Hello again friends.

Last week an endorsement questionnaire asked if I thought Portland was dying or broken. I know this is a real feeling many people have about our city after everything we’ve been through since the pandemic, but NO - Portland is not dying! I have so much hope for our future! And not just because of the lovely bike ride I took on Friday to Sellwood or the great food cart meal I had downtown on Sunday or the bus adventure to Powell’s we took with our kids on Tuesday. My hope is grounded in part from my experience working on and seeing real results and progress on some of our city’s most complex problems.

Did you know that gun violence is down over 35% since the peak of Portland’s crisis in 2022? This was the frontpage story in the Oregonian the day before I started my job with the City’s Community Safety Division (CSD) in January 2022 - a year of record-breaking homicide numbers. Numbers that represent sons, brothers, daughters, sisters, mothers, fathers, and friends who were tragically taken from our community. Numbers that tell us our black and brown neighbors are at exceptionally higher risk of being victims of gun violence than white Portlanders. Numbers that tell us: This is a crisis and we must take bold action to address it. 

Within 6 months of my time at CSD, the Mayor had declared a Gun Violence Emergency and I was asked to play a leading role in the effort. I used the lessons I learned working in dynamic environments overseas to quickly get funding out to BIPOC-led grassroots organizations who had never received City funding before. Their work focused on providing specialized outreach and services to our neighbors most at risk of involvement in gun violence. City funding for proven Community Violence Intervention (CVI) programs were at an all-time high, as were place-based investments in the specific intersections, blocks, and parks most impacted by gun violence. The all-time high investment in these programs was still a drop in the bucket compared to our overall public safety budget. And these efforts worked. Gun violence is down.

Do we still have work to do? Yes. Gun violence is still worse in Portland than it was in 2019 before the crisis started, when many cities around the nation also saw violence increase. Every gun death is a tragedy and we must continue the commitment and investment in ending the violence. But do we know what to do? Yes! The Oregon Alliance for Gun Safety held a training for candidates last week that reinforced what I know about the solutions to gun violence: 

Gun violence is a public health problem.

Gun violence cannot be solved through law enforcement alone.

We reduce gun violence by providing outreach and services to people and places most impacted by the problem.

Credible and compassionate community messengers are the best violence interrupters.

Investing in prevention is cost effective.

This is how we interrupt the cycle of violence and keep people safe. This means our next City Council must continue to invest in Portland’s Office of Violence Prevention as an essential piece of our community safety ecosystem. I have done this before and I will do it again as your City Councilor.

Still reading? Thank you! Because it’s Manager Jenn here with two more updates before you go!

1. SAVE THE DATE! Saturday September 7th is the official launch of our Field Campaign. More details to come, but we have something really special in the works. For those of you who keep asking how you can help - now is your time to shine. Join us for the day or just an hour - there will be plenty to do, I promise - plus fun, snacks, balloons….

2. Endorsement Update! Lisa is honored to have earned endorsements from several trusted organizations and individuals (you can see the full list here). This week we’re excited to highlight recent endorsements from Former Oregon State Senator Akasha Lawrence Spence and Portland: Neighbors Welcome.

Portland: Neighbors Welcome is dedicated to ensuring that every present and future Portlander can find and keep a safe, stable home they can afford. You can read what they had to say about Lisa on their website. Here’s a clip: