Transparency and Housing Top Zimmerman’s Priority List

[February 7, 2026]

At a Hillsdale “town hall” on January 27, District 4 Councilor Eric Zimmerman outlined his priorities and accomplishments for a small group of about a dozen people at the Ida B. Wells library.

Zimmerman—along with Mitch Green, Olivia Clark, and representatives from District 3—is up for re-election in November. The initial two-year terms for these districts are meant to stagger elections and reduce the risk of complete turnover in any one election year.

Several themes emerged during the hour-and-a-half discussion: transparency, prioritizing district perspectives, and addressing the issues most important to the city’s vitality, particularly housing.

Before a Q & A session, Zimmerman highlighted the things he’s proudest of from his first year in office:

• Using his own office funds to clean up I-405 corridor (in partnership with Olivia Clark)

• Supporting Mayor Keith Wilson’s plan to expand the number of overnight shelter beds.

• Encouraging new housing development by waiving certain fees charged to developers and easing design review requirements.

• Passing a new budget transparency ordinance, a new process starting this year with the Parks Bureau, which will require more transparent and detailed reporting going into budget season.

• Reversing PBOT’s expansion of paid parking meter hours in downtown Portland.

On federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in Portland, Zimmerman was alarmed but pragmatic. The use of federal force, he said, “has been the most un-American stuff I've ever seen,” acknowledging that the issue is emotional for him. In the face of a threatened mass federal deployment last September, however, he urged patience rather than escalation, an approach he thinks helped avoid a much worse situation.

He expects that City Council will pass a ban on face masks for law enforcement, but cautions that such a measure will be largely symbolic, as the city lacks authority over federal agencies.

Whether the topic is mitigating the impact of homeless shelters on neighborhoods or evaluating PBOT programs, he wants to focus on the needs of District 4 constituents. When a funding source emerges for the Sidewalk Improvement and Paving Program (SIPP) (https://www.hillsdalenewspdx.com/post/sw-slated-for-surge-in-ped-bike-safety-improvements), he promised to make sure that District 4 (along with District 1) remains the priority.

This emphasis on local perspectives contrasts with his District 4 colleague Mitch Green, whose initiatives have often addressed broader, non-district constituencies, such as proposals related to the city’s ties to the Israeli military and a foie gras ban.

On the Rose Lane bus-only lane through Hillsdale’s business district, he said he’s “well aware” of local frustrations and is working on a plan to press PBOT for a hyper-local review of whether or not the lanes are working as intended.

He was also optimistic that he could get increased traffic patrols during sewer work on Burlingame Ave. in response to comments that drivers are creating unsafe conditions there.

Zimmerman stressed that downtown economic activity must rebound for the city to be successful.  Portland needs to be the “city that says ‘yes’ to good ideas,” he said. “We should be looking for companies who want to build headquarters here, we should support the Blazers.”

He wants to foster conditions that allow the market to create new housing downtown, noting that the diversity of housing costs in the Pearl District and South Waterfront has helped those neighborhoods recover more quickly. He cautioned, however, that converting office space to housing is not the solution.

Under current consideration is what to do with more than $20 million in unspent housing funds (as of February 6, even more was found, bringing the total to $106 million). Zimmerman said he is working on a proposal to use some of that money to “buy down” the Area Median Income (AMI) threshold used to determine who qualifies for highly affordable housing from 60 percent to 40 percent, expanding eligibility and helping fill vacant units.

Our new form of government is in its infancy, he said, and there are kinks to work out, including keeping the body non-partisan. “No political party comes into my office and tells me how to vote on anything. That's not the case for about half of my colleagues,” he said, making a reference to the six councilors who formed a self-described “progressive caucus.”

Four of those six councilors, including District 4's Mitch Green, are members of the Democratic Socialists of America. In July, Willamette Week reporter Sophie Peel wrote: "Together, the four councilors have raised the DSA’s agenda more frequently and more successfully than that of any other interest group in the city."

“Governing should be exciting occasionally, but boring normally. I think we have that a little bit backwards right now,” Zimmerman said.

—Valeurie Friedman

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