Gov. Tina Kotek has established a new task force to address the biggest issues facing downtown Portland.
The Portland Central City Task Force will focus on addressing crime, homelessness, trash problems, and tax issues that create barriers to doing business in Portland. Kotek will co-chair the group alongside Dan McMillan, CEO of The Standard insurance company, which has a massive office building in downtown Portland.
Portland haslagged behind other similarly-sized cities to recover from the financial impacts of the COVID pandemic. While the city has established its own programs to hasten recovery, downtown Portland has been slow to attract businesses to its vacant office buildings or see a return to pre-pandemic visitor rates.
Portland’s economic challenges and problems with unsheltered homelessness were central to the 2022 governor’s race. Kotek hasexpressed her disappointment with Portland’s response to these crises since entering office.
Kotek said that Portland’s economic challenges serve as a “bellwether” for the future prosperity for all of Oregon.
“Growing pains turned into crises, exacerbated by a global pandemic, and now concerns about Portland have become a statewide economic issue,” Kotek said in a statement.
The task force will meet monthly to discuss solutions to the city’s problems. The group, whose members have not been finalized yet, will present final recommendations on how to best address these issues during the Oregon Business Plan Leadership Summit in December.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler established a recovery plan for downtown Portland on the heels of the pandemic called Portland’s Central City Recovery Plan. The project includes investments in police, homeless services, parks and public events.
It’s not clear whether Wheeler has been involved in Kotek’s task force plan, or whether he will participate in its work. Wheeler’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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