Meet Kezia Wanner, candidate for Portland City Council District 3

Editor’s note: Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5. Stay informed with OPB on the presidential race, key congressional battles and other local contests and ballot measures in Oregon and Southwest Washington at opb.org/elections.

Name: Kezia Wanner

Neighborhood: Woodstock

Renter or homeowner? Homeowner

Education: Master’s degree

Occupation: Oregon Department of Emergency Management business & compliance director

Lived in the city of Portland: 24 years

Age: 55

Pronouns: She/her

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:

Related: What you need to know about voting in Oregon and Southwest Washington

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 change the funding and organizational reporting structure for Portland Street Response, which is currently operating under Portland Fire & Rescue. In the current fiscal year 2024-25, baseline operational funding is supporting PF&R emergency services as well as PSR operations, but looking ahead to future years, the city’s general fund forecast is dimming and threatens cuts. With future cuts looming, Portland Fire should not experience cuts in order to fund PSR’s operations, which was considered in the past and will be a future threat until PSR no longer resides within Portland Fire.

I envision changes in how the city supports neighborhood associations, and with district restructuring and transitions in Office of Community & Civic Life, this gives the city opportunities to reengage and reimagine the network of neighborhoods.

I will cultivate relationships and provide compelling data and human impacts to build support from my council colleagues and mayor.

What previous accomplishments show that you are the best pick in your district? Please be specific.

I developed programs that address the impacts of homelessness and provide services for those camping on the streets. As parking enforcement division manager for Portland Bureau of Transportation, I established the derelict RV program and the vehicle inspection team program, both of which are focused on camping in the city’s rights of way. The programs partner with social service providers and law enforcement and operate under a direct engagement model that connects individuals with a range of services. The effect of the programs has been the removal of hundreds of unsafe, inoperable and hazardous vehicles from city streets, and many individuals camping on the city’s streets have been connected to housing and treatment services.

I will apply the same systems thinking and collaborative approaches to addressing homelessness in District 3 with focused efforts on the areas of the district with chronic and larger homeless encampments.

Related: Issues important to Oregon voters

Portland is on track to permit the fewest number of multifamily units in 15 years and remains thousands of units below what’s needed to meet demand. What steps would you take to dramatically and quickly increase the availability of housing?

I will put my focus on where we can provide incentives to developers so that it is financially beneficial for them to invest in projects while meeting the city’s needs for additional housing. I would focus on real ways that the city can reduce barriers and provide services that support development, particularly the targeted development that is priority for City leadership and that will generate economic growth and more expansive housing opportunities. One area of focus for streamlining and reducing barriers is the permitting process, which has long been acknowledged as a challenge for the development community.

To do this quickly requires the urgency of action which would translate to the new City leadership adopting pragmatic approaches to address economic and housing challenges out of the gate. We can’t rely upon old ways of doing business and expect to meet ambitious goals related to city growth.

The next City Council is going to have to make some very difficult decisions regarding what to fund and how. What essential services must the city provide and how should the city sustainably fund them?

It is my priority that the city make good on the obligations for providing core services of water, wastewater, development, public safety, roads and general municipal administration. To fund core services, non-core services and new initiatives need to be reduced or eliminated. This is a fundamental concept in times of scarcity. The city will need to make difficult decisions in the upcoming years, and it will take fortitude and dedication to fiscal stewardship to see us through. I have 20 years of experience setting and executing budget and operational priorities and being accountable to the public for those decisions.

Portlanders have approved many tax measures in the past decade – supporting affordable housing, free preschool programs and green energy initiatives. Are there specific taxes or levies you want eliminated or would choose to not renew? Are there specific taxes or levies you would support creating? Why?

I have been a vocal supporter of a public safety levy if the city’s general fund is insufficient to fund the services adequately, and it does not necessarily need to be an additive tax, as other current taxes could be reduced or eliminated. I would re-evaluate the Preschool for All tax methodology and the funding model for sufficiency and to determine if this will provide sustained funding for the intended purpose. I would analyze the rate of taxation for the Portland Clean Energy Fund and adjust downward if there are not enough eligible applications for the revenue being realized. To that point, there is merit in going back to the voters with an expanded and revised list of potential uses to address climate change such as city infrastructure and offsets to developers building affordable housing units with expanded sustainability investments.

Related: Listen to 'OPB Politics Now'

Do you have any concerns with the changes coming to city elections and city governance? If so, what would you like to see change?

I have concerns with lack of development of interplay and rules of engagement between the city administration (administrator’s office), the mayor and the City Council. The city is test driving the mayor-city administrator relationship currently, but that won’t be a real test until after the new council is in place and power and authority is redistributed. There is much that was not articulated within the charter changes and will be left up to those in power on Jan. 1, 2025 to hash out.

My intention as a new city councilor will be to establish effective working relationships across my peer council members, the mayor and the city administrator’s office. On Day One, my focus will be establishing City Council operating structure, ground rules, and standards for civility and transparency, to set the elected body up for success under the new form of government.

For the five remaining questions, we asked candidates to answer in 50 words or fewer:

Do you favor arresting and jailing people who camp on public property in Portland who refuse repeated offers of shelter, such as the option to sleep in a city-designated tiny home cluster?

Different issues: 1) Jailing will not solve homelessness, exacerbates capacity issues for the county jails, and would strain the justice system to a point of breaking. 2) Arresting law violators provides opportunity to connect those in need with addiction, mental illness, temporary and permanent housing, and skills training services.

Would you vote yes on a proposal to fund hundreds more police officers than the City Council has already authorized? Why or why not? How would the city pay for it?

I support increasing the number of police officers, aligning staffing levels to be consistent with population and business growth. The Portland Police Bureau in 2025 has 108 fewer employees than it did 23 years ago. Funding would come from reduction in non-core city services and identifying new funding streams.

Do you support putting the Clean Energy Fund measure back on the ballot? What, if any changes, would you support?

I support putting the PCEF on the ballot with changes that look at how to expand the allowable uses so that there is greater benefit with a focus on funding public infrastructure, innovations to the transportation system, and to incentivize and offset the costs of building affordable housing more sustainably.

Which would you prioritize: Creation of more protected bike lanes and priority bus lanes or improved surfacing of existing degraded driving lanes?

All are vitally important to our city’s health and I support a multi-modal transportation system. But having to choose, it would be improving our streets because they impact people’s lives broadly from bus travel to supporting economic vitality through moving commerce to arterials for emergency vehicles.

Have the problems impacting downtown Portland received too much or too little attention from current city leaders? Why?

Downtown has not received enough focus, resources or investment. The downtown businesses and property owners have been left to survive with decreased foot traffic, employees not feeling safe coming downtown and a slow recovery. The city needs economic and social programs that rebuild and revitalize the heart of our city.