For almost as long as Portland has had a commission form of government, Portlanders have been talking about changing it.
In this form of government, council members are elected citywide and are tasked with overseeing a portfolio of bureaus assigned by the mayor. Critics say the system is inherently unequal and dysfunctional, leaving power concentrated with white and wealthy Portlanders and council members serving as administrators for bureaus they often lack expertise in.
In 1913, by a margin of just 300 votes, Portlanders voted to adopt this form of government. Four years later, voters were asked if they wanted to abolish it.
They voted no. They said no again in 1926. And in 1927. Also in 1958, 1966, and 2002. Portland has been left as the only major U.S. city with a commission form of government.
With the city council seating a new commission to recommend changes to the charter, it’s likely Portlanders will soon be asked once again to grapple with questions of whether this unusual form of government works — and, if not, what should go in its place.
On Thursday, the council will officially appoint 20 Portlanders to sit on the Charter Review Commission. The group, which must convene at least once a decade, will be given free rein to review and suggest changes to the charter after a lengthy public engagement process. If a supermajority — 15 or more members — agree on a charter amendment, they will put the question to voters in a ballot measure. Otherwise, the recommendations need to go through the city council.
There’s no guarantee the group will tackle changing the city’s form of government. The group gets to pick what part of the charter to review. But it’s more than likely it’ll be up for discussion with critiques of the current form mounting and many fed up with the status quo in City Hall. Three members of the new group say it’s a top priority.
Robin Ye, a policy consultant named to the commission, said he wants to look at changes to the city’s structure of government and voting. A 2019 Portland City Club report on the commission system found citywide elections serve as a barrier to electing a council that’s reflective of the city’s diversity. The report said races are expensive to enter and people of color and East Portlanders have been drastically underrepresented. While the newest council will be majority non-white, it’s an anomaly.
“We know that this at-large system that’s produced like 98% white people disproportionately from the west side of the city is not working for everybody that’s not of their interest,” said Ye. “These are the fundamental aspects that the charter can look at that can restore faith in government — which is really the biggest crisis I see right now.”
Volunteers have joined the commission before with hopes of seeing through big changes to the form of government only to have the push fizzle. The last time the commission came together in 2010, the group focused on housekeeping measures and did not touch the issue of changing Portland’s government structure.
But Salome Chimuku, a community advocate and policy consultant named to the commission, said she believes this time will be different — in part because people seem increasingly fed up with barriers in City Hall and see changing the charter as a way to breakthrough.
“There were so many things over these last couple years that Portlanders wanted to happen at City Hall that didn’t happen,” said Chimuku, pointing to issues of racial equity and homelessness. “And so I think a lot of folks who have been trying to figure out how to get stuff done are looking at this as a potential way.”
One sign that more people are paying attention? Julia Meier, the project manager for the commission, said that almost 300 people applied to be on the commission. At least anecdotally, she said that felt like a city record for a volunteer advisory board.
According to the city’s website, the commission “must be reflective of the City in terms of its racial and ethnic diversity, age and geography.” Out of the 20 members the council picked from the list of 300, more than half are people of color. They live across the city, though only three have zip codes that could put them east of Interstate 205, according to a spreadsheet of the nominees maintained by the council with information from when the candidates applied.
East Portland has long been underrepresented on the council, which critics say has led the city to persistently neglect the area since it was annexed. Hanna Osman, one of the commission members who live in the area, said she sees the disparities — in transit, in sidewalk condition, in internet connection — each time she makes the commute from her home to her job in City Hall downtown. She’s hoping to use her seat on the commission to push for change in the current power dynamics.
“There’s so much power that these four commissioners and the mayors have,” she said. “If we open up the doors to more of a district approach then we’ll be able to get more people involved in government and have a more equitable process.”
The commission is expected to begin work this January. Meier said the time feels ripe for the once-a-decade opportunity.
“It’s an interesting time to look at a founding document — something that’s like the constitution — but for a city — and ask ourselves does this founding document reflect our perceptions of who we are as a city? And if not, why not and how can it better reflect who we want to be? And I think we’re asking ourselves those big questions right now as a community, maybe as a country.”