Portland’s top housing official was put on paid administrative leave this week.
In a letter to city councilors Thursday, City Administrator Michael Jordan explained in vague terms why the executive branch — which is led by Mayor Keith Wilson — decided to sideline Helmi Hisserich.
“Our decision-making was informed by the gravity of this moment, with competing housing, homelessness, and budgetary crises,” Jordan wrote, adding that he wanted to “bring on knowledgeable leadership,” which he called critical to the city’s housing efforts.
Hisserich was hired in early 2024 to lead the Portland Housing Bureau. She previously oversaw Los Angeles’ housing and homelessness programs for 25 years.
The news was first reported by the Portland Mercury.
Former City Commissioner Carmen Rubio, who oversaw the housing bureau last year under the city’s old form of government, said Hisserich was selected for the job precisely for her deep knowledge of housing policy.
“I am thrilled that Helmi Hisserich is bringing her years of expertise to the Portland Housing Bureau,” Rubio said in a press release at the time. “We are still in a housing crisis amid uncertain market conditions, but the City must continue to set ambitious goals and meet these challenges with the urgency they demand.”
It’s not clear why Hisserich appears to have not met city leadership’s expectations.
Four city staff who are close with Hisserich and her office told OPB that she and Wilson have often disagreed over her pace and priorities.
Wilson entered office with an ambitious goal to end unsheltered homelessness, a mission that has centered on him swiftly opening a number of overnight only shelters. Wilson’s plan offers little in the way of permanent housing.
He has pushed for funding outside companies to oversee housing projects, like the Atlanta-based PadSplit, a company that allows property owners to rent out a house by room, rather than altogether. Wilson included $500,000 in this year’s budget to go toward a pilot project to create a “home-sharing” program similar to PadSplit.
The company, which has been accused of having poor accountability measures for its landlords, was the focus of a city-funded trip to Atlanta this summer, which Wilson and Hisserich attended.
Helmi Hisserich, director of the Portland Housing Bureau since 2024, has been placed on leave by Mayor Keith Wilson.
Courtesy of City of Portland
In a September interview with OPB, Hisserich was hesitant to support the company outright, instead backing the larger concept of incentivizing homeowners to rent out empty rooms to people seeking affordable housing.
In an email to OPB Friday, housing spokesperson Gabriel Mathews said Hisserich had directed her office to balance both short-term and long-term solutions to the city’s housing crisis. Mathews said Wilson had asked Hisserich to set up the home-sharing program and to oversee a “Housing Strike Team,” which was focused on removing barriers to housing construction, like fees and permitting delays.
Mathews said Hisserich had also been working on a few programs adopted by City Council, like creating a plan to develop a “social housing” program in Portland — or, city-owned low-income housing — and establishing an overarching housing strategy for the city, as laid out in a proposal by Councilor Candace Avalos.
It’s not clear how long Hisserich will be on paid leave. She currently makes $240,000 per year.
In an email to OPB Friday, Hisserich declined to comment.
News of a bureau director going “on leave” is often the first sign they’re on their way out the door.
Last year, former Water Bureau director Gabe Solmer was told by city managers that she was being fired without cause, to her surprise. She was given 21 days of paid leave to decide whether she wanted to accept the firing or to resign voluntarily, an option that came with six months’ severance. She chose to resign.
This June, then-director of Portland Parks & Recreation Adena Long was put on administrative leave. Less than a month later, the city announced that Long had resigned. It’s not clear if she was given the same options as Solmer.
Michael Buonocore is stepping in as the interim Housing Bureau director. Buonocore was the interim director before Hisserich was hired, and previously was the director of Home Forward, the Portland region’s housing authority.
