Eli Arnold
QUESTION 1: How will you engage with voters in SW Portland if elected? Please provide specifics on how your constituents will be able to communicate with you and how you will communicate with us.
CANDIDATE RESPONSE:
I intend to maintain a rotation through our neighborhoods. You'll be able to find me circulating through the neighborhood association meetings and also appearing for a coffee or beer meetup opportunity in a neighborhood each week. I will also continue to produce short videos, shared on social media, on issues we're grappling with and how I'm approaching it.
QUESTION 2: The transition to a purely legislative city council with geographical representation is a major shift from the current structure in which councilors oversee city bureaus. Under the old government structure, concerns about transportation or traffic circulation issues would be addressed to the commissioner in charge of PBOT; concerns about parks would go to the commissioner overseeing the Parks bureau; etc. Given the shift away from administrative powers on the council, how will you make sure constituent concerns are addressed?
CANDIDATE RESPONSE:
I see myself as a troubleshooter. I will have a privileged position from which to bring concerns to relevant departments.
QUESTION 3: What role should neighborhood associations play in fostering residents’ engagement with city government and elected officials?
CANDIDATE RESPONSE:
I believe the associations are useful aggregators and repositories of neighborhood specific issues. They provide an organized way for members of the neighborhood to get involved and I believe they will be crucial to keeping representatives up to date.
QUESTION 4: District 4 is large and covers many neighborhoods. What issues do you think are particularly important for SW Portland neighborhoods (not downtown)? What proposals would you make to address these issues?
CANDIDATE RESPONSE:
Southwest Portland has a lot of particular transportation needs. I think these need to be addressed by working with the neighborhood associations to identify priorities and then bringing those priorities to relevant operations staff. I also know that Southwest Portland has insufficient police staffing. There are usually only two to three police officers responsible for that entire quadrant of the city on any given shift which means a single significant call ends the possibility of rapid response in southwest as officers will have to come from downtown or the east side. We've got to fix our staffing situation and achieve a more appropriate police to population ratio.
QUESTION 5: How do you plan to work with your District 4 colleagues to ensure productive outcomes on district issues?
CANDIDATE RESPONSE:
I see the new council positions as spokespeople. It is no longer possible to "win," so we need to accept that there will be a variety of views and respect that each person on council represents a segment of Portlanders. I believe the three District 4 representatives need to negotiate internally to come to consensus so we can provide a unified front when negotiating cross-district for District 4 priorities.
QUESTION 6: Why should voters in SW Portland give you a vote?
CANDIDATE RESPONSE:
I'm the only candidate who has enforced our gun laws, written a mental health hold, arrested a fentanyl dealer, and who has spent years working in homeless camps. The nuanced understanding of on the ground realities will be a real asset when council is attempting to draft policy to create tangible change.