Why did Sameer Kanal oppose one of Mayor Wilson’s top leadership choices? And what does he mean when he says he wants Portlanders to co-create policy with the council?
As a former city staffer, Sameer Kanal believes the Portland City Council has not always taken Portlanders’ input seriously.
“It would go up the org chart, but somewhere near or at the council, it would stop being relevant,” says Kanal, whose résumé includes serving as project manager for the Police Accountability Commission (PAC), a volunteer board tasked with designing a new police oversight process.
That’s something he aims to address as co-chair of the Community and Public Safety Committee. Later today, Kanal will propose amendments to the outgoing council’s implementation of PAC’s recommendations.
“Advocating for meaningful community engagement, early enough in the process that you can actually be co-creating policy as a community member with your local government, is the thing that underpins everything for me,” he says.
On Voting No
Since taking office, Kanal has gained attention for pushing back against some early council decisions. He opposed the body’s committee assignments, saying they lacked sufficient district representation. Most notably, he cast the only no vote against Mayor Wilson’s reappointment of Michael Jordan as interim city administrator, arguing the timing of Jordan’s contract would limit the next administrator’s ability to shape their team.
“I’d like the process of hiring the new deputy city administrators to be led by someone who will work with them long term,” Kanal says.
Lisa Freeman, a former colleague of Kanal’s at the city’s Community Safety Division, joined his office after losing her own council race in District 4. She says his background as a city employee informs his perspective.
“I think his vote and his reasons for it are an example of bringing that unique experience of how the administration works,” she says.
Ultimately, Kanal says he’s primarily motivated by what his constituents think.
“There are 155,000 people in District 2 who are my boss,” he says. “My boss is not in that building.”
Contact information for Sameer Kanal and other elected city officials can be found here.
Stump Talk is edited and produced by Jon Garcia of Lake Productions.
