Thank you for this research report. It clearly shows that democracy is alive and well in Portland--it's like a breath of fresh air to hear that there are so many different voices from different perspectives being heard. And that "most of the time, councilors worked it out." Thank you for also including all of the nuances like structural factors, no playbook, brand new leaders in government, etc.
I would challenge your use of the term “proportional representation”. Steve Novick and Olivia Clark had several times the number of votes as other winning candidates in the district. Yet they have the same vote. Novick and Clark seem under-represented.
PRCV has been called proportional representation (PR) for over a century, including in Cambridge, MA, where it has been used since the 1940s. My wish for 2026 is that we come up with one thing to call it. There are so many terms being used for the same thing: PR, STV, PRCV, multi-winner ranked choice voting, etc. Settling on one term and explaining what it is would go a long way, and then Portlanders can debate its merits knowing they are talking about the same thing.
Thank you for this research report. It clearly shows that democracy is alive and well in Portland--it's like a breath of fresh air to hear that there are so many different voices from different perspectives being heard. And that "most of the time, councilors worked it out." Thank you for also including all of the nuances like structural factors, no playbook, brand new leaders in government, etc.
I would challenge your use of the term “proportional representation”. Steve Novick and Olivia Clark had several times the number of votes as other winning candidates in the district. Yet they have the same vote. Novick and Clark seem under-represented.
PRCV has been called proportional representation (PR) for over a century, including in Cambridge, MA, where it has been used since the 1940s. My wish for 2026 is that we come up with one thing to call it. There are so many terms being used for the same thing: PR, STV, PRCV, multi-winner ranked choice voting, etc. Settling on one term and explaining what it is would go a long way, and then Portlanders can debate its merits knowing they are talking about the same thing.