Progress Portland

Episode 20: Lisa Freeman, District 4 Candidate

You can’t really understand a problem until you start to interact with it…In complex environments, your analysis will never be complete until you start doing something It’s better to be 80% right at the right time than 100% right too late.”
- Lisa Freeman
Lisa Freeman has a very particular set of skills, and she's not afraid to use them (sorry, couldn't help myself). She's an expert at managing political transitions, a skill she has practiced in countries like Afghanistan and Nigeria. We go deep into her experience and how it applies to our own transition here at home. She's a fascinating candidate, don't miss this episode!

Episode 19: Allison Gilliland, Dublin City Councilor

Allison Gilliland joins Tim for a conversation over the internets from Ireland, where she is currently a City Councilor. Allison was a speaker at a recent event hosted by North Star Civic Foundation to talk about Ireland's switchover to ranked-choice voting and their long history of district representation (they have SIXTY-THREE City Councilors!) One correction, Gilliland misstates that we have 13 districts when the new system has 4 districts and 12 city councilors. 

Episode 18: Tim and Kip on the state of the election

Hey everyone, we're back without a guest this week to talk about what we're seeing so far this election, what traits we think make good candidates, and efforts underway to save Portland Street Response. Check out our website for more information, and tell your friends about the podcast! 

Episode 17: Reverend Nat West, District 2 candidate

"I've had a lot of conversations since I started thinking about running, and part of the joy of being a part-time bus driver is that I full up all my other time with meetings, and talking to people in the community...I think it's really all about the authenticity about what I learned over the years at Reverend Nat's: do things I want to do, make ciders I want to make, talk about business, talk about Portland in the way I want to do it." - Rev. Nat 
Rev. Nat West, fresh off of closing his cider business and becoming a TriMet bus driver, talks about his campaign for City Council. West has a long history in the city, and his website has an impressively detailed and nuanced look at how he thinks the city should move forward. Kip and Tim and Nat discuss the 2020 protests and the police response, how the city neglects small business, and why he's decided to throw his hat in the ring.

Ep 16: Shannon Singleton, County District 2 candidate

"When we end somebody's homelessness, we don't end their poverty. So we really need to continue to look at ways to keep people inside once they are there, and increase their economic income whether they are on a permanent subsidy like Social Security or disability income. How do we insure that they are in a subsidized place so that they can stay for the long term?"  - Shannon Singleton
Did you know there's a Multnomah County election coming up in May? You might know that D.A. Mike Schmidt is up for re-election, but the entire slate of County Commissioner slots are also up for grabs. Shannon Singleton has an incredible background as a social worker, leader of Oregon’s Racial Justice Council, Executive Director of the SAFE Shelter, and much, much more experience that would make her a stellar representative of progressive values in the County. Listen in, we get into the weeds. 

Ep 15: Candace Avalos, District 1 Candidate

"The way [City Council] is structured, it allows them to disregard the community's voice. And so I'm hoping that now, with this new form of government, not only will you have your representative in your backyard, you'll have a much closer connection to them. But also they're going to be more policy-driven, and so that's where the community's voice is most important." - Candace Avalos
Candace Avalos has a long history of engagement in Portland politics as a community advocate and grassroots organizer. She's a self-described "Blacktina", the daughter of Black Americans from southern Virginia and Guatemalan immigrants who immigrated in the 1970s. She's currently Executive Director at Verde, a nonprofit dedicated to building environmental wealth through social enterprise. Kip and Tim talk to her about her work at Verde, her experience working for police accountability, her mission to visit every one of Portland's 200+ parks, and so much more. 

Episode 14: District Attorney Mike Schmidt

"This old idea of, 'We'll just double the penalty, triple the penalty - one time you're out." Nobody knows what the penalties are, much less the people who we're prosecuting for a lot of these crimes. They're not tracking the decisions being made in the Legislative session. So we fool ourselves into thinking, "oh, I'm going to say these tough on crime things, they'll read the papers and sit down and do a cost benefit analysis and say, "Crime no longer pays, I'm going to get out of this industry." That's nonsense."
- Mike Schmidt
We are so excited to bring you this interview with Portland's own progressive district attorney Mike Schmidt. Mike is not alone in his data-driven policies that result in real change that is about reform instead of revenge - he's one of a handful of D.A.s like George Gascon in Los Angeles and Jason Williams in New Orleans. And now he's up for reelection in May 2024, and he's facing a loud and angry opposition that doesn't understand his approach. In our interview, we discuss the awful billboards around town, the obvious but effective solution for catalytic converter theft, and Mike's rough few years as our new D.A. 

Episode 13: Robin Ye, District 3 candidate

“Working people, average Portlanders, are left to wonder who exactly our government is working for when certain politicians seem to be listening more to the largest corporations or the wealthy few who are really accustomed to dominating politics through their campaign contributions…we deserve a government that works for all of us, no matter how far we live from City Hall.” – Robin Ye
 
Robin Ye was Chief of Staff for Oregon State Representative Khanh Pham – the first Vietnamese American elected to state government. In this conversation, Tim talks to Robin about his passion for improving Portland’s air quality, the “epidemic of traffic violence” on the East Side, and his priorities for the new City Council.

Episode 12: Steph Routh, District 1 Candidate (re-play of Episode 2)

Hey everyone, this is a re-play of our interview with Steph Routh, City Council candidate for District 1. She was our very first interview, and with her campaign launch happening today we thought it was worth a re-listen.
We talk about what makes the East Side different, building consensus when things are contentious, and, of course, housing and houselessness. 

Episode 11: Timur Ender, District 1 candidate

"I'm not sure if people realize this, but East Portlanders have about 10 years lower life expectancy than the rest of the city. And that's due to traffic crashes, gun violence, historic disinvestment. And one of the reasons I jumped in this race is this is the first time we will have politically drawn boundries that are accountable to those health outcomes." - Timur Ender
Through his experience working with PBOT and his years of living there with his family, Timur has an intimate knowledge of the streets of the Eastside. He would clearly be a passionate advocate for his community. Our conversation ranged from supporting small business owners to kids walking in ditches, Timur's year living in Turkey and defending immigrants along the Texas border.