‘OPB Politics Now’: Why Portland’s mayor and Multnomah County disagree on homelessness data

Portland Mayor Keith Wilson entered office last year, promising to end unsheltered homelessness in the city. He opened several overnight shelters. And on most nights, the shelters are full. Wilson sees this as evidence that homelessness is decreasing.

But the actual evidence — the numbers we have — say there are thousands more people sleeping on the streets each night compared to when Wilson entered the scene.

We are going to explain why once again officials from city of Portland and Multnomah County disagree and why the effort to quantify who is without housing is so fraught. Plus we’ll discuss the Portland arts tax and some recent OPB reporting as well. Find the show anywhere you get your podcasts.