Can Portland's Next Mayor Shape the City's Trajectory?

Rose City Reform takes a look at the mayor's powers under the new city charter.

Mayoral candidates Keith Wilson, Rene Gonzalez, and Carmen Rubio recently joined our Stump Talk podcast to discuss their visions for Portland.

But how much power will they have to turn their plans into reality?

Last week, Rose City Reform invited three mayoral frontrunners to share their platforms on the Stump Talk podcast.

Each candidate brought forward big ideas. Keith Wilson, a transportation executive and founder of a nonprofit that provides shelter, may have the most aspirational goal: ending unsheltered homelessness within his first year as mayor.

City Commissioners Rene Gonzalez and Carmen Rubio also aim high, although they don’t attach firm timelines to their plans. Gonzalez pledges to grow Portland’s police force and enforce the strictest no-camping policy on the West Coast, while Rubio says she’ll reintroduce community policing and boost housing production.

No Mayor Is an Island

This raises the question: how likely are these candidates to achieve their goals if elected? Regulatory and budgetary hurdles aside, the answer depends on who else will be joining them at City Hall.

Starting in January 2025, Portland’s mayor will no longer serve on the city council. Moreover, under the new charter, the mayor—as the chief executive—won’t have veto power over council decisions. So what influence will the mayor have over the policymaking process?

Just like councilors, mayors will need to remember this mantra: count to seven. On a 12-member council, that’s the number of affirmative votes needed to move policy forward.

In an interview with Rose City Reform last year, Mayor Ted Wheeler offered some stark advice for his successor: “Live in the offices of your councilors,” he said. “Be ever-present. Do not become isolated from the council. Be involved in the process before others shape it from the get-go. Don’t wait for stuff to land on your desk.”

The Power to Break a Tie

City governments are often classified as having either “strong” or “weak” mayors. Portland’s mayor will have many “strong” features, such as the authority to propose the budget, introduce legislation, and negotiate contracts. Whoever is elected as mayor will be able to bring their proposals to the council. The question is: can they rally the support to pass them?

Whether it’s Wilson’s shelter strategy, Gonzalez’s goal of increasing the police force, or Rubio’s hopes of expanding Portland’s team of unarmed first responders—all plans will require at least six allies on the council. Why six and not seven? Because the mayor has another useful power: the power to break a tie.

As long as six councilors on the 12-member council support the mayor’s policy initiatives, the mayor can cast the seventh and tiebreaking vote themselves.

The Power of the Bully Pulpit

One of the most debated aspects of Portland’s new charter was the Charter Commission’s decision not to grant the mayor a veto.

“The mayor’s weakness is they get told what to do by the council, and they have to implement it whether they like it or not,” Mayor Wheeler told Rose City Reform of the new system back in 2023. “That leaves two potential outcomes. The mayor can either slow-walk the policy, and that’s going to tick off the council. Or—worst case scenario —the policy doesn’t work. And then you’re going to get a lot of finger-pointing,” he predicted.

Even so, Wheeler called the absence of a veto “problematic, but not a fatal flaw.” He noted that the mayor will still have the power of the bully pulpit—the unique ability to influence public opinion by directly addressing the public or the media. For council members, the mayor’s amplified platform could be both a blessing and a curse, depending on whether it’s used to support or undermine their proposals.

The Power to Appoint and Direct the City Administrator

Last, but not least, it is the mayor who will appoint and direct the city administrator. Although the council must confirm the mayor’s choice, once installed, the administrator will become the mayor’s right hand—charged with managing all city bureaus.

While this will likely be a close and symbiotic relationship, it’s not shielded from oversight, since the administrator is required to keep the council in the loop about city affairs. Moreover, the council has the power to remove the administrator for cause, albeit with a high threshold: a supermajority.

The mayor, however, can fire the administrator at will. Thus it will soon become fairly obvious whose needs the administrator must put first (spoiler: it’s not the council’s).

It Might Get a Little Messy

Once the new government is seated, we can likely expect some growing pains as officeholders settle into their roles. Some council candidates have already hinted at wanting to shrink the bureaucracy designed to support Portland’s new centralized administration model—a move that could frustrate the mayor if it’s viewed as stepping on their turf.

Likewise, the historic 2024 city election, with fourteen seats to be filled, is almost certain to spark debate about mandates. For instance, Keith Wilson is likely to interpret a victory as a citywide endorsement of his shelter strategy—but will the council be on board? Similarly, if Rene Gonzalez wins on a law-and-order platform, there could be friction if most of the council leans toward a softer outreach model. If a key mayoral policy proposal fails, some will inevitably argue that the council is letting voters down, while others will view the council as a necessary check on the executive.

Finally, given the grim outlook for the next fiscal year, don’t be surprised if all officeholders—councilors and the mayor alike—find they need to pause their big ideas to focus on funding essential city services amid rising costs and limited revenue.

And, with that, I’ll leave you with a picture of a clever Halloween display in my neighborhood.

Happy Halloween, and happy voting!