I love Portland.
But - like many - I'm incredibly frustrated by City Hall’s inability to actually fix our problems.
We don't just have a homeless problem or an addiction problem or a crime problem - we have a 'can't-get-it-done' problem.
As a person in long-term recovery and recognized expert on addiction, I get what needs to be done and believe I can bring a needed perspective to the new City Council.
I understand that we need to implement concrete solutions like establishing sobering centers, expanding detox capacity, and increasing the availability of trauma-informed shelter and transitional housing beds.
And while we solve the problems right in front of us, we also need to prepare our communities for climate change, get aggressive about building a vibrant, entrepreneurial economy for everyone, and restore a sense of safety in every corner of the city.
Throughout my career, I’ve been driven by the philosophy “If you see something, don’t just say something. DO something!”
When the Berlin Wall fell, I went to Eastern Europe to help activists build new democratic systems and advocate for free and fair elections.
When the religious right came for the LGBTQ community's aspirations to be married, I launched the nation’s first statewide campaign to stop them.
And as Oregon’s addiction crisis worsened, I co-founded Oregon Recovers, a statewide campaign to end the addiction crisis.
I've mobilized the power of collective action to drive change, and now I want to bring that drive to City Hall on behalf of the 28 neighborhoods in District 2.
Portland is embarking on an exciting and transformative redesign of our democratic system. Each Portlander will now elect three of their neighbors to represent them in City Hall, and I believe the new system of representation provides us the opportunity to reconnect our elected officials to the day-to-day problems Portlanders face.
I’m running to actively listen and represent the neighborhoods of North and Northeast Portland. I am running because I believe that my lived experience as a person in recovery and my career in policy and advocacy have prepared me for this work. I am running because I believe I have the expertise and ability to design, fight for, and implement innovative, effective solutions to the challenges we’re living with in the Rose City.
I'd be honored to earn your support.
