Portland is one of only two cities of its size to elect its city council at-large, which means that huge swathes of the city lack direct representation in city hall. This leads to highly inequitable outcomes for different parts of the cities and also a fair bit of dysfunction.
We (the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods) are actually a function of this form of government. We are one of seven district coalitions in Portland that act as a stopgap measure of sorts to provide some access to civic resources for the people of Portland that might otherwise be provided by a district representative.
We have been advocating for a change in our form of government for a long time and have been happy to participate in the recent upswell of interest in it. We have appeared on television and spoke at the City Club of Portland’s launch event for their comprehensive report on this issue (their findings? it’s a dumb system.)
But we also made this cat video to break down the basic of why Portland’s Form of Government Needs to Change.