Portland City Council Regular Meeting

4:45Council Clerk.

5:11Before I call the roll and formally begin the meeting, we have a ceremonial welcome.

5:18I am so pleased to welcome Anis Mojgani and Jen Shin to each share a poem with us.

5:29Good morning.

5:29So, Clerk, before I call the roll—.

5:32How's everyone?

5:33Fantastic.

5:36I am so pleased to welcome Anis Mojibbari.

5:40Go forward, go, whether quick-heeled or in oak stillness.

5:46You do not need to be fully formed to go fully forward.

5:49So forward, oh, forward, go in greening leaf or reddening ember.

5:54Forward into the dark, go.

5:57Forward, go not as pioneer.

6:00No, go forward as seedling cracking itself into the light.

6:05You do not need to take any form.

6:06Go forward as guests.

6:08Go neither as settler nor leader nor bearer of any flag.

6:12If there is a flag in your hands, bury it.

6:17Any flag that your hands can touch, bury it.

6:21And see what then might sprout instead from those threads.

6:24Weave new cloth woven by way of work, woven by limbs threaded together hand in hand, holder of hand.

6:32Go forward.

6:33Go forward, you forager of forest and fellowship.

6:36You smile igniters, you seed stirrers, carry what little things you carry into the gentle asking earth awaiting our feet in a field one field over.

6:48Go forward here where country becomes coast and become water.

6:53For what is forward to an ocean?

6:55In what direction lies progress?

6:58Our shore or the farther?

7:01Move both ways.

7:03Lead with what you have to offer.

7:06Lighthouse your heart when you are lost.

7:09Be quiet when your body has the floor.

7:12Marry yourself to the listening.

7:14Do not tarry.

7:15Make action of patience.

7:17Starling map yourself.

7:19Be a beacon inside your own body.

7:22Become a newer knowing of a world already here.

7:25Eternal.

7:26Always.

7:27Collapse Aye.

7:29Build lower walls.

7:30Lead together.

7:32Opposite of conquer.

7:33Apostles of outstretched vulnerability.

7:36Invite yourself to invite others to invite themselves to invite others.

7:41What new affection may brood between us when we do this?

7:46What corners of ourselves does the sky over us not touch?

7:51We may not know where we are until we are there.

7:54This is all right.

7:56This is okay.

7:58Go forward, not to go forward, but to be going forward together.

8:02From here, where might we go?

8:05Thank you.

8:10Thank you, Anise, and hello everyone.

8:21We, the city of Portland, sit at a confluence, land of 2 rivers, the Columbia and the Willamette, 2 distinct water bodies carrying centuries of time flowing seamlessly into one.

8:37Water, the teacher of many.

8:39Be like water, Bruce Lee once said.

8:42What is it to be like water?

8:45To flow and flow and flow.

8:49I don't think I, an Asian American woman bleached in whiteness, was ever taught to flow.

8:56I was taught to fit into reservoirs by a history that had long ago categorized me as other.

9:03I flow now though.

9:05I flow because my therapist shows me the headwaters of agency within.

9:09They swirl with possibility of change, Here I burble with reflection.

9:16What served me then but no longer serves me now.

9:20Changing flow requires effort.

9:23Our emotions, coping, and memories float down the channels of polished river rocks and carved valley beds, old with time and wear like our centuries-old governance systems, like the imprinted memories of my distant ancestors that linger within me.

9:40But change is possible, often imminent.

9:44Rills carved into once dry beds, vertical cliffs that define the gorge, the Columbia embracing the Willamette's final downstream flow.

9:55In this moment of history-making and new beginnings and change, may we, you, I find that flow with one another.

10:04In these meetings, in these streets, at events where your grandmother and mine will swim in shared interests.

10:11Maybe remember change as a constant, even when logs and debris obstruct our path.

10:17Maybe remember the 2 rivers that define Portland and glean the lessons they offer.

10:23May we flow on unfamiliar paths, even when we don't know where they will lead.

10:29Thank you.

10:29Councilmember This is the January 2nd, 2025 meeting of the Portland City Council.

10:45In accordance with city code, I will serve as the non-voting ex officio presiding officer at this meeting to facilitate the election of the President of Council.

10:56I will first call the roll.

10:58Councilors, please say here when I call your name.

11:04Avalos.

11:05Here.

11:05Dunphy.

11:06Here.

11:07Smith.

11:08Here.

11:09Here.

11:09Pirtle-Guiney.

11:10Here.

11:11Ryan.

11:11Here.

11:12Koyama Lane.

11:13Here.

11:13Morillo.

11:15Here.

11:15Novick.

11:16Here.

11:17Clark.

11:18Here.

11:18Green.

11:19Here.

11:19Zimmerman.

11:20Here.

11:22The city attorney will now read the rules of decorum.

11:29Welcome to the Portland City Council.

11:33To testify before council in person or virtually, you must sign up in advance on the council agenda at www.portland.gov/council/agenda.

11:44Information on engaging with council can be found on the council clerk's webpage.

11:49Individuals may testify for 3 minutes unless the presiding officer states otherwise.

11:54Your microphone will be muted when your time is over.

11:58The presiding officer preserves order.

12:00Disruptive conduct such as shouting, refusing to conclude your testimony when your time is up, or interrupting others' testimony or council deliberations will not be allowed.

12:11If you cause a disruption, a warning will be given.

12:15Further disruption will result in ejection from the meeting.

12:19Anyone who fails to leave once ejected is subject to arrest for trespass.

12:23Thank you.

12:24Additionally, council may take a short recess and reconvene virtually.

12:29Your testimony should address the matter being considered.

12:32When testifying, please state your name for the record.

12:36Your address is not necessary.

12:38If you are a lobbyist, please identify the organization you represent.

12:44Virtual testifiers should unmute themselves when the council clerk calls your name.

12:48Good evening, everyone.

12:49Thank you.

12:53We have one item on the agenda before we elect the President of Council.

12:58I will read the title of Item 1: Amend Council Organization and Procedure Code Related to the Council Agenda, Council Rules, and Council Committees.

13:09I will now hand this to City Attorney Robert Taylor, who will introduce the item.

13:17Thank you.

13:17For the record, my name is Robert Taylor, the Portland City Attorney.

13:20Um, first, I want to thank Councilor Ryan, uh, for his assistance during the transition to make sure this item could be filed, uh, and posted on the agenda in advance of this meeting.

13:32Um, and I would like to turn it over now to Commissioner Kanal to discuss the item, and I'm happy to answer any questions.

13:41Thank you, Robert.

13:42Thank you, Madam Interim President.

13:44Um, before I begin, thank you to everyone for being here for our first meeting.

13:46Your participation in government is vital to ensuring that this works and that Portland can thrive.

13:51Uh, and thank you as well to then Commissioner, now Councilor Ryan, for your leadership on this and for introducing the item in time.

13:57So I'm going to introduce a portion of this and then pass it to Councilor Zimmerman to, uh, speak more to it.

14:03This ordinance is a narrow compromise measure, a short-term fix designed to ensure that we're able to operate in a way that's more accessible and easy for the public to participate, more transparent for community members to know what's going on, and ultimately more responsive to Portlanders, creating short-term clarity around processes while a longer-term conversation around rules helps do that.

14:24I'm going to initiate just to quickly— 3 points: what the ordinance is and isn't, what it does, and why it's happening now.

14:30First, what it is and isn't.

14:32As everyone knows, the city voters approved a large structural change to the way the government the code that governs council operations was developed for us by the old commission form of government and took effect yesterday.

14:45Many of the members of the current council had concerns about some of the processes outlined in the code.

14:49As a result, there was a discussion around making a quick change to the code, effectively, effectively putting a patch on the starter code, and this ordinance is that patch.

14:59And it's not designed to be the long-term code governing city council, nor does it include every possible change that was discussed.

15:06Again, designed to be a short-term fix to get us working well together while we in parallel have those broader conversations, uh, in communication with the public, with GTAC, with everyone that is necessary to work through.

15:17Um, it does 6 things which are, I think, listed in the ordinance.

15:20It changes the process by which something is assigned to committee.

15:23Um, it outlines the general framework of a council item's flow, clarifies the auditor's office role in the process, Clarifies the president's role in setting an agenda and ensures the council president can't delay an item.

15:34Clarifies committee creation processes and removes district requirements from committee membership.

15:40Broadly promotes efficiency by removing administrative delay, promotes representation by ensuring individual councilors can propose items which reflect the priorities of their constituents, and creates clarity and transparency for the public to see where an item is at, and in so doing also reduces the time pressure that often leads to reduced public participation.

15:58And the reason it's coming up now is that it's fundamentally about understanding the president's role before the council determines who the president is.

16:06One last note, this was not initially proposed as an emergency ordinance because it would have meant voting on it today, which would have limited public participation and transparency.

16:15So there will be a first reading today and a second reading in 2 weeks.

16:19On that day, we may discuss amending in an emergency clause so that it can take effect immediately after adoption on that date.

16:25Thank you.

16:26Um, which also allows for amendments to be proposed and considered.

16:29Um, yeah, this ordinance was developed collectively.

16:32It's not how any one of us would have probably written it.

16:34I imagine it doesn't fully reflect everyone's views but represents the commitment to compromise that the full council, everyone up here has.

16:41And I'll now pass it over to Councilor Zimmerman to share his introductory remarks.

16:49Thank you.

16:49Um, yeah, I agree with my fellow councilor is that there are some things you have to deal with in the first day and it doesn't mean that everything has to be, uh, figured out for our continuing into the rest of the year.

17:01But these were important changes that will, I think, reflect this body's need to do the work to protect the changes that this charter has brought forward that allows this council to, um, operate as an equal, uh, as an equal body in this new form of government that I think is incredibly important.

17:21There is no secret that Councilor Kanal and I are both representing some different opinions about what the best procedures are for this council to move forward.

17:30But the thing that's unique and perfect about this is that I think we were both working from a position of protecting these changes to our form of government and making sure that this council can operate and be effective in our best way.

17:42And so I appreciate greatly the detailed work that he has done, and to the other councilors who helped us us shape some of this.

17:51And most importantly, I think that, um, a body who can say what's important to take action on this first day and what has time to be more deliberate, uh, as we look at the rest of this ordinance in a later date.

18:04Deliberate decision-making is always the goal, and sometimes you have to act fast.

18:07And so we see a hybrid of that, and I'm happy to do it, and I'll, I'll support it.

18:10Um, I will also, uh, if there's any discussion eventually, I will propose an amendment to this, uh, one quick change.

18:18But, um, for that, that concludes my remarks.

18:22Thank you.

18:23Um, excuse me, I'm so sorry to interrupt.

18:26We need to take a brief recess to troubleshoot an audio issue that we're having, so we'll be in recess for 5 minutes.

18:36My first comments, I shut it down.

58:49Talk to us on Zoom, and then if that works, we start right up.

58:52Christina, can you hear me?

58:56Hey, Keelan, I can hear you.

58:57Okay, perfect.

1:00:27All right, we're back in session.

1:00:30I just want to thank everyone so much for your patience.

1:00:34We're very sorry about these difficulties.

1:00:36We want to make sure that everyone is able to testify.

1:00:40We have some folks in Zoom who want to testify virtually, and we want to just make sure that everybody has access to the meeting.

1:00:48So thank you so much for your patience.

1:00:50We'll get started again.

1:00:52Um, I'll turn it back over to Councilor Zimmerman, who was making comments when we had to recess.

1:00:59Thank you.

1:01:00Comments complete.

1:01:07Okay, so, uh, is there any other council discussion Or questions before we move to public testimony for this item?

1:01:19Uh, Madam Clerk, I do have an amendment then, uh, that I'll make.

1:01:25So colleagues, I have a motion to amend in Exhibit A, Section 3.02.020 strike the words complete items and replace with items that meet the administrative requirements.

1:01:48Uh, colleagues, this is a housekeeping item to conform with the language above about administrative requirements, and I'd appreciate a second and then a passage.

1:02:01Second.

1:02:01Councilor Zimmerman moves Councilor Ryan seconds.

1:02:07Any other discussion?

1:02:09We'll call the vote on that amendment.

1:02:12Avalos?

1:02:13Aye.

1:02:14Dunphy?

1:02:15Aye.

1:02:16Smith?

1:02:17Aye.

1:02:18Kanal?

1:02:18Aye.

1:02:19Pirtle-Guiney?

1:02:20Aye.

1:02:20Ryan?

1:02:21Aye.

1:02:21Koyama Lane?

1:02:22Aye.

1:02:23Morillo?

1:02:24Aye.

1:02:24Novick?

1:02:25Aye.

1:02:25Clark?

1:02:26Aye.

1:02:27Green?

1:02:27Aye.

1:02:28Zimmerman?

1:02:29Aye.

1:02:30The amendment is approved.

1:02:34We did something.

1:02:38Thank you.

1:02:41Madam Clerk, I have another amendment.

1:02:46Amendment 2 here.

1:02:47Motion to amend in Exhibit A, Section 3.02.0.

1:02:57050.A.2 is strike the words the resolution specifies and replace with the council president proposes and the council resolution affirms.

1:03:10Second.

1:03:10This amendment signals some intent and the role of president with relation to committees while maintaining council approval, a council approval action and not bogging down the council in deciding who will sit each committee.

1:03:25I would appreciate a second on this and a passage to help our next president in starting the important work of committee assignment and leadership.

1:03:32Second.

1:03:38Councilor Zimmerman moves, Councilor Novick seconds.

1:03:42Any further discussion?

1:03:46I'll call the roll.

1:03:47Avalos?

1:03:48Aye.

1:03:49Dunphy?

1:03:50Aye.

1:03:55Aye.

1:03:57Aye.

1:03:58Aye.

1:03:58The amendment is approved.

1:04:04Thank you.

1:04:11If there isn't any further discussion on this item, we'll move to public testimony.

1:04:26We have 10 people signed up for this item.

1:04:29I'll call people by their names.

1:04:32Please come to the front or unmute in Zoom.

1:04:34You'll have 3 minutes to testify.

1:04:36First up, we have Terry Harris.

1:04:51Okay, good morning.

1:04:57Good morning.

1:04:58Good morning.

1:04:59Terry Harris from Hillsdale.

1:05:01Thank you for this one-of-a-kind, first-of-a-kind opportunity.

1:05:06Um, a quick disclaimer, um, I'm a member of the Government Transition Advisory Committee.

1:05:11Although my testimony is, I think, consistent with GTAC recommendations, I'm testifying now in my personal capacity.

1:05:22Um, I see that it's already clear to you that the expanded council will need to operate in a fundamentally different way than the previous council so I do appreciate the desire here to make progress towards organizing new council procedures.

1:05:37Unfortunately, the city code you've been given to start with is utterly inadequate for what the charter amendments envisioned.

1:05:46What's on the table today is barely a Band-Aid, likely unworkable, and compared to other jurisdictions, an outlier.

1:05:53Thank you.

1:06:07Well-understood legislative frameworks that govern modern legislatures and their committees exist elsewhere across the country.

1:06:13GTAC has research on this.

1:06:16Um, such models provide a better approach to the problems you're trying to solve here.

1:06:22You should deploy them.

1:06:23Just a couple of quick bullets on some things though.

1:06:27Um, I have written testimony that I urge, uh, y'all to take a look at.

1:06:33First of all, the council should retain district representation on standing committees.

1:06:40Council committees should take advantage of district representation afforded by the charter changes.

1:06:47This is a key GTAC recommendation.

1:06:49Residents are expecting to be represented on council committees.

1:06:56Um, another thing is introducing legislation should be frictionless and instantaneous.

1:07:04There should be no need for 3-month, um, uh, time limits or anything like that.

1:07:11There shouldn't be a bottleneck to just putting a legislative item into the council.

1:07:18And the bottleneck, if there's going to be one, shouldn't be in the clerk's office waiting to reach the agenda.

1:07:26Um, referrals to committee should be guided by rules and committee jurisdiction, not by preferences.

1:07:36And this is something that you'll need to sort out.

1:07:40But finally, given the complexity and importance of brand new procedures and rules for the council, it'll be essential that this council dig more deeply and consider things more carefully, because everything this council does will set lasting precedent, for better or worse.

1:08:01It's important to get this stuff right, um, or at least as close as possible.

1:08:07Thank you.

1:08:08Let me know how I can be helpful, and I look forward to working with you in the future.

1:08:26Next up, we have Dan Handelman, Portland Copwatch, joining us online.

1:08:31Good morning, can you hear me?

1:08:37Yep.

1:08:38Dan, can you hear us?

1:08:40I can hear you, yes, thank you.

1:08:43Uh, greetings to the new city council.

1:08:44My name is Dan Handelman.

1:08:46Hey, Dan.

1:08:48Dan, sorry to interrupt, hang on a second, we're gonna turn up the volume.

1:09:53We hear you, Dan.

1:09:54We're just trying to turn up the volume a little bit.

1:09:56Is your volume turned up all the way?

1:10:07Just a moment, Dan.

1:11:44Madam Clerk, is it possible to go to other people while we fix this who are here?

1:11:50Thanks.

1:11:57All right, we'll move on.

1:11:58Let's, um, Dan, we're going— we're troubleshooting the audio in the room, so we'll come back to you.

1:12:09Okay, uh, next we'll go to Charlie Michelle Wesley.

1:12:27So did you move it back?

1:12:37No.

1:12:37Hello everybody.

1:12:40Does it matter where I sit?

1:12:43All right.

1:12:49All right, I'm going to talk rather fast so I can get through this in 3 minutes.

1:12:53Um, I'm Charlie Michelle Wesley, tribal member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, of this land now called Oregon, where the bones of my ancestors are buried so you may reside here today.

1:13:06This city that continues to allow destruction of our Mother Earth and to keep intact a policing reign of terror to BIPOC and other marginalized communities, and that only benefit those in power, certain white society and middle class, instead of being a proponent to anti-racist systemic change for true liberation, well-being for us and our land.

1:13:30This means immediately correcting damage done by previous powers and restoring of OCPA, Community Board for Police Accountability, Portland Street Response, and the opportunity to deny Zenith's new land use application and dignified housing for all.

1:13:48These are life and death decisions.

1:13:54For the city to actually respect the sacrifices of my people, the land acknowledgement should not only be read but reviewed, expanded, and taken into consideration With decisions in earnest.

1:14:09Starting today, know your responsibility as a servant to the people, not putting yourselves above the people.

1:14:16If uncomfortable with this radical truth and the way it's communicated to you, you dismiss my voice and you don't give credence to other voices and lived experience.

1:14:31And that means you're missing out on truth that has been lacking in all previous and effective decisions.

1:14:40Be a model of racial and social justice by holding all city decisions up to the lens of the city core values— and I gave you all a copy of that— instead of further oppressing the oppressed and reinflicting the traumatized.

1:14:59So choose a president who will not be all-powerful, but someone who can facilitate with City Council, not against for personal agenda.

1:15:12Also know the meeting agenda needs to be posted 24 hours in advance and is posted on Fridays before the Wednesday session, so that's fine.

1:15:21But 5 days is still not enough time, uh, for community to talk with council members and especially concerning past community input, which is a major life and death concern.

1:15:35Core city values is how true justice is administered, by upholding those core city values.

1:15:44I just want to say one more thing about one of the values.

1:15:47It's anti-racism.

1:15:49Addressing issues concerning anti-Blackness will— should be a priority and actions to dismantle institutional and systemic racism will be the responsibility of every employee.

1:16:03If not a priority, the rest is mainly performative.

1:16:06Thank you.

1:16:15Dan, let's go back to you and see if, if we can hear you now.

1:16:21Good morning.

1:16:22Yes, it's working.

1:16:23Thank you.

1:16:25Thank you.

1:16:27Greetings to the new city council.

1:16:28My name is Dan Handelman.

1:16:30I use he/him pronouns, and I'm a member of Portland Cop Watch.

1:16:33For those not familiar with our group, we have been around since 1992 promoting police accountability through community member action.

1:16:39We're part of a group called Peace and Justice Works, which more broadly promotes nonviolent conflict resolution on local, national, and international levels.

1:16:45National and international levels.

1:16:48I apologize not for, for not having my camera on today, but I'm only testifying because one of Portland Cop Watch's 3 initial concerns for the new system of government might potentially be addressed with this agenda item.

1:16:58We sent a letter to each of you through your campaign emails in early December.

1:17:02We'll forward it again to your official email addresses today to be sure you have a chance to look at it.

1:17:07Also, my colleague Mark Porras and I are signed up for communications on January 15th, and we will get more into our group's history, activities, and concerns.

1:17:15So to the agenda item before you, one thing that most Portlanders probably did not notice in charter changes from Measure 26 to 28 is the authority given the city administrator to resolve all lawsuits where the payment is under $50,000.

1:17:29As Councilor Ryan can confirm, our group has come before council to testify every time there's been a police misconduct lawsuit on the agenda because the existing threshold for settlements is $5,000.

1:17:38It has afforded us dozens of opportunities to address council in just the last few years.

1:17:43Sometimes this meant having items pulled from the consent agenda, as an informal agreement between then-Commissioner Joanne Hardesty and the rest of council was to put amounts under $50,000 on that docket.

1:17:54That meant without our intervention, there would have been no discussion at all on these smaller payouts.

1:17:59As a matter of course, it appears the city attorney discourages the council from saying anything about these cases.

1:18:04Our goal in testifying about them is to urge the city to look at the underlying policies in hopes of preventing future occurrences.

1:18:11There have been a few exceptions.

1:18:12Mayor Wheeler asked for the policy to be reviewed after officers wrongly allowed people staying at a motel to be evicted, and Chief Day voluntarily appeared to talk with council about changes made to the K-9 policy when a $500,000 settlement was approved for a couple in Happy Valley who'd been attacked by a police dog that escaped its handler's yard.

1:18:30We're not really as concerned about lawsuits against other agencies such as the Parks Bureau, Bureau of transportation.

1:18:36If there are members of the public who are concerned about issues other than police brutality, racism, and corruption, we hope they will contact you as well.

1:18:42What we're asking for today is to either codify in the document you're considering that any cases of police misconduct, not routine car crashes, though we're also interested in those, be placed on the agenda for council approval.

1:18:52It's acceptable if that level is again set to $5,000, though that does make it more difficult for the community to see how much is being paid out for police misconduct.

1:19:00It's also notable that sometimes the city attorney agrees to settle a lawsuit via court judgment, which means the city writ large does not have to approve it.

1:19:08And sometimes we've seen those set for $5,001, meaning they would have qualified to be on the agenda but are quietly resolved out of the public eye.

1:19:15With the new structure, there's no longer a commissioner of police, and the entire council is responsible for the action of the bureaus.

1:19:21Codifying transparency for the cost of police misconduct is imperative because the police are unique in being able to use force up to and including deadly force on behalf of the city.

1:19:29Thank you.

1:19:30As you're probably aware, one of the city's 5 city values is transparency.

1:19:34Thank you.

1:19:37Next up, we have James Offsink joining us online.

1:19:44Can you hear me?

1:19:49Go ahead, James.

1:19:50Thank you.

1:19:52Good morning, incoming Portland City Council.

1:19:54My name is James Offsink.

1:19:55I use he/him pronouns, and I'm speaking today as the volunteer I'm the volunteer board president of Portland Forward.

1:20:00We are an intergenerational group focused on the big ideas for the future of our region, and there is no bigger and more important idea that we can help succeed than that of our city's new governance structure.

1:20:11You collectively represent a broader infusion of new ideas and perspectives than has historically joined City Council in any given decade.

1:20:19We strongly believe that your success will drive our city's success.

1:20:23I'm testifying this morning on the proposed amendments to Chapter 3.02 of the City Code.

1:20:28In general, Portland Forward supports the amendments, which we believe improve the council's operations by empowering independent and engaged councilors and groups of councilors.

1:20:37In addition to the proposed amendments, we ask you to consider several others.

1:20:41First, regardless of what specific rules you ultimately adopt, we implore the council to build a sunset date into the initial set of rules.

1:20:49These rules are foundationally important to the operations of council and will impact its ability to collaborate and develop broad-based solutions that harness every councilor's talents, expertise, and passion for our city.

1:21:01The rules deserve public engagement, study of best practices that work elsewhere, and learning from what is and isn't working in the initial council operations.

1:21:10If the rules are not considered temporary, we worry that organizational inertia will set things in stone.

1:21:16Rules designed for a process that relied on horse and parchment should not be the starting point for the modern and effective legislative body that our city needs.

1:21:28I have included with my written testimony the principles and values that we think should under— or should drive this process.

1:21:34However, we humbly recognize that we don't have all the answers and that many voices should be included in this important conversation.

1:21:40Second, although we although are in favor of the ordinance, we do have some it concerns.

1:21:41Need not be specified in code, we encourage the creation of a governance or rules committee tasked with several responsibilities, including making initial recommendations on committee membership and leadership for the council to approve.

1:21:53Having more councilors participate in this recommendation process will facilitate long-term collaboration.

1:21:59Third, while the proposed code does provide for public notice and testimony, it is light on specifying how the people of Portland can meaningfully engage with their city government.

1:22:06Government.

1:22:07Perhaps community engagement will receive more clarification as the role of council committees is further articulated, but we believe that one thing that has made Portland special at its brightest moments has been the accessibility of decision makers to the people.

1:22:20Portlanders have ingenuity and passion for our city, and we encourage you to make sure it's clear how community members can bring solutions and their concerns to council in a way that respects their time and can meaningfully affect Council decisions.

1:22:34In this vein, the council should spend time thinking about participatory mechanisms such as citizen juries and participatory budgeting.

1:22:41Lastly, related to transparency, we recommend that council adopt a process for proposals that requires proposals to have summary language that everyday people can understand.

1:22:51The standard process for a proposal should include the why, the specific problem it is trying to address, what it proposes to do, and how council will know if it has been implemented.

1:22:59Thank you.

1:23:00Next up, we have Jeff Smith joining us online.

1:23:18Thank you for serving at perhaps the most— certainly tied to the most important time in Portland's history.

1:23:24For the record, my name is Jeff Smith.

1:23:25I'm a thank resident of Portland, and I'm proud to be a member of this council.

1:23:26You.

1:23:26I'm Councilor Dan Ryan.

1:23:26I'm a member of Northeast Portland.

1:23:27I'm starting from a basic principle of believing in Portland, that this city can get it right.

1:23:32We'll start by pointing to a few general principles and then offer some specific notes.

1:23:38We face some competing needs, like you face some competing needs, to get started and to get it right.

1:23:43And to advance those, I join in the recommendation for starting with a set of rules with a built-in sunset and an intentional process to create the best set of rules in the country, to make sure there are rules to operate and build early confidence among Portlanders for your leadership and also for this new form of government, and also make sure we craft processes that will best suit not only this council but also future councils so the decisions made quickly so that you can move quickly don't suddenly become inertia choices that impact decades of operations.

1:24:13Other set of competing needs: to encourage collaboration and to avoid chaos.

1:24:19To avoid overweening unnecessarily centralized power.

1:24:22I heard and was moved by not only the opening words before we gavelled into session, but also the previous testimony to make sure this is an inclusive body.

1:24:31And how do we make sure that we get stuff done along those lines?

1:24:35And to advance that, I joined the recommendation to create a governance committee.

1:24:38So how do we maximize our ability to get the best ideas and let the best ideas win?

1:24:43I agree with the testimony of Mr. Offsink.

1:24:44Thank you.

1:24:46Rules committees and legislative bodies tend to be the garbage trucks of chief legislative leaders— House Speaker, chamber presidents, Politburo prime ministers— to have a body that works at the whim of a leader to do their dirty work rather than offer any check or balance.

1:25:01I urge that we— I urge that you separate these functions.

1:25:04Form a governance committee more akin to the governance or board committee of a well-functioning board of directors that is selected from the whole.

1:25:10That body could be a great way to divvy up committee assignments.

1:25:13That Committee could be a great place to consider how to make this the best set of 21st century worthy processes for a functioning city and a functioning democracy.

1:25:21That committee will wield some power, and separating that power from the power of the chair will make each of you more powerful.

1:25:28It'll make the people of Portland more powerful.

1:25:30I'm grateful, I must say, for the chance to say this to you now before a council president is named, so it's crystal clear this isn't a suggestion to boost or shrink any particular member.

1:25:39But the strength in the body as a whole, the culture that we're all rooting for, is not one that organizes around factions, not one that learns from our Congress or from our state legislature, but that models democracy for our city and for the country to make sure we have one Portland that works from Hazelwood to Maplewood to Woodlawn, from Cathedral Park to Grant Park to Parkrose, from Arnold Creek to Johnson Creek to Sullivan's Gulch to the mighty creek that flows by Hayden Island.

1:26:04And I'll hand back my last 20 seconds and just say thanks for the work you're doing.

1:26:11Next up, we have Robert Butler joining from the overflow room.

1:26:17Good morning, this is Robert Butler.

1:26:19Uh, welcome aboard.

1:26:23Uh, I hope this isn't another Titanic, and I think we have the talent here to make sure that happens.

1:26:32I think the most important thing in the council organization is demand.

1:26:38That's to demand transparency.

1:26:42Uh, the transparency must include if there is a justification for something that involves economics, you must establish and print that justification along with The justification with comparative analysis of alternatives.

1:27:02So if there is an alternative that's in contention or should be in contention, there must be an economic justification update.

1:27:14For example, the Bull Run filtration project had an economic justification needed for an alternative.

1:27:22Thank you.

1:27:23Which was the ultraviolet concept of treating Cryptosporidium.

1:27:30That was the original plan that was approved.

1:27:32It was changed.

1:27:34The city council refused, after many demands from me, refused to update the cost of the ultraviolet, uh, competing project for sand filtration.

1:27:47I testified before that the savings was $2.3 billion.

1:27:52And that is my example of— it is absolutely mandatory that there be transparency from the council demanding the economic comparative analysis of any item that has an economic virtue to it of prominence.

1:28:13Good luck.

1:28:14I hope that our journey is, is safe and productive, and Happy New Year.

1:28:21Thank you.

1:28:24Next up, we have Bob Weinstein.

1:28:37Good still morning, everybody.

1:28:39First of all, congratulations to all of you on your election.

1:28:43And in a couple cases, reelection.

1:28:46Um, first, I strongly endorse Terry Harris's comments regarding the proposed code amendments, especially the need for substantial revisions to the proposed draft.

1:28:56I'm especially concerned about 3 proposed changes.

1:28:59One, implement overly complicated non-standard procedures for committee referrals and eliminating the current requirement for council approval and thereby removing a meaningful check on the council president's power.

1:29:152, Grant the council president unilateral power to arbitrarily delay consideration of agenda items for up to 3 months.

1:29:253, Remove the requirement for district-based representation on committee membership.

1:29:33Months of campaigning for the charter and then again in the election was all about giving more power to the people through their elected representatives in the districts.

1:29:44Now the council is being asked to give away power to one person who was not elected citywide.

1:29:50It seems like a bait and switch.

1:29:53I'd like to touch on a couple related sections of the charter.

1:29:57Section 210: At its first regular meeting each calendar year, the council shall elect a president and vice president by a majority vote of those present.

1:30:06There are 12 of you present today.

1:30:08That requires 7 affirmative votes.

1:30:13Section 211 states that the council shall determine its own rules of procedures.

1:30:18Any such procedures have to be consistent with and not contradictory to any relevant portion of the city charter.

1:30:27Section 2117 states in the transaction of all business, Every councilor, when present, must vote unless a majority of the remainder of the council approves the councilor's excuse for disqualification.

1:30:42Disqualification is generally limited to scenarios involving a conflict of interest.

1:30:47None of you have a conflict of interest in the election of officers and therefore are required by the charter to vote.

1:30:54Elected officials cannot refuse to vote because the subject or the effect of their vote on the outcome may be controversial.

1:31:03Robert's Rules of Order, which is adopted in city code, considers an abstention as not a vote.

1:31:10It's a refrain from voting.

1:31:12Section 2401, Duties of the Mayor, states that the mayor is responsible for voting on matters before the council in case of a tie, when the mayor casts the deciding vote.

1:31:22No exception to the mayor's legal obligation to vote in case of a tie as provided by the charter, nor can an exception be made by code or other means, as that would violate the charter.

1:31:33Given a council with an even number, the Charter Commission wisely provided a way to break a deadlock on any matter before the council without exception.

1:31:42The charter's provisions are clear and unambiguous, creating a coherent framework where council president election requires a majority of present members.

1:31:52All members must participate in voting.

1:31:54The mayor may break and must break a 6-6 deadlock.

1:31:58No procedural modifications can override these charter requirements.

1:32:03These provisions work in harmony to ensure effective council governance and prevent procedural deadlock.

1:32:10So thank you.

1:32:14Next up, we have Matt Levine.

1:32:28Hello, City Council.

1:32:29My name is Matt Levine.

1:32:31I use he/him/his pronouns.

1:32:32I identify racially as white and ethnically as Ukrainian and Irish.

1:32:36Uh, I'm an academic activist and facilitator for racial and environmental justice.

1:32:42Uh, I work in what's now known as the Alberta neighborhood and live in what's now known as the Overlook neighborhood, uh, but both are actually rightful ancestral occupied lands of the Kalapuya peoples, Multnomah peoples, Clackamas peoples, Chinook peoples, and many other indigenous peoples of the Lower Columbia River and the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, and Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians.

1:33:08As you work to implement the technical details of city code for Measure 26-228, I implore you to not forget the larger adaptive values that drove support of that measure.

1:33:19At every point along the way, 26-228 was meant as radical change from the status quo.

1:33:26This is not unique in the city's recent history either.

1:33:2926-217 and the DOJ settlement agreement both called for radical change.

1:33:34Thank you.

1:33:35City government up to this point has failed to live up to that call.

1:33:39I'm very hopeful for this new City Council to do so.

1:33:43And to do this, all you need to do is listen to the wisdom and lived experience of Charlie-Michelle Wesley and actually live by the city's core values.

1:33:53The tools for radical change in the direction of love, justice, care, and community are contained in those core city values.

1:34:01The anti-racism value requires taking actions to dismantle institutional and systemic racism.

1:34:08The equity value requires acknowledging Oregon's history of exclusion and being dedicated to rebuilding trust through reconciliation and restorative justice, as well as valuing lived experience of those experiencing that exclusion.

1:34:23These values then require centering voices like Charlie Michelle Wesley's, an amazing role model for so many of us working in public service.

1:34:29Thank you.

1:34:30Working for justice in this city.

1:34:32It would also require centering the Coalition of Community of Colors reports prepared for the Portland Charter Commission in preparation for 26-228.

1:34:42Their reports concluded that communities of color in Portland experience a lack of information and knowledge about the city, its services, bureaus, and processes.

1:34:53Furthermore, communities of color in Portland have this experience due to lack of outreach and communication from the city.

1:35:00On top of this, the city government does not adequately respond to the community's needs or concerns because community voices are not meaningfully centered in decision-making processes.

1:35:12In short, no matter where you look, you see reasons we need radical change in this city.

1:35:19Please deliver that for us.

1:35:21It's what we elected you to do.

1:35:22Thank you.

1:35:22Thank you.

1:35:27Next up, we have Steve Herring.

1:35:35Good morning.

1:35:36My name is Steve Herring, and I'm the CEO of Living Room Theaters here in downtown Portland.

1:35:40I'm pretty humbled from hearing the testimony of the people before me and looking at the responsibility in front of you as you usher us into this new new form of city government.

1:35:51I came today, and the reason I wanted to testify on this particular item before you is, as you guys are modifying rules, to please take into consideration the GTAC, uh, recommendations for everything that they put in.

1:36:04It was a, a committee that was put together.

1:36:07Don't fall prey to what the county does at county board meetings where they have committees that they ignore.

1:36:14Public participation only works when you actually listen to the public, as a responsibility here, one of the things in kind of an unspoken thing within the food service industry: if you get really busy or it's stressful, there's a phrase which is "slow is fast." And here it's really busy, and I know it's stressful, but please take the time to get this right because you only really get one chance.

1:36:41And if it devolves into a power struggle between the people that are members of the council versus the mayor versus the public, then we're not going to get anywhere.

1:36:50And a big part of the new form of government is the tentacles that are this massive assembly of people in this new dais.

1:36:57It's really overwhelming to see the 12 of you here and realize that, you know, you now have additional voices to reach out directly to your constituents in your district and represent them.

1:37:09And part of that responsibility is to make sure that you're communicating with the people within your district.

1:37:16And I can see from just some of the comments in the testimony already that there's certainly some misunderstandings about how this new form of government is going to function.

1:37:25And to the gentleman behind me with the cameras that are here from the news media and the local media, I wish they would spend some time actually informing the public on what they can expect from you guys, and that needs a partnership.

1:37:39The city council and the city needs to work with the community.

1:37:43So as a person here representing Living Room Theaters, I want to say that the theater— we're here in the community to support you in our government, and we want to see you successful.

1:37:52Thank you.

1:37:58Next up, we have Renee Kadlibek.

1:38:15Renee.

1:38:15Okay, that completes testimony for this item.

1:38:21Is there any further discussion from council for this item?

1:38:31Councilor Green.

1:38:34Yeah, I just want to say that I'm, I'm compelled and moved by the testimony that calls for a sunset clause as we develop this.

1:38:43That gives us a little bit of time to get it right, to, to sit through this process.

1:38:49I do think that we need to adopt some rules fairly quickly so we can get to the work of forming our committees.

1:38:55But a sunset clause seems like a reasonable vent for that.

1:39:01Check.

1:39:01Councilor Kanal.

1:39:03I feel, um, like my thunder was just stolen a little bit, but I was going to say something very similar to Councilor Green.

1:39:10I, I also, uh, feel compelled by that as well.

1:39:14I, I want to both hold 2 things together here.

1:39:17Um, listening to your voices and making adjustments as needed, that's one way to do that.

1:39:22Um, and then at the same time, in the words of our poet this morning, you don't need to be fully formed to go fully forward.

1:39:27So finding a way to operate on those 2 tracks is something I'm committed to and adjusting as needed.

1:39:32So thanks.

1:39:34Councilor Morillo.

1:39:37I also want to echo what, uh, Councilor Green and Councilor Kanal have already said, that I think that we do need a sunset clause.

1:39:44It's— there's a lot of urgency around how we're moving forward in these spaces because we know that we're expected by the public to get to work and to get things done immediately.

1:39:53And this is our establishing of a government that's hopefully going to be here for the next 100 years or more, and that means that we have to be very deliberate about it.

1:40:02And I think that it's really important to have a sunset clause so that we can have community input about how this worked, what worked, what didn't work, And give us time to make sure that we're doing this right and actually taking into account what the public wants and needs from us to make sure that it's truly accessible.

1:40:18So I agree with that, and I'm grateful for all the testimony and all the people that showed up today to make your voices heard.

1:40:25Thank you.

1:40:32Okay.

1:40:32Oh, Councilor Avalos.

1:40:35I want to echo that, but I also just want to appreciate what we're hearing from the testimony, which is how do we increase the people's voice in our city council.

1:40:43And that does happen through the rules, it happens through the council presidency.

1:40:47And so I, I think also somebody had mentioned, you know, this is the moment to make big changes.

1:40:53Um, that is why we are all here, because Portland wants robust change to the way that people engage with our government.

1:40:59So, uh, Totally agree with the sunset clause and something I definitely am eager to see us propose.

1:41:05Um, ideally, I think we should give ourselves a year to really implement these, um, processes and, and change them along the way, as well as talk to the community.

1:41:13So just wanted to echo that, and thank you so much for your testimony today.

1:41:19Thank you, Madam Auditor.

1:41:25I would just like to say ditto, ditto, ditto And to also say that we have public engagement as a result of this large, new, diverse, uh, council, and to be able to do that through district offices as well.

1:41:40So we need to make sure that we have the opportunity to do that.

1:41:46So thank you so much for bringing that forward.

1:41:55All right, if there's no further discussion on this item, this is a first reading of a non-emergency ordinance.

1:42:03It passes to second reading as amended January 15th, 2025 at 9:30 AM.

1:42:13The next item of business is the election of the council president and vice president.

1:42:18After consultation with the city attorney, we have a recommended procedure that I will describe and then ask council to approve by motion and roll call vote.

1:42:29The recommended procedure is as follows.

1:42:32First, we will elect a council president using nominations from the floor and a roll call vote.

1:42:39Once a council president is elected, we will proceed to elect a council vice president using the same procedure of nominations from the floor and a roll call vote.

1:42:52Under the city code, the vice president must be from a different district than the president unless no councilor from another district wishes to serve.

1:43:03To begin the process for electing a council president, I will ask for nominations from the floor for council president.

1:43:10Any councilor may nominate themselves or another councilor for the position of council president.

1:43:19A second is not required.

1:43:22If you would like to be recognized to make a nomination, please raise your hand in Zoom, and I will call on councilors in the order their hands are raised.

1:43:32Once all nominations are made, each nominee may make brief comments.

1:43:38I will call on nominees in the order of nomination so they may make their remarks.

1:43:44I will encourage you to try to limit your comments to 3 minutes to ensure everyone has an opportunity to speak.

1:43:52We will then vote on the nominees by roll call vote.

1:43:57For the roll call vote, I will call each councilor by name in the order provided in city code, starting with districts in numerical order, then in alphabetical order by last name within each district.

1:44:12When I call your name, please indicate the name of the nominee you are voting for as council president.

1:44:20Each councilor may vote for one nominee.

1:44:26Charter and code require a majority vote of Councilors in attendance to elect the council president.

1:44:33After the roll call is complete, I will announce the tally of the roll call vote.

1:44:39If a nominee receives a majority vote of those present, I will declare the nominee elected as council president.

1:44:48If no nominee receives a majority of votes, council may discuss the nominations Council members may nominate additional individuals who were not previously nominated.

1:45:01Individuals may withdraw from consideration but not— are not required to do so.

1:45:07And the voting procedure will be repeated until we obtain a majority vote for a single nominee.

1:45:15If additional discussion of the nominations is necessary, councilors should please raise their hand in Zoom, and I will call on councilors in the order their hands are raised.

1:45:27Once a council president is elected, the president will assume presiding officer duties.

1:45:34This means the president will preside over the same procedure to nominate and elect a council vice president and will preside over the remainder of today's agenda.

1:45:47I will now ask for a motion and a second to follow this recommended procedure.

1:45:54Is it so moved?

1:45:57So moved.

1:45:58Second.

1:46:02Councilor Zimmerman moves, Councilor Clark seconds.

1:46:07I'll call the vote.

1:46:09Avalos?

1:46:11Yes.

1:46:13Aye.

1:46:13Smith?

1:46:14Aye.

1:46:14Kanal?

1:46:15Yes.

1:46:16Pirtle-Guiney?

1:46:17Aye.

1:46:17Ryan?

1:46:18Aye.

1:46:18Koyama Lane?

1:46:19Yes.

1:46:20Morillo?

1:46:21Aye.

1:46:22Novick?

1:46:23Aye.

1:46:23Clark?

1:46:24Aye.

1:46:24Green?

1:46:25Aye.

1:46:26Zimmerman?

1:46:26Yes.

1:46:27Okay, this procedure is approved.

1:46:32I now call for nominations for the council president.

1:46:35Please raise your hand in Zoom if you yes, I'd like to nominate Olivia Clark from District 4.

1:46:48Olivia Clark is nominated for president.

1:46:51Councilor Green?

1:46:53Yes, I'd like to nominate, uh, Councilor Avalos from District 9.

1:46:59Councilor Avalos is nominated.

1:47:05Are there any additional nominations for this round?

1:47:16Okay, nominations are now closed.

1:47:20The list of nominations is Councilor Clark and Councilor Avalos.

1:47:27Councilor Clark.

1:47:29Nominated candidates may now make a statement if they choose.

1:47:33Please limit your comments to 3 minutes to ensure everyone has an opportunity to speak.

1:47:39Councilor Avalos— or no, I'm sorry, Councilor Clark.

1:47:44Thank you.

1:47:45Um, my, uh, hand raising is malfunctioning, so I don't— I might need some IT support.

1:47:50Okay.

1:47:51Um, but thank you.

1:47:52Uh, I think I'm honored to thank you.

1:47:55Councilor Smith.

1:47:55Thank you, Mayor Wilson, and thank you to Council President, and thank you to Councilor Smith.

1:47:59Um, I just want to say that I'm here to serve.

1:48:02I'm here to unify to the best of my ability.

1:48:08I'm here to use my lived experience to help us meet the challenges that confront us, to fulfill the promises that the City of Portland has made to the people of Portland.

1:48:19Councilor Smith.

1:48:20Thank you, Mayor Wilson.

1:48:20I am honored to serve as your deputy mayor and to fulfill the promise and potential of Portland.

1:48:24I will work to find common ground to achieve our aspirations for our districts as well as the entire city.

1:48:35It's really a privilege to be here at all and to serve our city in this capacity and to work with all of you.

1:48:44I ask for your support.

1:48:48Support.

1:48:48I will listen.

1:48:49I will hear you.

1:48:52I will work with you to forge our path forward together.

1:48:57Thank you for your consideration.

1:49:03Good morning.

1:49:04Thank you so much, Councilor Green, for the nomination.

1:49:07Um, I am really eager to be put up for this position because I have 3 main goals for the council presidency.

1:49:14Number one, I think it is important that in this new form of government we establish a strong council and we ensure that the relationship with the mayor's office and the executive branch is balanced.

1:49:24This is something that the charter asks for.

1:49:26This is something the people ask for, and I think it is the council president's responsibility to deliver on that.

1:49:32Number 2, I really want to see our districts thrive, and I want every district to have an agenda and have some wins.

1:49:38I think right now Portlanders are looking for that deep community representation, and I believe as council president I can help usher those wins for each district and make sure that we are honing in on, um, what people from each district are asking for our overall agenda.

1:49:54Lastly, I want to open up City Hall to the people.

1:49:57Again, the charter is designed to increase people's representation, voices in our city, uh, government.

1:50:05And I think the council president is going to have a huge responsibility in how to do that.

1:50:10I am somebody who has been sit— I've been sitting in those seats that you all are for many times, and I have been frustrated at many points feeling like there weren't easy ways to communicate what I believe my community needed on the council's agenda.

1:50:24And so that is something I'm extremely dedicated to, being able to understand what those barriers are and start to break those down so that this City Hall is truly for the people.

1:50:35I feel really strongly as well— I'll end on East Portland having a voice in this new form of government.

1:50:41As the first president, I want to elevate East Portland's voice, uh, and I believe starting strong, uh, with a District 1 presidency can do that.

1:50:49Thank you so much for your support.

1:50:50Okay.

1:50:56Thank you.

1:50:56Uh, we will now proceed to voting.

1:51:01Avalos.

1:51:03Avalos.

1:51:04Is that how you want me to do it?

1:51:06Okay.

1:51:08Yes, thank you.

1:51:09Dunphy.

1:51:11Thrilled to support my fellow District 1 Councilor Avalos.

1:51:15Clark.

1:51:16Yes.

1:51:17Kanal.

1:51:19Councilor Avalos.

1:51:24We are embarking on a brand new form of government today, and we've been tasked with better representing and serving our neighborhoods and our community members.

1:51:32And just like our city, everybody up here in so many ways brings unique perspectives to the work.

1:51:40It has been my hope that we could elect a leader who can bring people together across not only the city but across this dais.

1:51:47And I still believe that we can, but I don't think we're quite there yet.

1:51:53Um, I hope and I suspect that with the vote I make right now, we can have a little more time to work together toward alignment.

1:52:02I vote Clark.

1:52:04Ryan.

1:52:06I want to start by thanking both of those who put their name up for the outreach, for the consistent communication you both I really do.

1:52:15Um, I found that very refreshing.

1:52:16Thank you both.

1:52:17At this moment, I vote for Councilor Clark.

1:52:22So I just wanted to say a little bit about, um, we've got— how we've gotten a chance to have discussions and get to know each other a bit over the past month.

1:52:36And to be honest, I, I feel really optimistic About all of us, and I— including these 2 people who are putting their names— whose names are being put forth right now to be our first council president.

1:52:52Um, I have optimism and I have confidence that this leader— council's leadership is going to be able to work together.

1:53:00I had a lot of people— I have a lot of people said to say to me, you know what this group of 12 is going to need is like a a good teacher to make sure people are really listening to each other.

1:53:08And so I think, you know, I might have to use my teacher voice a little bit.

1:53:11Um, but, but I really— I'm impressed and I'm excited.

1:53:17Uh, I believe us working together is what our constituents deserve.

1:53:21It's what I have heard people are desperate for, and it's what I continue to hear people say they really want to see.

1:53:29Um, and I— and Councilor Avalos's campaign and her track record of service in so many ways overlap with my values and what I ran on, um, what my platform has been that I've pledged to my constituents in my district.

1:53:48I'm excited for her leadership.

1:53:49I'm excited to work with all of my colleagues to bring policy responsiveness, great results to the Portlanders that we're all accountable for.

1:53:59Thank you.

1:54:00And so with that, I'm excited to vote for Avalos.

1:54:04Morillo.

1:54:08I won't leave you all in suspense.

1:54:09I'm voting for Avalos.

1:54:11But, um, I want to say— and we're going to have more discussion, uh, it's very possible here in a second— but, um, I did just want to say a few words about, uh— I'm so used to calling you Candace, and now I have to call you Councilor Avalos.

1:54:23It's strange.

1:54:24But, um, uh, but I you know, I think that what Councilor Avalos has done throughout her career and her time is really take community feedback very seriously, really work with people who are the most impacted by these issues.

1:54:40And I have also seen her operate in spaces that are very difficult with people who have conflicting opinions.

1:54:47And those spaces are very difficult to navigate, and we are about to enter um, you know, a federal Trump presidency, we are going to be dealing with very high tensions, a lot of big issues coming, coming ahead for us.

1:55:01And I've seen Candace navigate those spaces with grace, and I have full confidence that whoever becomes our council president, I think we're going to all be there to uplift them and help them as well.

1:55:12But I think that Candace brings a special perspective that I think is very necessary for this moment.

1:55:19And I'm very proud to vote for her.

1:55:21Thank you.

1:55:22Novick.

1:55:29Clark.

1:55:31Clark.

1:55:35Zimmerman.

1:55:40Clark.

1:55:45Voting is complete.

1:55:47We have a tie vote.

1:55:48No one is elected president in this round.

1:55:51We'll need to repeat the procedure again.

1:55:55Are we prepared to— are there any additional nominations for this round?

1:56:08Madam Auditor.

1:56:13Oh, okay.

1:56:14Council Clerk, I, I have a question, um, in terms of procedure.

1:56:21Looking in the charter, it says if the council has a tie vote for council president, the mayor must use his power and responsibility to break tie votes as provided in Article 4 2-401 under the duties of the mayor, and I need a legal consult to see if this counts for this vote.

1:56:50Uh, for the record, Robert Taylor, City Attorney.

1:56:56Thank you for the question.

1:56:57Uh, it is very important, uh, as well as the answer.

1:57:01Uh, For that reason, I have prepared an analysis, and without objection, I would like to have it entered into the record, given the historic nature of the vote we are having here today.

1:57:17The conclusion is that on this vote to elect the council president, the charter reserves that decision solely to the council.

1:57:27Solely to the 12 members who are present.

1:57:32The charter provides that the president and vice president are elected by the members present.

1:57:39The charter also explicitly provides the mayor is not a member of the council.

1:57:48Further, if a court were ever to analyze this issue, the court would look to the measures history.

1:57:55And the measure's history includes the ballot title and the explanatory statement that were in the voter's pamphlet.

1:58:02The ballot title and the explanatory statement both make it clear when discussing the tiebreaker that that was intended to break ties on non-emergency ordinances.

1:58:17That's consistent with the charter language that gives the mayor and any councilor the ability to introduce items to the council, and if there is a tie vote on those items, like a non-emergency ordinance, then the mayor may break a tie.

1:58:33So based on the text and the context and the history of the measure, we've concluded that the mayor is not authorized to cast a vote in the election for council president and vice president.

1:58:46Because the mayor is not a member of council and is not one of the councilors present at the meeting where this election occurs.

1:58:54As a result, a court would likely conclude the charter requires the council alone to elect its officers.

1:59:05Thank you, City Attorney Taylor.

1:59:08I'm going to read for you what Chapter 2, Article yes.

1:59:12Of the mayor's responsibilities, what that says.

1:59:15And I appreciate your legal opinion, but it does not reflect what's in the charter.

1:59:23Under Article 4, the mayor, the duties under Section E, and I quote, the vote on matters before the council in case of a tie.

1:59:38When the mayor casts the deciding vote.

1:59:43There are no exceptions, there are no additions.

1:59:47That is your assessment and your recommendation, your legal counsel, but it does not reflect what is in the current charter.

2:00:01I, I believe that the analysis we have provided does reflect the requirement of the charter that this decision be left solely to the prerogative of the 12 members who are present.

2:00:13Thank you, City Attorney Taylor.

2:00:15That is your opinion, that is your legal opinion, but the opinion of the charter is very clear.

2:00:22It gives no exceptions.

2:00:24We did not include that in our rules that we approved prior to taking this vote.

2:00:29And if that were the case, it would probably have been in our rules as the mayor not being able to take this vote.

2:00:37I would like to put a motion on the floor to be able to have the mayor take the, the tie vote.

2:00:45And I don't even think that I need to do that, especially since the charter is very clear, and I think we need to follow the charter.

2:01:07Uh, Councilor Smith motions.

2:01:10Is there a second?

2:01:18Um, I, I completely disagree with that.

2:01:21Everything that we have been told thus far is that the council body itself is making a vote on this decision, and that, respectfully, Mayor, that you would not be a part of that decision.

2:01:33And if— I think many of us, if we had known that, would be having discussions with the mayor, and, you know, there would have been a whole process that would have been done.

2:01:41So this feels very like it's trying to circumvent other processes that we would have had as a council body to include another member into this vote.

2:01:53So I, I think we should just proceed as, as necessary.

2:02:00Madam Clerk, for the purposes of discussion, I will always be a second.

2:02:09Is there any further discussion?

2:02:14What are we discussing?

2:02:17If, if I might suggest the, the procedure here, as I understand that, that we're trying to get to, um, the— there has been a point of order raised about whether the mayor may cast a tie-breaking vote.

2:02:38The city attorney has offered their opinion.

2:02:40I think the city attorney's opinion is that the mayor I believe that opinion is affirmed by the ex officio presiding officer.

2:02:48That becomes the ruling on that point of order.

2:02:52It may be appealed to the body.

2:02:54The body may decide to follow that point of order or not.

2:02:59So the question is—.

2:03:01And we can—.

2:03:01It's been moved, I think it should be seconded on the point of order, and the vote would be whether the chair's decision stands.

2:03:13If you vote that it stands, then the mayor does not have the tie-breaking vote.

2:03:20If you vote that the ruling of the chair should be overturned, then, um, it would be the will of this council that the mayor should break the tie.

2:03:37Councilor Smith.

2:03:39Yes, ma'am.

2:03:40Thank you, uh, City Attorney Taylor.

2:03:42But your legal opinion is not based on city code, and so I will push back on you.

2:03:49Uh, I will push back on the, on the thought that just because we didn't know before, that ignorance of the law and the, and the charter is no excuse for us not to follow the charter as it is stated in the charter.

2:04:03So I would like to be able to finish this vote and be able to take the vote.

2:04:11Councilor Pirtle-Guiney, I believe we have a motion on the table to take that vote and that we are in a place of discussion on that motion.

2:04:21I would just like to clarify that.

2:04:24Okay, thank you.

2:04:27Point of order, please.

2:04:29There is a motion on the table, or there's a vote happening on the— at the moment.

2:04:33There is— the vote ended in a tie.

2:04:35The conversation is whether or not the mayor may now cast a vote on a vote that has already happened.

2:04:42Now, I think that would require a new vote, would it not?

2:04:47This seems like it's out of order.

2:04:50So the, the voting on the— what I, I would just suggest this to, to try to give us a path forward to get this issue resolved.

2:04:59The, the first round of voting has concluded.

2:05:04Um, as I understand, Councilor Smith has suggested that council adopt a rule giving the mayor the authority to break a tie.

2:05:15Yes, but I would like us to follow the charter, and I don't know the best way to change that.

2:05:22I can take away my, my motion because I don't feel like I have to take a motion for something that's already in the charter.

2:05:29And I think that we could take a recess.

2:05:33Um, I'll take it off the— off the— I'll take it off the floor, but I shouldn't have to put put a vote, a motion on the floor to do something that's already in the charter.

2:05:46That seems like an oxymoron.

2:05:48I don't know, I, I don't want to, you know, cancel myself out because it's already in the charter.

2:06:00And, and as I, as I have explained, I, I do not agree with that interpretation of the charter.

2:06:06Well, we're going to have to get a legal— a second legal opinion because yours is a legal opinion.

2:06:10It's not based on the city code, and, and the— and it's not based on the charter either.

2:06:17And the charter— and this I think is the path forward here— the charter also does give the council the ability to set its rules.

2:06:28So if you are making a motion to adopt a rule for the election of the president that allows the mayor to cast the tie-breaking vote, and council passes that rule, then we could proceed on that based on the charter's authority that gives you the ability to set those rules.

2:06:49That would require a charter change, which would require a charter review, and so we would be out of order in doing that.

2:06:58We need to follow what is in the rules.

2:07:01We can't suspend the charter.

2:07:04We can suspend rules, but we can't suspend the charter.

2:07:07The charter is very clear.

2:07:12And, and I, I would like to provide a path for this council to try to get this issue resolved.

2:07:22And, and I think there are 2 ways to do that.

2:07:27One way is, as I understood you to propose, was for this council, under their charter rulemaking authority, to explicitly adopt a rule that says the president can break a tie.

2:07:40I think you can proceed that way if you choose.

2:07:44The, the— and, and that is the motion, I believe, that's been made and that's been seconded.

2:07:49Yes.

2:07:51To break a tie in a case of identifying who our president is, correct?

2:07:58Correct.

2:07:59And so if council adopts that rule on your motion, we could take nominations again, hold the vote again, and the mayor can break a tie.

2:08:12So that's the one way we can handle this.

2:08:16And I believe that's the question that's pending.

2:08:20The, the other way it could be handled is what I had mentioned, where you could consider this a ruling by the chair about whether the mayor can vote or not.

2:08:30That ruling by the chair is a point of order.

2:08:33It could be appealed.

2:08:35Again, the body would get to decide whether to follow that or not.

2:08:39And who is the chair?

2:08:41Under, under the code, for purposes of this meeting, until we elect a president, the chair is the ex officio, uh, council clerk.

2:08:55I think we are at an impasse because I feel like we, we may be doing something that we shouldn't be doing because we would be breaking the rules of the charter by putting a new rule up.

2:09:05And, um, Before we take this vote, can we go to recess?

2:09:12No, there's a lot of people that would like to speak.

2:09:15Okay, okay, go ahead.

2:09:18Councilor Avalos.

2:09:20Yeah, um, I guess what I'll just say is I believe regardless of what the law says, the rules, the charter, I think that the spirit of this is wrong because We are our own branch.

2:09:35We have our own powers, and I think it's completely inappropriate to try to adjust the rules in any way to have the mayor have a say on who our leaders are.

2:09:44So, I mean, I just wanted to put that on the record.

2:09:47Uh, I'm happy to continue to debate what the, you know, legal opinions are, but I think regardless of that, the spirit of this I am strongly against.

2:09:56Thank you.

2:09:57Councilor I just wanted to say, Councilor Smith, that, uh, I don't think that a recess would serve a purpose, and it's not practical for us to seek a second legal opinion.

2:10:13So I prefer that we proceed to vote on your motion.

2:10:19I would also like us to proceed to a vote.

2:10:22It seems to me that if we are getting the legal opinion of the attorneys, attorney whose job it is in part to advise this body that we have the, uh, the, the legal support that we need to make a decision here.

2:10:36Um, there is clearly a disagreement over that interpretation, but all we can do as a body is take the advice from our attorney and adhere to it or choose not to, which is what we now have the choice to do.

2:10:50I'd like to proceed with discussion Councilor Morillo.

2:10:56Yeah, I thought that we were having the discussion already.

2:10:59So I think, uh, the part that, um, one, I would like to see if Robert— I don't know if you're able to pull up the language as far as, um, the— this specific vote and what the mayor's powers are here, because I was under the impression that the mayor would not be part of this vote, same as your analysis.

2:11:16Um, so thank you for providing that for us.

2:11:19But additionally, I think that we as a council body have really been trying to work well together in order to— thank you.

2:11:31Okay, I'm going to ask the city attorney to continue to look for it.

2:11:35I think that as a body, we've been trying to be transparent with one another and work in good faith.

2:11:42And the fact that this has not come up until now, I find very frustrating because I've been told from everybody here that we want to work together and kumbaya and be in good faith.

2:11:54And now I feel a little bit ambushed about this decision, if I can be very frank.

2:12:00It is very important that the council be independent and have our own vote on who this person is.

2:12:05And even if that takes longer and we have more discussion, that's okay.

2:12:09I don't mind it being a little messy and hard.

2:12:12But to have another vote added in for a person that I have not consulted about this specific decision is very frustrating to me.

2:12:20And if we need a second opinion, I'd like to do that.

2:12:23But I would urge the rest of my council body, for the health of our decision-making together, that we not just ambush each other in these ways.

2:12:32I don't think it's helpful or productive.

2:12:34Thank you.

2:12:35Councilor Green.

2:12:39Yes, um, I just want to first start by acknowledging, uh, Councilor Smith.

2:12:43I appreciate, um, your willingness to challenge the received opinion of the city attorney.

2:12:48No offense to the city attorney.

2:12:49I think it's a really healthy function that this body must exercise and will have to exercise again in the future.

2:12:57So there is that.

2:12:58That being said, um, I also exercise my ability to interpret the charter.

2:13:03And the charter says in Section 2.110 under organization, and I quote, at its first regular meeting each calendar year, or often at its option, the council shall elect a president and vice president by a majority of the vote president.

2:13:17Furthermore, the charter defines what the council is.

2:13:20The charter defines what the executive function is.

2:13:23So it's very clear that the council is this 12-person body.

2:13:26And so it's, to me, clear that it requires 7 people to, to come to a conclusion to elect that, that, uh, that council president.

2:13:35And I think that's what we should do.

2:13:36So I will be voting no on the motion on the floor.

2:13:40Councilor Kanal.

2:13:42Once again, I should not follow Councilor Green, um, because I agree with the, the broader statement as well about choosing to, to challenge at times the, um, the advice of the, the City Attorney, um, and also the, the statement on this.

2:13:58I think we have, um, also the opportunity to send a message, uh, here, um, which is that we're able to be respectful to the mayor, who I think is, um, someone I'm very excited to work with more as the, the, you know, years continue, and also that we should retain our prerogative to decide upon our own leadership.

2:14:19Um, I think it's it's worthwhile to have a conversation about what kind of president we want.

2:14:25That is why I was so adamantly in support of discussing the rules prior to this as well.

2:14:31Um, and part of that is because we, we had an idea that there might not be 7 votes in favor of any particular nominee.

2:14:38And there are colleagues in this chamber who are on different sides of the, uh, the question in terms of who the council president should be who nonetheless, um, have argued in favor of it being okay to do this in public, it being okay to have a little bit of mess and to have a little bit of, um, time spent on, on determining our outcomes.

2:15:02And I think regardless of who ends up winning this election, it will be perceived and will in actuality be a stronger decision if it's arrived at by solely the 12 people up here at this moment.

2:15:15Thanks.

2:15:17Thank you.

2:15:19We cannot pick and choose which pieces of the charter that we want to follow.

2:15:27We cannot make up the rules as we go.

2:15:30We have to follow the rule of law, and the rule of law today is that there is no provision In the charter that says the mayor cannot break a tie on pres— on the presidency.

2:15:48Now, we're all going to be on different sides of different issues, and we can't take the stance that just because I don't agree with this issue that I'm going to change the charter.

2:16:04Thank you.

2:16:05Um, Councilor Avalos, you worked very hard on the charter to give us this very diverse, mixed, exciting, smart, intelligent group of councilors.

2:16:20And I know you know the process of the charter and the charter review and how you change it.

2:16:27And you all were very clear in your language.

2:16:31If you meant to say that this was not going to include the president's vote, it should have been included.

2:16:39And so from that vantage point, I want us to, to really understand what we're doing here.

2:16:46We're basically— if we allow this not to happen, we have virtually changed the charter without charter review.

2:16:55Councilor Koyama Lane.

2:16:58Thank you.

2:17:00Um, I do trust your analysis.

2:17:03Thank you for that.

2:17:05Um, I also understand this sentiment of kind of wanting to be done with this.

2:17:10I think I've maybe said it to every single one of you, and, you know, there have been some jokes about like, we kind of know this is going to end up, can we flip a coin?

2:17:19Um, I do think that is an easier way out and I do think that it is messier to have to work through this, and, um, maybe it— this take a few rounds, but I do believe that we need to do that.

2:17:32I also don't think it's the intention of the charter, or nor is it fair to ask the mayor to do this.

2:17:40I think that's putting him in an unfair position, and I don't think it's what the charter is, is saying we should do.

2:17:46Also.

2:17:47Councilor Novick.

2:17:49With all deference to Councilor Koyama Lane and the founders of Portland, I believe that a game of paper-scissors-rock is a more suitable and respectful way of resolving such an issue than a coin flip.

2:18:06Okay, Councilor Cox.

2:18:11Madam Chair, would you mind clarifying what we're actually voting on, what a yay or a nay does.

2:18:19Yeah, if we're prepared to take the vote, we'll clarify the motion on the table.

2:18:31The motion, as I understand it, is to adopt a rule allowing the mayor to cast the tie-breaking vote on the election of president.

2:18:44It is to reaffirm what the charter says.

2:18:49I, I accept your statement of your motion.

2:18:53I believe that's been seconded.

2:18:58Avalos.

2:19:00I have a question.

2:19:01Sorry.

2:19:02Uh, Councilor Canal.

2:19:03Yeah, just before we vote on this, if this motion ties What happens?

2:19:08It looks really bad.

2:19:11I want to ask it before we get through it.

2:19:13So really good question.

2:19:20Sorry to put you on the spot.

2:19:23I feel like I've been there quite a bit today.

2:19:27Um, The, the memo that I've put in, in writing before you, um, and I have copies here I'm happy to share with everybody, I, I do believe that the, the tie-breaking provision in the charter was intended to apply to final votes on non-emergency ordinances.

2:19:53So for example, the budget will come to the council as an ordinance.

2:19:57Yes.

2:19:57That might be a tie vote.

2:20:00We might need someone to break that tie.

2:20:03The mayor would have that authority.

2:20:05For matters of organization of the council, who your president is, who your rules are, what your committees are, I believe the charter reserves that solely to your discretion.

2:20:22So if you're trying to adopt a rule to govern yourself and it's a tie vote, I, I don't think the mayor gets to break that tie.

2:20:33Thank you.

2:20:38Any other further discussion?

2:20:39Otherwise, we'll proceed to voting.

2:20:41Uh, Councilor Ryan.

2:20:43Yeah, in the spirit of transparency, and we're talking about the mayor in third person— hello, Mayor, you're not mayor-elect anymore, Mayor Wilson— Do you have an opinion on this vote?

2:20:55Not who you would pick, but do you have an opinion on the vote?

2:20:59Is that out of order?

2:21:01I consider it out of order, Councilor.

2:21:03Yes.

2:21:03All right, so that's not going to happen, but I, I had to be— I can't be the only one that was curious.

2:21:09Yeah, and I know you all want transparency, so I thought I'd let it rip.

2:21:14All right.

2:21:17I'd like to call a question.

2:21:18It's time to vote.

2:21:20To be clear, I'm voting no, right, so that we're not approving this rule to have the mayor break the tie?

2:21:29Is that how I'm voting?

2:21:30Okay, then no.

2:21:33No.

2:21:35I am voting to reaffirm the charter, and I'm voting yes.

2:21:41No.

2:21:44No.

2:21:45Yes.

2:21:47No.

2:21:49No.

2:21:49No.

2:21:51Respect to Councilor Smith, I vote yes.

2:21:55No.

2:21:58No.

2:22:05The motion fails to pass.

2:22:08I'll now, uh, call for nominations for the president.

2:22:12We'll start the second round.

2:22:13So in this round, we have a couple options.

2:22:18Um, you may discuss the current nominations.

2:22:23You may nominate additional individuals who are not previously nominated.

2:22:27Individuals may withdraw from consideration but are not required to do so.

2:22:31Councilor So I'll open the floor to any new nominations.

2:22:41All right, uh, we have Councilor Clark, Councilor Avalos as nominated.

2:22:46Councilor Clark, would you like to make any comments before we vote?

2:22:50Councilor Avalos?

2:22:51Okay, we'll proceed to voting.

2:22:54Avalos?

2:22:55We're not discussing—.

2:22:56Oh, sorry, wait a minute.

2:22:57Oh, sorry, Councilor Kanal.

2:23:00Are we—.

2:23:02Sorry, you asked if there were additional nominations, but there were.

2:23:06You also mentioned earlier that there would be an opportunity to discuss it.

2:23:09Yes.

2:23:10Oh yes, I'm sorry.

2:23:11Is there discussion?

2:23:13Would you all like to have some discussion?

2:23:16I, I think that would probably be prudent before voting again.

2:23:19Okay.

2:23:22Um, if you want to raise your hands, I'll call on you in the order your hands are raised.

2:23:29Councilor Avalos.

2:23:33I guess I will just add that, um, you know, I appreciate that we're doing this process.

2:23:38I agree that having a little bit of this in the public is good for transparency and for folks to be brought into some of the conversations that we've been having about council leadership.

2:23:49I feel very proud of the way that I have been able to talk with all of my fellow councilors, understand their priorities, be able to work across, um, certain aisles.

2:24:01I really, you know, I really hope that we don't get into this weird partisan thing because we are not Salem.

2:24:06We are city council and we don't have parties.

2:24:08Let me just state that.

2:24:09But I do think that it's important that, um, you know, or I feel that, um, the work that I've been doing over the last few weeks to try to earn everybody's support Um, is why I'm continuing to, uh, be in this second vote.

2:24:23I will not be dropping out, uh, and I would urge, um, fellow councilors to consider me in their second vote.

2:24:30Thank you.

2:24:32Councilor Green.

2:24:35Thank you.

2:24:36Um, since I initially nominated Councilor Avalos, I, I feel like I should, uh, say why, um, at this moment.

2:24:43Um, the reason why that I have faith in Councilor Avalos is leadership here is that from my perspective, the very most important thing that we need to do as a council is really satisfy this desire to have community oversight and community input in both the legislative process, the budget development process, and then that very, very important last step, which is, are we doing what we said we're going to do?

2:25:06Okay.

2:25:07I have seen from Councilor Avalos a commitment to disperse that power.

2:25:12To sort of say, I, I trust in this body, I trust in the committees that we are going to do, um, going to form.

2:25:18Um, and that's, that's really what moved me.

2:25:21And that's it.

2:25:22That's all I'm going to say.

2:25:26Councilor Dunphy.

2:25:28Um, in addition to the absolutely amazing things that have been said about Councilor Avalos, I also just want to acknowledge that we have a wealth of talent up here.

2:25:37Part of my motivation for my vote is that I believe my very presence on this dais alongside Councilors Smith and Avalos is the need for geographic representation of this city, that for far too long geography and economics have defined the people who get to sit in this room.

2:25:55And I am really excited about the idea of having somebody else from the east side representing the first presidency in this new council.

2:26:02So I'm—.

2:26:02Thank you.

2:26:08Any further discussion?

2:26:13We'll proceed to voting.

2:26:15Avalos.

2:26:17Avalos.

2:26:19Dunphy.

2:26:20Avalos.

2:26:21Clark.

2:26:26Kanal.

2:26:27Avalos.

2:26:30Clark.

2:26:33Ryan.

2:26:34Clark.

2:26:35Koyama Lane.

2:26:37Avalos.

2:26:38Morillo.

2:26:41I'm going to say Avalos, and I also want to say that, um, I think everyone here is talking— what I have heard in all of our discussions is that we want a council president— everyone has a fear that we're going to have a council president that isn't going to listen to everybody regardless of their political opinions, right?

2:27:00And I think it is really important that we have a council president that is willing to meet with everyone and talk to them about their priorities long before it is time to get their vote just for this moment.

2:27:13Only one person has done that, and that is Candace, who has met with every single member of the council.

2:27:19And I know that there were efforts made at the very last minute to meet with me.

2:27:23Yeah.

2:27:23And maybe with other members who are a little bit politically different.

2:27:27But that is not an effort that was made before to really get to know my priorities as a council person in order to get my vote.

2:27:34So it feels a little disingenuous when people are talking about their fears about having a council president that's going to actually listen to everybody, when it turns out that if someone doesn't take the time to do that, that doesn't automatically disqualify them for your vote.

2:27:50Candace has— sorry, I'm sorry, Councilor Avalos has taken time to really meet with everyone, listen to their priorities regardless of where they are on the political spectrum and where their ideas are.

2:28:01And she has proven time and time again that she is able and willing to do that because she has been in very difficult spaces around police accountability working with people who are on all sides of those issues, and she has managed that and I have full faith that she will do that.

2:28:18But let's be, let's be for real about what this vote is about and the values that we really want in a council president and who has demonstrated that.

2:28:28So I maintain my vote for Councilor Avalos, and I hope that people will consider that that is something that we need in a council president.

2:28:37Thank you.

2:28:38I just want to second Councilor Dunphy.

2:28:42Dunphy's comment that we have a wealth of talent here, and I'm confident that the council will unite in supporting and celebrating whoever is ultimately elected.

2:28:51Clark.

2:28:53Clark.

2:28:54Clark.

2:28:56Green.

2:28:58Avalos.

2:28:59Zimmerman.

2:29:01Clark.

2:29:03Read the room, Clark voters.

2:29:11This vote has resulted in a tie, so no nominee has received a majority of the votes.

2:29:25We'll need to proceed to another round of voting.

2:29:33Here again, council may discuss the nominations.

2:29:37Council members may nominate additional individuals, and individuals may withdraw.

2:29:42Councilor Smith.

2:29:50I would also like to nominate Councilwoman Alana Pirtle-Guiney.

2:30:00Is nominated.

2:30:04Could we take a, a quick recess?

2:30:09Is that out of order?

2:30:11There could be a motion and a second, and I'll put in a vote on the recess.

2:30:18Thank you, Councilor.

2:30:20Councilor Morillo moves, and is— do I have a second?

2:30:25Second.

2:30:26We're in recess for 5 minutes.

2:30:28Oh no, sorry, a vote.

2:30:30Sorry.

2:30:31Thank you.

2:30:33What is the amount of time for the recess?

2:30:355 Minutes.

2:30:365 Minutes.

2:30:395 Minutes.

2:30:39Okay, we'll, we'll vote on the motion to recess for 5 minutes.

2:30:43Avalos?

2:30:44Aye.

2:30:44Aye.

2:30:45Aye.

2:30:47Aye.

2:30:47Aye.

2:30:52Aye.

2:30:52Yes.

2:30:54Aye.

2:30:55Aye.

2:30:56Aye.

2:30:58Aye.

2:30:58Madam Clerk, I would ask when we return that we revisit the decorum rules for this room.

2:31:04The applauses and stuff of that nature normally would be— will be addressed.

2:31:09I vote aye to go to recess.

2:31:11We're in recess.

2:42:04We're getting ready to reconvene in the next couple minutes.

2:42:09Please take a seat and we'll get started.

2:45:42Before the break, We had 3 nominees for council president: Councilor Clark, Councilor Avalos, Councilor Pirtle-Guiney.

2:45:57We can open the floor to discussion, and if Councilor Pirtle-Guiney would like to make any comments as a new nominee, please feel free.

2:46:14This may surprise some of my colleagues, but I'll keep this brief.

2:46:18Inside joke.

2:46:21I stated earlier today that it was my hope that we could come together around leaders who can bring people together.

2:46:31I have spent a lot of time throughout my career and throughout my time since being elected, getting to know the folks sitting at the dais with me, trying to build relationships, trying to build partnerships, trying to think about how we build our city's future together amongst the 12 of us, with those of you who are in the room with us today, and with all of our city.

2:46:59If my colleagues believe that I am the person who can help bring us together.

2:47:04I, uh, humbly accept the nomination.

2:47:12Any further council discussion before we proceed to the vote?

2:47:20Avalos.

2:47:22Avalos.

2:47:23Dunphy.

2:47:24Avalos.

2:47:26Councilor Alana.

2:47:30So the first few times I just said a name, I'll take the opportunity here to speak to it now that we have all of our, uh, nominees in place.

2:47:37Um, I think that we often discuss this in the context of the message it sends, and it certainly does send a message depending on who the council president is, um, including based off of the things that a person can see and Uh, you know, abstractually put into a narrative about a person, and that's all important too.

2:47:59Uh, I think what's also important is the experience that we look at for a council president, um, and someone who is able to understand how the city works, um, not only how other forms of government work, um, and understand what it's like to not only be a part of this government as an elected official but also as a member of the public, a member of the advisory groups, a member of the bureaucracy that they've worked with.

2:48:26And that's really vital to ensuring that this council can succeed.

2:48:30Having experience in the parts of the city that have been left out is, is a necessity to ensuring that the council can succeed.

2:48:40And having our council succeed is a necessity to ensuring that our capital-C city government can succeed.

2:48:45And having our city government succeed is necessary so that all Portlanders can succeed and thrive.

2:48:51And so for that, the experiential reasons, that's what is guiding my conversations.

2:48:56I think there's a lot of other points that have been raised around communication styles, leadership styles, a commitment to having power that is dispersed and is grown rather than diluted by being shared.

2:49:09And for those reasons, I continue to support this ordinance.

2:49:10Thank you.

2:49:10Vote for, uh, Councilor Avalos.

2:49:14Pirtle-Guiney.

2:49:16Pirtle-Guiney.

2:49:18Ryan.

2:49:19Clark.

2:49:20Koyama Lane.

2:49:22Avalos.

2:49:23Murillo.

2:49:25Um, ditto to everything that, uh, Councilor Kanal has just said, and Avalos.

2:49:30Novick.

2:49:31Clark.

2:49:32Clark.

2:49:34Clark.

2:49:35Green.

2:49:36Avalos.

2:49:38Zimmerman.

2:49:40Clark.

2:50:23The results of the vote: Councilor Clark received 4 votes.

2:50:27Councilor Avalos received 6 votes.

2:50:30Councilor Pirtle-Guiney received 2 votes.

2:50:34Uh, a majority vote was not reached.

2:50:40We'll open another round of voting.

2:50:47Uh, Councilor Avalos.

2:50:53I just wanted to affirm that, um, I will continue to be in this vote.

2:50:58I feel very strongly about the message that we're trying to send, um, and it's really not about me.

2:51:04It is about what I believe I can bring to the leadership for all of us to succeed.

2:51:08That is why my platform points revolve around how I help you succeed, um, and when you succeed, I will.

2:51:14And so, um, yeah, I am committed to continue in this vote until we get it done.

2:51:18So So thanks.

2:51:25Thank you.

2:51:27I just want to say that it is so important that we have diverse voices, that we have people who can bring folks together.

2:51:35And I can tell you about, uh, Councilor Elana.

2:51:38She was asked to jump into this race, and she saw that it was a, a 6-6, possibly 6-5 vote.

2:51:53And she continued to talk to people about her, um, priorities and talk to us about our priorities.

2:52:01And she's very sincere.

2:52:03She was sincere on the campaign trail.

2:52:06She was sincere since she's been here onboarding.

2:52:09I really respect I respect her.

2:52:10I respect her, her intellect, her— the information, and, and her ability to, to pull the different levers of government.

2:52:19I didn't know Elana before very well before I got on the, the council, but I would like to urge all of my colleagues, because we can do this all day long, we need to make sure that we have someone who is going to be committed to diversity equity and inclusion, who's going to give you an ear, and it doesn't matter what time of day or night, and she is not going to flip on you.

2:52:46So I would like to really impress upon my colleagues to think about changing their votes, because we have to do the work of the people, and we can't do it by being in this kind of gridlock.

2:53:00So thank you so thank you so much for allowing me this time to speak.

2:53:09Is there any further council discussion before we take the vote on this round of voting?

2:53:19We'll proceed to the vote.

2:53:21Avalos?

2:53:22Avalos.

2:53:23Dunphy?

2:53:25Avalos.

2:53:31No.

2:53:35Avalos.

2:53:38Pirtle-Guiney.

2:53:40Ryan.

2:53:42Clark.

2:53:44Poyama Lane.

2:53:45Avalos.

2:53:46Morillo.

2:53:47Avalos.

2:53:49Aviles.

2:53:51Clark.

2:53:54Green.

2:53:59Avalos.

2:54:00Zimmerman.

2:54:02Councilor Pirtle-Guiney.

2:54:24The tally on the—.

2:54:27This is one vote, Councilor.

2:54:28Second.

3:07:42We'll reconvene.

3:07:43Um, before we get started, uh, just a brief reminder, um, about decorum.

3:07:50Please refrain from applauding, um, or making comments.

3:07:55Please give the council an opportunity to deliberate without interruption.

3:07:59Thank you.

3:08:06We'll start the next nomination round.

3:08:12As a reminder— oh no, I'm sorry, we actually we have 3 nominees: Councilor Clark, Councilor Avalos, and Councilor Pirtle-Guiney.

3:08:40Council may discuss the nominations.

3:08:42They may nominate additional individuals who are not previously nominated, and they they may withdraw from consideration but are not required to do so.

3:08:51Is there any discussion?

3:09:04Looks like there's no further discussion.

3:09:06We'll move to the vote.

3:09:08Avalos?

3:09:10Aye.

3:09:10Aye.

3:09:14Smith.

3:09:16Kanal.

3:09:17Avalos.

3:09:19Pirtle-Guiney.

3:09:20Pirtle-Guiney.

3:09:21Ryan.

3:09:22Pirtle-Guiney.

3:09:23Koyama Lane.

3:09:24Avalos.

3:09:25Marilu.

3:09:27Novick.

3:09:28Pirtle-Guiney.

3:09:30Clark.

3:09:31Pirtle-Guiney.

3:09:32Green.

3:09:34Avalos.

3:09:35Zimmerman.

3:09:37Pirtle-Guiney.

3:09:45Councilor Avalos has received 6 votes.

3:09:48Councilor Pirtle-Guiney has received 6 votes.

3:09:52No councilor has received a majority of the votes.

3:10:01We'll move to another round.

3:10:03Councilor Avalos.

3:10:04Of nominees?

3:10:08Councilor Knell.

3:10:12I move to amend our previous motion, which established the council rules to allow names to be placed into either separate nomination queues for president and vice president prior to each vote for president.

3:10:31Is there a second?

3:10:34Sticking with my route, I'll second.

3:10:37I, I would like to be able to nominate people for vice president now, um, so that we're all aware of what that conversation is shaping up to be prior to our next vote for president.

3:10:51I think that might help people, uh, with this conversation.

3:10:56May I ask a point of clarification, or is that out of order?

3:11:04Councilor Kanal, is your intention that these would be, um, joined names like a slate, or that there would be a list of folks nominated for president and a list of folks nominated for vice president?

3:11:18Uh, my intent was the latter, but I am, I'm open to either.

3:11:25I, I was not pushing to change it.

3:11:28I just wanted to make sure I understood.

3:11:34Thank you.

3:11:36So in this situation, then, it would be informational only?

3:11:39Is that, am I understanding your intent there, Councilor?

3:11:42Uh, yeah, and I think it— yes, that it would be informational only.

3:11:45I think it would also allow for us to make sure that we're not discussion to include that information.

3:11:48Um, not our votes, but our discussion.

3:11:54I will, as I said earlier, always be a second, but I'm not sure where I'm at on this yet.

3:11:59Second.

3:12:01Councilor Smith.

3:12:04Thank you.

3:12:05I think if we do what, um, Councilor Kanal is suggesting, it is going to confuse everyone about what's going on.

3:12:16We need to take the vote, and we need to understand if we're in an impasse, we just put a new person in, and she's increased the number of votes every single time.

3:12:28And I'm going to urge everyone again to please consider Alana Pirtle-Guiney as our next president.

3:12:38She is ready.

3:12:40She is someone who's committed, and she's dedicated to making sure that we have good government.

3:12:47And that's what we should be concerned about.

3:12:49And she is going to be accessible, and she's going to be a person that you can look to for information.

3:12:55And she doesn't believe that she knows it all.

3:12:59She is open to suggestions and ideas.

3:13:02So we need to take another vote and make sure after we do this, Councilor.

3:13:09So I, I just wanted to put another plug in because we, we have to get this vote done.

3:13:20Councilor Zimmerman.

3:13:22I tend to agree with my colleague, Councilor Smith.

3:13:26I do think this adds a level of confusion I don't think it's intentional, but I do think it would add a bit.

3:13:32Um, I'd like to take the vote.

3:13:34I'd like to be able to, to determine a president first and stick to the rules as we adopted earlier.

3:13:41I think there are some fine folks on this who can serve as a vice president, but let's make that a separate question.

3:13:46I'll vote no on this.

3:13:49Can I, uh, withdraw the motion but reserve the right to do so after one more round of voting?

3:13:57If the motion— the motion has been made, it has been seconded.

3:14:02You may withdraw the motion before a vote has, has occurred.

3:14:07I'll do that.

3:14:14Councilor Zimmerman, your hand is raised, but are you doing—.

3:14:17I'm going to take the opportunity.

3:14:19So this is since we're back into the nominations piece, I, I want to also comment.

3:14:24I haven't commented yet on, on the nominees.

3:14:27I think that Councilor Alana Pirtle-Guiney is a person who I've known now for a number of years.

3:14:33We served briefly together on another board.

3:14:35I, throughout this onboarding process, throughout the election cycle, I have always found you to be a person who is a thought partner, right?

3:14:45A person who you're someone who I've been able to often disagree with, and it was always okay.

3:14:49I've appreciated that about you.

3:14:52Um, I think in a, in a world where this council has voted 2 times 6 to 6, and then a, and then a 3rd time after a few more rounds 6 to 6, I think that you offer an interesting and probably necessary compromise for this council, and I hope that folks Uh, have seen your deliberateness in, in everything we have done for the last several weeks, and I think everything we will do for the next 52.

3:15:20Um, so I hope that— I hope folks will look at you and your candidacy for president as a person who can lead this council and has a mind to the precedent-setting nature of everything that we will do moving forward.

3:15:34Um, I think you can be the right person to do and I would like to help you do it, and that's why I'll continue to support Councilor Alana Pirtle-Guiney.

3:15:44Is there any further discussion before we proceed to the vote?

3:15:54Avalos.

3:15:57Avalos.

3:15:58Dunphy.

3:15:59Avalos.

3:16:00Pirtle-Guiney.

3:16:02Canal.

3:16:03Avalos.

3:16:05Pirtle-Guiney.

3:16:06Pirtle-Guiney.

3:16:07Ryan.

3:16:09Pirtle-Guiney.

3:16:10Koyama Lane.

3:16:11Avalos.

3:16:12Morillo.

3:16:13Avalos.

3:16:14Novick.

3:16:15Pirtle-Guiney.

3:16:17Clark.

3:16:18Pirtle-Guiney.

3:16:20Rain.

3:16:21Avalos.

3:16:22Zimmerman.

3:16:24Pirtle-Guiney.

3:16:32Councilor Avalos received 6 votes.

3:16:35Councilor Pirtle-Guiney received 6 votes.

3:16:41A majority present did not vote— or sorry, the vote, uh, it was a tie vote.

3:16:50So So we will proceed to another round of voting.

3:17:01Is there any— oh, Councilor Kanal.

3:17:05Yeah, I'm not going to make the motion just yet.

3:17:07I think, um, it's worth having the conversation though around what is a, uh, what is a leadership team that makes sense for this council.

3:17:18Um, I have been incredibly impressed by all of the candidates for president throughout this process.

3:17:27I personally have had really rich conversations with all 3, um, and I think that we are in a position right now where we can have, um, a team emerge from this conversation, and I, I don't think that that's a bad thing.

3:17:41Um, I don't think that it's always a good decision to I think we happen to be in that situation now, and so I would urge that we do have that conversation and explore that possibility here.

3:18:00And that was my intention in raising the question about the rules.

3:18:04I think there probably are other people who would make good vice presidents as well.

3:18:07I don't mean to limit the field there.

3:18:09Councilor Dan Ryan.

3:18:10There also.

3:18:11But if it has the additional benefit of resolving, um, the impasse and allowing us to work on the things that, um, the city requires us to do, then it has— that, that's a win-win in my book.

3:18:24That's at least— that's gravy.

3:18:26Um, and so that's something that I, I wanted to, um, float from a process perspective, from the perspective of how are we doing this who are we electing?

3:18:38I think it is notable, and not necessarily a, um, not necessarily a disqualifier for either role, but I think it is notable that when we had conversations, most of it was around what the president, uh, would do.

3:18:52We did not have a lot of conversations around what the vice president would do.

3:18:55And the only person who really put forward a comprehensive vision of the vice presidency is Councilor Pirtle-Guiney.

3:19:02Um, I think there were some specific ideas that other people had around what the vice president could do.

3:19:07Um, but I think that's a notable part of this conversation, and I think that's going to be important regardless of whether it ends up being Councilor Pirtle-Guiney as president or vice president, because the president also needs to be on board with, uh, the role of the vice presidency the way it's written now, because it's going to be mostly customary at first.

3:19:24But I, I also think that that's not something that I saw even either Councilor Clark or Councilor Avalos disagree with.

3:19:30And I imagine that should either of them have ended up or continue to end up being president, that they would be supportive of that, especially if the scenario involves, um, Councilor Pirtle-Guiney being vice president.

3:19:40So that's a lot of hypotheticals, um, and I, I just wanted to float that.

3:19:44I think it's an important part of this conversation that it makes— this conversation should not be as high stakes as it is, but it is because in part we're discussing the presidency alone.

3:19:53And I think it's important for us to talk about the vice presidency as well.

3:19:57So if we ended up where— um, I, I obviously supported and I'll continue to support Councilor Avalos for president, but if we ended up with Councilor Avalos as president and Councilor Pirtle-Guiney as vice president, I think we would be very successful today.

3:20:11Um, and I, I want to encourage everyone to think about that, in particular the, the 2, uh, folks I just mentioned.

3:20:18Um, because I think it's, it's vital to, um, consider these kinds of questions and also the ability of these folks to work together, um, which I think is, um, not in doubt from the outside, but I, I don't know, um, as much from the inside.

3:20:33So that would be my proposal, uh, not as a formal motion, just as a, a conversation starter, um, to try and resolve this.

3:20:40And I think we can resolve it by, um, by talking openly about the vice presidency too.

3:20:54Yeah, um, building on both what Councilor Kanal said and our earlier rule adoption, um, it has been a role— a, a goal of mine to make sure that we do not elect a tyrant into the presidency.

3:21:06And, uh, I think that largely we have agreed that The, the role of this, uh, entire— the president is to be, um, in many ways our voice and to be able to try and move towards this.

3:21:17I think that there's an opportunity for power sharing and an opportunity for intentional structuring of the office of the president and the office of the vice president of the council in order to make sure that we arrive at really good, deep, uh, deeply thought-out conclusions and that we are also continuing to be as So I, I, uh, agree with what my colleague was saying.

3:21:42I appreciate Councilor Kanal's remarks.

3:21:48I do just want to make sure that we keep an open mind about all of our colleagues across the dais, because I do think there are some other fantastic folks who would add a lot of value in leadership and in not have their names put forward for president but who might be interested in being considered for vice president.

3:22:06I want to make sure that we don't prematurely take any names off the table for that, but I do appreciate the kind words.

3:22:14Thank you.

3:22:16Um, although, I mean, I don't really disagree with anything Councilor Canales said, I would like to note my preference is That if we have a president with a 4-year term, I prefer to have a vice president with a 2-year term.

3:22:31Half of us are up for election 2 years from now, and it's simply a fact of life that politicians do keep electoral deadlines in mind, and there is going to be a somewhat different sense of urgency to address the problems of the city from people with 2-year terms.

3:22:47So it might be valuable to have somebody with a long— longer perspective, but I would have a concern about electing both a president and a vice president with 4-year terms.

3:23:05Thank you, Councilor Novick.

3:23:07I'll take this opportunity, and while I recognize it's not the time to nominate, uh, vice presidents, this is on my mind as well in terms of who can make good teams.

3:23:15I think that Councilor Kanal brings that up.

3:23:19Um, there are a couple of people in this body who I think have shown me that they are ultimately, uh, good team members, and one of them fits that category you just described, Councilor Novick.

3:23:32And like I said, while it's not the time to take that nomination right now, I fully intend, and I hope you'll accept, Councilor Koyama Lane to serve as vice president.

3:23:41And I plan to I'm going to nominate you when we get to that round because I think you are that team player, and I think you guys would make a great team.

3:23:48Um, and so I am thinking about that as I cast my vote for president, and I am think— and I will think about that when I cast and when I nominate in the vice president role.

3:23:58Um, good teammates are going to make this council work, and I think that, I think that a Pirtle-Guiney, um, and Koyama Lane is a the current nominees for this round are Councilor Clark, Councilor Avalos, Councilor Pirtle-Guiney.

3:24:22If there's no further discussion, we'll proceed to the vote.

3:24:28Avalos.

3:24:31Avalos.

3:24:32Dunphy.

3:24:32Avalos.

3:24:33I second.

3:24:35Smith.

3:24:36Pirtle-Guiney.

3:24:37Avalos.

3:24:38Pirtle-Guiney.

3:24:41I want to take a minute because we have a Portlander in the front row who's been holding a sign this whole time, and I'm worried your arms are going to get tired with as long as we're taking.

3:24:48And if at some point you need to put that sign down, I will send your website to all of my colleagues to make sure everybody can see it.

3:24:55I've looked it up.

3:24:56Thank you for being here.

3:24:57Pirtle-Guiney.

3:25:00Opposed.

3:25:04Aye.

3:25:05Avilos.

3:25:07Aye.

3:25:07Aye.

3:25:07Herbold?

3:25:08Opposed.

3:25:08Aye.

3:25:08All those in favor of approving this resolution, please indicate by saying aye.

3:25:10Aye.

3:25:11Roll call.

3:25:11Ryan.

3:25:12Aye.

3:25:12Pirtle-Guiney.

3:25:13Opposed.

3:25:13Opposed.

3:25:13Green.

3:25:14Aye.

3:25:14Zimmerman.

3:25:19Aye.

3:25:20Councilor Avalos received 6 votes.

3:25:23Councilor Pirtle-Guiney received 6 votes.

3:25:27We have a tie.

3:25:29Councilor Smith.

3:25:31Thank you.

3:25:33We have tied now more times than I can even count, and I think that the makers of the charter, they were very clear in terms of tie-breaking, because we could sit here all day and we could go back and forth with any combination of 2 people, and we will not be able to get a 7th person.

3:25:54So I'm going to say once again, I urge my colleagues to support Councilor Alana Pirtle-Guiney.

3:26:04She is the person who's qualified.

3:26:07She is the person who understands rules.

3:26:10She will open up her doors to being accessible to all of us, and we have Yes.

3:26:16We're scheduled to go to a, a 2 o'clock as well, and it looks like no one is moving, but I urge one of my colleagues just to come over.

3:26:30I'll take 2 or 3, but one of you all needs to come over so we can take this vote and we can do the people's business.

3:26:43Councilor Morillo.

3:26:46Well, it sounds like that means we're at 12:52 and we have another hour, so we can also urge the other side to move and vote for Candace as well.

3:26:56There is no reason why we should rush this vote.

3:26:58This is going to be a very serious decision, and we're going to sit here as long as it takes, and I'm fully prepared to do that.

3:27:06Maybe as the youngest member of so I can sit a little longer than everybody else.

3:27:09Um, but I'm, I'm fully prepared to sit here for as long as it takes.

3:27:14Um, I, I also just want to reaffirm again that, uh, we have really great options.

3:27:21This is a very good problem to have.

3:27:23I have had, um, you know, I'm going to talk about the folks that have 6 to 6 now.

3:27:28I have had really wonderful discussions with both, uh, Councilor Avalos and Councilor Elana Pirtle-Guiney.

3:27:35I think both are really good leaders that are here to do right by the people and make sure that there is a lot of access.

3:27:44And I want to say that I think that can— uh, Councilor Avalos has a lot of necessary experience with local government.

3:27:51She's been on the outside.

3:27:53She knows what it's like to not have your voice heard and not have a seat at the table.

3:27:58And I think that because of that, she's going to make sure that everyone does have that opportunity.

3:28:03I've also seen that she is someone who takes feedback really well.

3:28:08You know, you have a frank discussion with her, she takes that feedback, she moves on the issue.

3:28:12And that's something I deeply respect in a leader, that humility and ability to say, um, you know, I need to listen differently, I need to do something better.

3:28:21I have seen her demonstrate that in all the time that I've known her.

3:28:24So I'm prepared to say here through lunch if that's what it takes.

3:28:28Uh, maybe we can DoorDash something over here, uh, but I'm, I'm fully prepared to wait, and anyone can move their vote on any side.

3:28:35Thanks.

3:28:41The nominees for this round include Councilor Clark, Councilor Avalos, Councilor Pirtle-Guiney, Councilor Kanal.

3:28:53Yeah, um, I'm a big Captain America fan, and so I'll just say I can do this all day.

3:29:00Um, I think we're in a position where we're, we're forced by, uh, the rules to make a decision that's really, really big really, really early.

3:29:11Um, some of us didn't know each other through the campaigns.

3:29:14Um, some of us hadn't even met till after the election.

3:29:18But we, you know, we follow the charter and that's important.

3:29:20And so I think that I'm not complaining about it.

3:29:23I'm just representing sort of my view on why that's challenging.

3:29:28And it's also really hard to undo.

3:29:30Right now we have rules saying nothing about the term length in the code.

3:29:35In the charter it says 1 year, or if we choose to do it again.

3:29:39But then, you know, it also talks about taking 9 months to do it.

3:29:41I think that's a good point.

3:29:42Votes to remove the president.

3:29:43So this is a very, very large decision and, um, one that I think deserves, uh, whatever amount of time it takes.

3:29:53And I think with—.

3:29:54We're—.