After a 2-year transition to new voter-approved form of government, Portland's new city councilors elect leaders

PORTLAND, Ore., Jan. 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Portland's new elected officials entered City Hall's council chambers Thursday for their first official gathering as Portland's legislative body. Launching the city's new form of government, councilors elected Elana Pirtle-Guiney as council president and Tiffany Koyama Lane as council vice president.  

"This is a big day, not just for Portland City Council and our new Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney and Vice President Tiffany Koyama-Lane but for all of Portland," said Portland Mayor Keith Wilson. "Together, we'll face no shortage of decisions in the coming days, and I'm grateful for the people and potential this room represents. I've never been more optimistic about Portland's council leadership, and our ability to repair, restore, and revitalize the city we all love."

Pirtle-Guiney won the council presidency in the ninth round of voting. She emerged as a compromise candidate after multiple tie votes between Councilors Candace Avalos and Olivia Clark – offering Portlanders their first window into the city's new legislative branch of government.

An outlier among cities of similar size, Portland's previous form of government allowed elected officials to operate in the legislative and administrative orbits at the same time. Four commissioners, as they used to be called, were elected to represent the entire city. They developed and voted on policies as well as used their authority to make decisions relating to the daily administrative operations of bureaus and offices.

As Portland grew to over 600,000, broad sections of the city lacked representation at city hall. Portlanders sought structural changes and greater representation. Portland convenes an independent charter commission every 10 years to consider improvements to the city charter. The latest charter commission brought a proposal to voters in November 2022, where voters approved of increasing the number of elected representatives and forming voting districts for those representatives — now called councilors. Voters also approved a new election method, ranked-choice voting.

"Thank you to my colleagues Councilors Clark and Avalos," said Pirtle-Guiney, one of three councilors who represent District 2. "Stepping forward in a role like this is never something someone undertakes lightly. I look forward to working with both of you, you bring invaluable experience to the council."

The new council president and vice president will lead the expanded, 12-member Portland City Council to develop policy, approve budgets and serve their constituents. Related: https://www.portland.gov/hello/news/2024/12/19/portlands-next-leaders-take-oath-office-ushering-new-era-city-government#toc-city-council-district-1

URL: https://www.portland.gov/hello/news/2025/1/2/after-2-year-transition-new-voter-approved-form-government-portland-city

SOURCE City of Portland, Oregon