Alex Zielinski
Alex Zielinski covers Portland city politics. Prior to joining OPB, Alex covered city government for the Portland Mercury. She’s also worked as a journalist in San Antonio, Texas, and Washington, D.C. Alex grew up among the California redwoods and graduated from the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication. Send Alex story ideas at azielinski@opb.org.
Latest Stories
Portland’s $32 million transportation budget gap could lead to layoffs, street maintainance and safety delays
Years of historic revenue shortfalls have left the Portland Bureau of Transportation with a gaping $32 million hole in its operating budget and leaders say beloved community events, critical safety projects, and dozens of jobs are on the chopping block.
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Jo Ann Hardesty accepts $680,000 to settle leak lawsuit against Portland Police union, 2 officers
Former Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty has accepted $680,000 to settle a lawsuit against the police union and two officers for sharing information that falsely implicated her of committing a hit-and-run.
Gov. Kotek retracts $2.7 million for homelessness response from Multnomah County, citing slow rollout
Multnomah County’s failure to swiftly move homeless people into housing has a cost. Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek announced Wednesday that she’s retracting state dollars promised to the state’s most populous county to address homelessness.
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Outgoing Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler has a chance to lead differently. Will he take it?
In deciding not to run for a third term in office, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler opened the door to a new opportunity: a chance to lead the city without the political pressure of a reelection campaign steering his decision-making and dominating his calendar.
Portland mayor Ted Wheeler will not seek third term
Ted Wheeler has been Portland's mayor since he was elected in 2016, then reelected in 2020. He announced Wednesday that he will not seek another term in 2024.
Portland’s new government will include more administrators, better accountability
Portland is barreling toward a historic new chapter in city government set to begin in 2025. In the past month, the city’s finalized new district maps and people have begun announcing their candidacy for a seat on the new representative council body. Now, the city’s announced its plan to reorganize city bureaus under a new management system.
Portland City Council takes another look at banning public drug consumption
Portland City Council will advance a plan to penalize public drug consumption next week, despite legal barriers to doing so.
Audit finds internal flaws in Portland-area homeless service agency
A report by the county auditor’s office released Wednesday illustrates how the Joint Office of Homeless Services' systemic problems have the largest impact on contracted homeless service providers.
Portland’s new voting districts, near approval, could reshape power
A City Council-appointed commission all but approved a final plan Wednesday night to divide Portland into four geographic voting districts. A final vote Monday is expected to kick off a particularly unique election season.
Portland moves toward adopting new police oversight system while City Council is lukewarm about changes
Nearly three years after Portlanders overwhelmingly voted to establish a new system to address police officer misconduct, the details of the new oversight body are coming into focus.