Carmen Rubio: Tough, Tested, & Ready to Lead

Like you’ve heard Carmen say time and again, you can tell what you’ll get out of an elected leader by what they’ve done already. And Carmen Rubio has delivered incredible results in just one term of office. No other candidate running for Mayor has a record that comes even close to the positive change she has accomplished for Portlanders - in office and during her time as an executive of a large community-focused organization.

That’s why you can trust that Carmen will build on her impressive record as Mayor. Below are the immediate efforts she will launch once elected. She will get all of this work off the ground, while she resets the relationships the city has with other jurisdictions, like the State of Oregon, Metro Council and Multnomah County. Her goal will be to set shared expectations, including her responsibility as Mayor and the needed accountability with the public. Portland’s challenges require every level of government to lean in and problem solve - and Carmen is the only candidate with the demonstrated record to do this successfully.

On Improving Community and Public Safety:

• Design and implement a citywide community policing model built upon proven best practices
• Re-establish a police precinct in North Portland
• Expand and improve Portland Street Response, our first responders to mental and behavioral health crises
• Expand enforcement - with regularly reported performance metrics - for stopping graffiti, retail theft and street racing

On Increasing Housing Production:

• Immediately implement a 90-day "fast pass" permit approval process for any housing development - from affordable to market rate - that shows up at the city with full financing in hand
• Appoint a workgroup to identify new sources of funding for affordable housing
• Perform an analysis of the regulatory reforms Carmen already put in place and evaluates those for effectiveness to make them permanent or identify new ones to change for all types of housing development

On Reducing Homelessness:

• Expand current and develop new temporary alternative shelter sites, all with wrap-around services, and each with Good Neighbor Agreements
• Work with shelter operators and social service non-profits to provide more outreach workers, especially in Old Town and other highly impacted areas of the city
• Increase coordination among all outreach workers to make sure we are providing effective casework services to individuals who are homeless

On Enhancing Portland’s Reputation as a Creative City:

Portland’s Downtown and Central City Districts

Pair the urgent public safety measures outlined above with positive actions to rebuild and project confidence in downtown and the central city

Short Term:

• Create a task force of creatives and property owners to develop fast-track ideas for bringing empty retail spaces, streets, and public spaces to life
• Increase grants and simplify permitting for downtown events

Long Term:

• Create a task force to re-envision Portland’s downtown waterfront to better serve regional and national events, but also as a place that will attract families and spur downtown residential development
• Work closely with PSU to develop a more robust campus district that helps recruit more students but also retains them as participants in business, government, and non-profits

Portland’s Small Business Community

Carmen created the city’s first Office of Small Business

• As Mayor, she and this office will find new ways to support, promote, and expand Portland as the small business capital of the country
• Create a “creative economy task force” to work with established creative companies, small and large, to attract and retain employees and create opportunities for new start-ups
• Further build Portland’s emerging reputation as a center for LGBTQ+ -oriented and -friendly people and businesses

On Investing in the Green Economy and Jobs:

• Expand the city’s efforts to protect, restore, and increase access to the Willamette River
• Complete work to establish a Clean Industry HUB in Portland to foster circular economic practices and carbon reduction in the industrial sector
• Deliver on the Portland Clean Energy Fund’s $30-million investment in green workforce development
• Explore similar policies to Carmen’s work to transition gas-powered leaf blowers and consider other two-stroke equipment to electric to reduce emissions, health risks, and noise