✔ Immediately clean up the trash and graffiti to restore Portland pride and show the world real progress is happening here.
✔ Provide multiple safe, clean shelters for homeless people as we enforce public camping laws.
✔ Create a path to mental health and addiction treatment, with comprehensive and measurable patient focused care plans.
✔ Invest in the police force, with social service integration, civilian oversight and accountability to the public. Revise police policies and standards to deliver the public safety services Portland wants.
✔ Compel local governments to work together to use resources better. Measure and make the results public.
✔ Remove government obstacles to building affordable housing. Direct already available funds to get the most bang for our buck.
REVITALIZE OUR CITY & DOWNTOWN
I’m proud that Portland has always been a unique and vibrant city. The current challenges our city faces require practical, proactive solutions and accountable leadership.
I’m a Democrat who values practical solutions, not arguing over political ideology. The ceaseless fighting between the ideological far left and far right leaves 80% of us without solutions to increased economic insecurity, threats to public safety, and a less livable community. As a city leader, I will prioritize cleaning up our trash and graffiti and supporting the vibrant neighborhood spaces—from retail to recreation – through effective policies, public engagement, and most of all, accountable and effective spending.
confront our housing shortage
Portland is facing a critical housing shortage today as a result of ten years of policies that increase the cost of housing and discourage development. Right now, too many politicians think they can legislate affordable housing through more and more regulations. These additional hurdles actually make it harder for Portland to increase housing availability in both market rate and affordable housing.
Politicians don’t build anything, but they sure can stop anything from being built. I will work to change city policies to encourage all housing development. A vibrant city encourages commercial and residential uses together to create livability. We must promote, not prevent, appropriately scaled housing construction. As long as we have such a huge deficit of available housing, affordable housing will be out of reach for many.
THE FUTURE OF PORTLAND
Portland’s current government restructuring, including hiring a City Manager, represents the most critical change in Portland’s modern history. These changes provide a one-time opportunity to address bureau accountability and local government effectiveness. We have far too little communication and coordination between the city and county, and unproductive duplication of mission and services. No one actually knows what Metro is or is supposed to do. I know what it is, but I sure don’t understand what it is doing. To develop a vision for the future, we need to better structure our government to serve us, not just continually feed itself without any measure of effectiveness. We desperately need more accountability and coordination from our local governments. We have so much to be proud of in Portland, but more than ever we need a government that is more worthy of the people it was created to serve.
Contribute to Ben’s Campaign
Ben Hufford is part of Portland’s Small Donor Elections. Candidates for city council must raise donations from at least 250 Portland donors. The first $20 of your contribution is matched 9 to 1 by the City.