By: Shane Dixon Kavanaugh | The Oregonian/OregonLive
Name: Timur Ender
Neighborhood: Hazelwood
Renter/homeowner: Homeowner
Education: B.A. Criminology, NC State; Lewis & Clark Law School
Occupation: Infrastructure project manager
How long you’ve lived in the city of Portland: 12 years
Age: 34, will turn 35 before Election Day
Pronouns: He/him
Portland is facing an historic election involving a new voting system and an unusually high number of candidates. Journalists at The Oregonian/OregonLive and Oregon Public Broadcasting share a goal of ensuring that Portland voters have the information they need to make informed choices, and we also know candidates’ time is valuable and limited.
That’s why the two news organizations teamed up this cycle to solicit Portland City Council candidates’ perspectives on the big issues in this election. Here’s what they had to say:
For each of the following questions, we asked candidates to limit their answers to 150 words.
Name two existing city policies or budget items you’d make it a priority to change. Why did you select those and how do you plan to line up at least 7 votes on the council to make them happen? Please avoid broad, sweeping statements and instead provide details.
I would advocate for making the Arts Tax more equitable. A senior on fixed income shouldn’t be paying the same amount as someone making $150,000. I would be proactive in communicating with city staff and council colleagues about what changes I would like to see, what council’s priorities are, and what changes council members would be willing to support. The changes I would like to see are making it a sliding scale based on income and ensuring revenue is used to benefit all parts of the city.
I would also advocate for Portland Street Response becoming available 24/7. Portland Street Response (PSR) is a trauma-informed response to people in crisis. Having a strong program would make the city more competitive for outside dollars and therefore less likely to need to fund with only discretionary general fund dollars. That is something I foresee most of council supporting.
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