 | It has been suggested that this article be merged into Government of Portland, Oregon. (Discuss) Proposed since November 2024. |
| Portland City Council | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | Unicameral |
| Leadership | |
| Mayor | Keith Wilson |
| President of the Council | Elana Pirtle-Guiney |
| Vice President of the Council | Tiffany Koyama Lane |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 12 |
 | |
| Political groups | Democratic (12) (Officially nonpartisan) |
| Length of term | 4 years |
| Elections | |
| Voting system | Single transferable vote (current) At-large (until November 8, 2022) |
| Last election | November 5, 2024 |
| Next election | November 3, 2026 (6 seats) |
| Meeting place | |
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| Council Chamber, Portland City Hall 1221 SW 4th Ave Portland, Oregon 97204 | |
| Website | |
| Portland City Council | |
The Portland City Council (formerly the Portland City Commission) is the legislative body of the City of Portland in Oregon and forms part of the government of the city.
In January 2025, the city of Portland switched to a mayor–council form of government from a commission form of government, with elections held the prior November. The half of the city council and the mayor began full four-year terms, while the other half of the city council started initial two-year terms to establish a staggered election cycle.
There are no term-limits for city councilors and they are all officially nonpartisan.
Members
For a list of all current and former city councilors, see List of members of the Portland City Council.| District | Name | Elected | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 
|
Candace Avalos | 2024 |
|
Loretta Smith | 2024 | |
| Jamie Dunphy | 2024 | ||
| 2 | .jpg)
|
Dan Ryan | 2020 |
|
Elana Pirtle-Guiney | 2024 | |
| Sameer Kanal | 2024 | ||
| 3 | 
|
Steve Novick | 2024 |
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|
Tiffany Koyama Lane | 2024 | |
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|
Angelita Morillo | 2024 | |
| 4 | Olivia Clark | 2024 | |
| Mitch Green | 2024 | ||
| Eric Zimmerman | 2024 | ||
Districts
Since 2024, the council has been districted as follows:
History
The Portland Charter was the subject of much debate circa 1911–1912. Rival charters were drafted by four different groups. One of these proposed charters was unusual in that it would have used Bucklin voting to elect the mayor and implemented interactive representation of the people through the commissioner system; each commissioner's vote would have been weighted according to the number of votes he received in the election. eventually, the city council submitted an entirely different charter to the people, which was accepted. The city commission government form then came into use in 1913, with H. Russell Albee being the first mayor under the new system.
Between 1913 and 2024, Portland ran on this commission form of government, the largest city in the United States to do so. The council was composed of five members, referred to as Commissioners, which included the Mayor, each elected at-large for a term of four years. One of the Commissioners was elected to be the ceremonial President of the Council.
Commissioners were each assigned to run and oversee various city Bureaus (eg. Police, Fire, Environmental Services, Water). These assignments were occasionally switched around with the exception of the Police Bureau of which the Mayor had always been Commissioner of based on tradition.
2022 Charter Reform
Ballot Measure 26-228 in the November 2022 election was an amendment to the city charter that moved the city away from a commission system of government. It removes the five-person board that includes the mayor to a twelve-person board plus a separate mayor. The new city councilors will be elected using proportional multi-winner ranked-choice voting, with three members being elected each from four districts, instead of the standard first-past-the-post method. It also removes responsibility for direct management of city bureaus from commissioners to a city manager overseen by the mayor and confirmed by the council. Previous attempts to reform the city charter had been defeated seven times since 1913, including as recently as 2007. Portland is set to become the most-populated city to adopt the single transferable vote to elect city council members.
The first city council elections under the new districts occured in 2024. In preparation for transitioning management of city bureaus to a city manager, Mayor Ted Wheeler grouped city bureaus into five related service areas.
On January 2, 2025, at the first meeting of the new council, Elana Pirtle-Guiney was elected council president in a 7 to 5 vote after 10 rounds. Tiffany Koyama Lane was elected vice president unanimously.
Presidents
| No. | Portrait | Officeholder | Tenure start | Tenure end | Vice President | Mayor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 
|
Elana Pirtle-Guiney
(2nd–Vernon) |
January 2, 2025 | Incumbent | Tiffany Koyama Lane | Keith Wilson |
See also
- Government of Portland, Oregon
- Mayor of Portland, Oregon
- History of Portland, Oregon
- City commission government
References
- "Learn more about the City of Portland's transition | Portland.gov". www.portland.gov. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
- "City Government | Portland.gov". www.portland.gov. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
- "Commission unanimously votes for new Portland voting district map". KOIN.com. 2023-08-17. Retrieved 2023-08-21.
- McBain, Howard Lee. The Law and the Practice of Municipal Home Rule. pp. 598–599.
- MacColl, E. Kimbark (1976). "Chapter 14 – The Fruits of Progressivism, 1913–1915". The Shaping of a City: Business and Politics in Portland, Oregon, 1885 to 1915. Portland, Oregon: The Georgian Press Company. pp. 443–445. ISBN 0-89174-043-0.
- "Phase I: Proposed Ballot Measure Regarding the Structure of City Government | Portland.gov". www.portland.gov. Retrieved 2022-11-09.
- "Ambitious Charter Reform Measure Appears Poised for Victory, Fundamentally Changing Portland City Hall". Willamette Week. 9 November 2022. Retrieved 2022-11-09.
- "Massive change coming to Portland city government". opb. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
- "Mayor Ted Wheeler Will Cluster and Reshuffle City Bureaus Come January in Effort to Ease Charter Transition". Willamette Week. 10 November 2022. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
- "Elana Pirtle-Guiney Elected as Portland City Council President at New Body's First Meeting". Willamette Week. 2025-01-02. Retrieved 2025-01-03.
| Members of the Portland City Council | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Council President: Elana Pirtle-Guiney Council Vice President: Tiffany Koyama Lane | |||||||||
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