PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – After Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler shook-up city bureau assignments as the city changes its form of government under the new city charter, Commissioner Carmen Rubio is tasked with new responsibilities — namely, tackling Portland’s housing crisis.
Now assigned to the Community and Economic Development Bureau, Rubio says overall the assignment changes “enables us, as commissioners, to really focus on efficiencies, look at streamlining how the work is done together across bureaus and ultimately provide better service to community.”
Portland’s housing bureau was previously under the leadership of Commissioner Dan Ryan, who is still in charge of the city’s Safe Rest Villages for those facing homelessness. Rubio says she’s supportive of Ryan’s work with the villages and is glad they are moving forward.
The city’s work around homelessness and housing comes as Governor Tina Kotek issued three executive orders in January declaring a homeless and housing state of emergency. Commissioner Rubio says City Hall is poised to tackle the issues and is in alignment with Kotek’s mandates.
“I know my colleagues and I are all aligned, I know that we are aligned with the other elected officials in the region and the governor and that, to me, is the bright spot in this and it makes me feel like we’re all rowing in the same direction,” Rubio said.
She adds that Portland is in need of affordable housing and “we need to have the ability for every person that wants to live in Portland be able to afford to live in Portland.”
As Portland faces challenges from homelessness to empty storefronts, Rubio says amid concerns of reviving downtown foot traffic, “activation is the key here, we’re big proponents of doing what we can to activate our public spaces, bring that foot traffic back into downtown.”
Rubio believes Portland will make progress on the homelessness and housing fronts in 2023 — noting that the governor “believes in Portland,” and is an “active partner,” working with Wheeler.
“There are still opportunities to really utilize the buildings that we have downtown, opportunities to catalyze small businesses and make sure we keep that spirit that Portland has…at the forefront,” Rubio said. “We’re going to bring back downtown.”