
Click on the links below to learn more about the city's...
- Mayor
- City council
- Other elected officials
- Elections
- Census information
- Budget
- Contact information
- Ballot measures
- County government
City government
- See also: City commission
Since 1913, the city of Portland has utilized a commission system. In this form of municipal government, a city council, comprised of an elected mayor and a board of elected commissioners, serves as the city's primary legislative and administrative body. The council also possesses "quasi-judicial" powers.[2][3][4]
The city commission system is one of the oldest forms of municipal government in the United States. Of the United States' largest 100 cities by population, Portland is the only city that still uses this form of municipal government.[2][5]
Mayor
The mayor is a member of the city council. They preside over council meetings and official city ceremonies, and are responsible for all committee appointments unless dictated otherwise by the city council. The mayor also represents the city on the state, national, and international levels.[3][6]
The current Mayor of Portland is Ted Wheeler (nonpartisan). Wheeler assumed office in 2017.
City council
The Portland City Commission is the city's primary legislative and administrative body. It is responsible for approving and adopting the city budget, levying taxes, and making or amending city laws, policies, and ordinances. As an administrative body, each member is in charge of one or more city departments or bureaus, such as the Portland Bureau of Transportation or the Portland Water Bureau. In certain cases involving public land use and judicial appeals, the council may also, from time to time, serve in a judicial capacity.[2]
The widget below automatically displays information about city council meetings. The topic list contains a sampling of keywords that Voterheads, a local government monitoring service, found in each meeting agenda. Click the meeting link to see more info and the full agenda:
Other elected officials
Mayoral partisanship
Portland has a Democratic mayor. As of September 2024, 63 mayors in the largest 100 cities by population are affiliated with the Democratic Party, 25 are affiliated with the Republican Party, one is affiliated with the Libertarian Party, four are independents, five identify as nonpartisan or unaffiliated, and two mayors' affiliations are unknown. Click here for a list of the 100 largest cities' mayors and their partisan affiliations.
Mayoral elections are officially nonpartisan in most of the nation's largest cities. However, many officeholders are affiliated with political parties. Ballotpedia uses one or more of the following sources to identify each officeholder's partisan affiliation: (1) direct communication from the officeholder, (2) current or previous candidacy for partisan office, or (3) identification of partisan affiliation by multiple media outlets.
Elections
2024
The city of Portland, Oregon, is holding general elections for mayor, city auditor, and city council on November 5, 2024. The filing deadline for this election was August 27, 2024.
2023
The city of Portland, Oregon, held general elections for community college board on May 16, 2023. The filing deadline for this election was March 16, 2023.
2022
The city of Portland, Oregon, held general elections for city auditor and city commission on November 8, 2022. A primary was scheduled for May 17, 2022. The filing deadline for this election was March 8, 2022.
2020
The city of Portland, Oregon, held general elections for mayor and city commissioner positions 1 and 4 on November 3, 2020. A special general election for city commissioner position 2 was held in conjunction with the regular primary election scheduled for May 19, 2020. The filing deadline for both the regular and special elections was March 10, 2020.[7]
2019
Portland voters voted on two citywide local ballot measures. Click here to learn about the Portland city measures, as well as other local measures on the ballot in the Portland area.
2018
The city of Portland, Oregon, held general elections for auditor and city commission on November 6, 2018. The primary was on May 15, 2018. The deadline for candidates to file to run in this election was March 6, 2018.
2016
The city of Portland, Oregon, held elections for mayor and two of its four city commission seats on May 17, 2016. Despite a large number of candidates in all three races, the mayoral and City Commission Position No. 1 races were both determined in the primary with Oregon Treasurer Ted Wheeler (D) and incumbent Commissioner Amanda Fritz winning more than half the votes in their respective races.
The City Commission Position No. 4 race, however, required a runoff election on November 8, 2016. Incumbent Steve Novick was the top vote recipient in the primary, but did not secure a majority of the votes cast. He was defeated by Chloe Eudaly in the general election.
The May election was called a primary, but it was functionally a general election. A runoff election—called in this case a general election—was only held on November 8, 2016, for races where no single candidate received a majority (50 percent plus one) of the votes cast on the May ballot.[8]
2014
Elections for the Portland City Council were scheduled for November 4, 2014. A primary election took place on May 20, 2014. Because both districts had a candidate claim more than 50 percent of the vote in the May 20 primary, the general election was called off.
The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 11, 2014.[9] Two of the four city council seats were up for election.
Incumbents Nick Fish and Dan Saltzman both won re-election to the council.
Census information
The table below shows demographic information about the city.
| Demographic Data for Portland | |
|---|---|
| Portland | |
| Population | 652,503 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 133 |
| Race and ethnicity** | |
| White | 72.1% |
| Black/African American | 5.9% |
| Asian | 8.4% |
| Native American | 1% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| Two or more | 9.2% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 10.3% |
| Education | |
| High school graduation rate | 93.4% |
| College graduation rate | 52.5% |
| Income | |
| Median household income | $85,876 |
| Persons below poverty level | 6.4% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2017-2022). | |
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | |
Budget
The city's budget process operates by fiscal years running from July 1 to June 30 of the following year. The mayor is responsible for drafting the budget and submitting it to the city council. The council then considers and adopts the budget. Community participation is part of the process as the council reviews the proposal.[10][11]
Fiscally standardized cities data
The fiscally standardized cities (FiSC) data below was compiled by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy to make municipal budgets comparable across cities in the United States.[12]
| “ |
FiSCs are constructed by adding revenues and expenditures of each central city municipal government to a portion of the revenues and expenditures of overlying governments, including counties, independent school districts, and special districts. The allocations to FiSCs are estimates of the revenues collected from and services provided to central city residents and businesses by these overlying independent governments. Thus FiSCs provides a full picture of revenues raised from city residents and businesses and spending on their behalf, whether done by the city government or a separate overlying government.[13] |
” |
| —Lincoln Institute of Land Policy[14] | ||
The tables below show estimated finances within city limits. As such, the revenue and expenses listed may differ from the actual city budget.
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Historical total revenue and expenditure
To see the historical total revenue or expenditures as a rounded amount in this city, hover over the bars.[12]
Portland, Oregon, salaries and pensions over $95,000
Below is a map of the nationwide salaries and pensions in this city over $95,000. To search a different ZIP code, enter it in the search bar within the map.
Contact information
Mayor's office
1221 SW 4th Ave
Room 340
Portland, OR 97204
Phone: 503-823-4000
City Auditor's office
1221 SW 4th Ave
Room 310
Portland, OR 97204
Phone: 503-823-4000
Click here for city council contact information.
Ballot measures
- See also: Multnomah County, Oregon ballot measures
The city of Portland is in Multnomah County. A list of ballot measures in Multnomah County is available here.
Noteworthy events
2020: Events and activity following the death of George Floyd
During the weekend of May 29-31, 2020, demonstrations and protests took place in cities nationwide, including Portland, following the death of George Floyd. Events in Portland, Oregon, began on Friday, May 29, 2020, at Terry Schrunk Plaza.[15] On May 30, Mayor Ted Wheeler (D) instituted a curfew.[16] The national guard was not deployed.
2015: Study on city's nondiscrimination laws
In July 2015, the Movement Advancement Project described Portland, Oregon, as a city or county that prohibited discrimination in employment on the basis of gender identity via ordinances that apply to public and private employers. At that time, a total of 71 of America's largest 100 cities prohibited private employers from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, while 69 of those cities also prohibited discrimination based on gender identity. This did not include those jurisdictions that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity for government employees.[17]
Nondiscrimination laws can cover a variety of areas, including public employment, private employment, housing, and public accommodations. Such laws may be enacted at the state, county, or city level.
Pensions
- See also: Oregon public pensions
Oregon has one public pension fund, the Public Employees Retirement System. According to the PERS website, "you are vested in the OPSRP Pension Program on the earliest date in which you complete at least 600 hours of service in each of five calendar years (the years do not have to be consecutive). If you are an active member any time on or after reaching normal retirement age, you become a vested member regardless of years of service. Once you are vested in the OPSRP Pension Program, you cannot lose your benefit rights unless you withdraw from the program."[18]
See also
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Portland city website
- Office of the Mayor
- City Council
- Portland City Charter and Code
Footnotes
- ↑ The mayor is included in this number as one of the city council members.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 City of Portland, "City Government Structure," accessed September 1, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Portland City Charter, "Article 1 The Council," accessed September 1, 2021
- ↑ City of Portland, "Elected Officials," accessed September 1, 2021
- ↑ National League of Cities, "Forms of Municipal Government," accessed September 1, 2021
- ↑ City of Portland, "Mayor Ted Wheeler," accessed September 1, 2021
- ↑ KATU 2, "Portland City Council special election to be held during Oregon primary," January 8, 2020
- ↑ City of Portland Auditor, "Time Schedule for 2016 Municipal Elections," accessed August 13, 2015
- ↑ City of Portland, "Quick Guide: Running For City Of Portland Elected Office," May 14, 2014
- ↑ City of Portland, "Introduction to the Budget," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ City of Portland, "Portland Citywide Summaries and Bureau Budgets (Adopted)," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities database," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ KATU, "Portland protesters hope to inspire change," May 29, 2020
- ↑ Pamplin Media, "Riot: Portland mayor imposes overnight curfew after looting," May 30, 2020
- ↑ Movement Advancement Project, "Local Employment Non-Discrimination Ordinances," accessed July 7, 2015
- ↑ State of Oregon, "PERS general information," accessed September 2, 2014
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