Today is July 20th, the final day of the 180-day signature window for the consolidation petition we filed with the county in January. We fell short of the 21,963 signatures needed to convene a charter commission. While that petition ends today, the effort it launched is only getting started.
When I published the original MultNoMo essay a year ago, the City-County Act was a forgotten statute and consolidation was an idea nobody in local government was talking about. Less than a year later, candidates on this November’s ballot are voicing support for consolidation at community events across the city (we’ll share formal endorsements as the election nears). The question is on the table now.
How it got there matters as much as where it landed. Ballot initiatives typically make it with hundreds of thousands of dollars and paid canvassers, because that’s what it takes to gather signatures at scale from strangers outside a Trader Joe’s. Consolidation, wonky as it is, doesn’t fit into a five-second pitch. The signatures we collected came from longer conversations: neighbors talking on the block, in the elevator, at the farmers market, at neighborhood association meetings. Those conversations move at a slower clip than clipboards, and what they build lasts longer.
From the start, I’ve been upfront that I don’t have all the answers, and I’m not running for anything. Oregon voters created this law half a century ago to help the region solve exactly these kinds of problems. I stumbled onto it by chance, and I believe it can help us now. Figuring out how is a conversation, and having it with so many of you has been the best part of this year.
In April I started a new job that’s taken most of my attention, so I handed field operations off to a volunteer, who unfortunately had to step back due to health issues. A lot of the plans we had for yard signs, canvassing, and organized drives didn’t materialize as hoped.
Everything that did happen, happened because of you. Thank you to everyone who carried a clipboard to friends and neighbors, who joined me at the PSU Farmers Market and along the waterfront, and who donated to cover printing and supplies. This past year I reached out to every neighborhood association in the city and spoke at more than two dozen community events, and I met local leaders all over Portland who are quietly making their corners of the city better.
The biggest thing I learned in those rooms surprised me. I showed up prepared to argue that two overlapping governments are one too many, and I almost never had to. People are already there. Their questions start further down the road: how services would be organized, what would happen to tax rates, whether their dollars would finally buy better results. Portlanders want government that costs less and delivers more, and they’re ready for a serious, detailed conversation about the structure standing in the way.
Here is where the effort goes next:
The City-County Act allows the city council and county commission to initiate consolidation proceedings themselves, by resolution, with no petition at all. With leadership changes coming to both bodies this November, that path is realistic, and it would be something rare in our politics: everyone pulling in the same direction on a structural question. Portland could use a group win right now. (And in any case, the petition route also stays open to us; we can restart the 180-day clock whenever the moment is right.)
Before we move forward, the law itself needs attention. The City-County Act is 55 years old, and implementing it exactly as written would create real problems. One example: the statute treats all unincorporated county land alike, whether inside or outside the urban growth boundary, which could leave a consolidated city-county with a discontiguous border. I’m working with state legislators to modernize the Act in the 2027 session so that when voters take this question up, the process serves them well.
I’m in this for the long haul. This fall, I begin Portland State’s Executive Master of Public Administration program, where I’ll study administrative law, public finance, and the policy questions that keep coming up in this initiative. Portland is home for my family. My oldest is eight, and when she graduates high school in 2036, I want this to be a city worth coming back to — somewhere safe and energizing, with housing people can afford and opportunity worth staying for.
Three ways to help right now:
- Apply to the Multnomah County Charter Review Committee. Every six years, the county convenes a committee of residents to study the charter and propose amendments for voter approval. This is a real lever on how the county governs, and it needs members who reflect the whole community. I’ve applied, and I encourage every eligible county resident to do the same. Applications are due October 1st. Learn more here.
- Invite me to speak. If your neighborhood association, civic group, workplace, or book club wants to dig into consolidation, write to unite@multnomo.org. These conversations are the heart of the effort.
- Connect me with candidates. If you’re running for office, or know someone who is, let’s talk! After hundreds of conversations with voters this year, I can say with confidence that consolidation is a winning issue.
Multnomah County has been asking whether it should exist since 1854. We spent the past year making sure Portland asks it again. Thank you for being part of that.