Just in: Charter Commission drops hybrid government, keeps multi-member districts
rosecityreform.substack.com
In a work session on March 24th, Portland’s Charter Commission put distance between itself and the idea of a hybrid form of government, moving instead toward a more traditional mayor-council system.
While in the last work session the majority of the commissioners supported the mayor having both independent executive authority and serving and voting on city council, the majority now prefers a structure where the mayor has the executive power, but does not get to vote with the council – unless it’s a tie-breaking vote.
No major edits were made to the part of the reform package concerning city council representation and elections. Most commissioners support dividing Portland into four geographic city council districts, each with three representatives, and want Portlanders to adopt ranked choice voting as the voting method.
While a minority of the commissioners expressed concern that the combination of multi-member districts and ranked choice voting might be a tough sell to voters, the majority emphasized the need to be bold and cited recent polls showing community support for ranked choice voting and district representation.
In its next meeting on March 31st, the Charter Commission will vote on the reform package to send to city staff for drafting and the required legal and fiscal review.
Just in: Charter Commission drops hybrid government, keeps multi-member districts
Just in: Charter Commission drops hybrid government, keeps multi-member districts
Just in: Charter Commission drops hybrid government, keeps multi-member districts
In a work session on March 24th, Portland’s Charter Commission put distance between itself and the idea of a hybrid form of government, moving instead toward a more traditional mayor-council system.
While in the last work session the majority of the commissioners supported the mayor having both independent executive authority and serving and voting on city council, the majority now prefers a structure where the mayor has the executive power, but does not get to vote with the council – unless it’s a tie-breaking vote.
No major edits were made to the part of the reform package concerning city council representation and elections. Most commissioners support dividing Portland into four geographic city council districts, each with three representatives, and want Portlanders to adopt ranked choice voting as the voting method.
While a minority of the commissioners expressed concern that the combination of multi-member districts and ranked choice voting might be a tough sell to voters, the majority emphasized the need to be bold and cited recent polls showing community support for ranked choice voting and district representation.
In its next meeting on March 31st, the Charter Commission will vote on the reform package to send to city staff for drafting and the required legal and fiscal review.
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