Six council seats are on the ballot this year, in Districts 3 and 4, as part of the city’s staggered election cycle. Thirty-four candidates are running in the two districts. The ten candidates highlighted at neighborhood locations include all six incumbents seeking reelection and four challengers identified among the leading contenders by fundraising and endorsements.

In District 3, Councilor Tiffany Koyama Lane chose the Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard and 43rd Avenue intersection, where 15-year-old Fallon Smart was killed in 2017 by a driver accused of fleeing the scene. Koyama Lane said the location underscores the need for safe routes throughout Portland. She has pushed to strengthen the city’s Vision Zero effort to prevent traffic deaths and serious injuries, backed expanded restrictions on right turns at red lights, and supported directing a quarter of a new transportation utility fee to sidewalks and safety projects.

Councilor Angelita Morillo pointed to Ankeny Rainbow Road, a public plaza at Southeast 28th Avenue and Ankeny Street, as an example of a welcoming shared space. Morillo, the council’s youngest member, has advocated for a more progressive council and is sponsoring a proposal to expand Portland’s tax on companies whose chief executives earn far more than their typical workers. She said policy ideas need dependable funding to become reality.

Councilor Steve Novick chose Caseus Diem, a cheese shop on Southeast Division Street, to illustrate his vision of a lively, walkable commercial district with good transit and neighborhood businesses. He wants more parts of Portland to develop similar character and says the city should address property crime and rules he views as burdensome to small businesses to encourage investment.

Challenger Kellie Torres, a Portland Parks Bureau official and former chief of staff to Councilor Dan Ryan, selected Lutz Tavern on Woodstock Boulevard. She said conversations with neighbors there about city problems and feeling unrepresented helped prompt her campaign. Torres has said she would focus on livability, including issues such as potholes, dangerous crossings, homelessness and vacant storefronts.

In District 4, challenger Eli Arnold chose the Midtown Beer Garden, a downtown food-cart pod on Southwest Harvey Milk Street. Arnold, a Portland police officer, said the site’s transformation from an empty lot into a busy gathering place shows how activity can help improve a location. He has argued that a stronger local economy should be central to revitalizing downtown and the wider city, and has criticized the council’s inability to find common ground.

Councilor Olivia Clark selected Chapman Square near City Hall. She praised downtown’s parks, cultural institutions and bookstores, while acknowledging the ongoing problems of empty storefronts, unused office space and a weak economy. Clark said she wants to continue work on basic city services, including road maintenance, asset management and protecting funding for fire and police.

Jamey Evenstar, a challenger and former city policy adviser and council chief of staff, chose the intersection of Northwest Fifth Avenue and Couch Street in Old Town. She described the neighborhood’s challenges as interconnected, including homelessness, drug addiction, a shortage of affordable housing and struggling small businesses. If elected, she said, she would favor rental assistance and publicly owned housing development, and would explore turning vacant storefronts into short-term spaces for artists and other small businesses.

Councilor Mitch Green chose the Lighthouse Restaurant and Bar in Linnton, near the Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub along the Willamette River. The industrial corridor stores about 90% of Oregon’s liquid fuel supply. Green said he ran in part to change land-use decisions that leave communities vulnerable to a major ecological disaster. He has supported efforts to reduce fuel storage at the hub over time and strengthen protections against earthquake risks. He also wants to revisit Portland’s water and sewer rates.

Challenger Jeremy Beausoleil Smith selected the BPA Road Trail in Forest Park, where a proposed Portland General Electric transmission project could affect hundreds of mature trees. He has opposed the project and made climate justice and protection of green space central to his campaign. Beausoleil Smith also supports a proposed temporary pause on new data centers, arguing that their resource demands could add to utility costs and compete with other city priorities. He has called for stronger rental protections and more publicly owned, mixed-income housing.

Councilor Eric Zimmerman chose the Interstate 405 underpass at Northwest Johnson Street and 16th Avenue, between the Pearl and Northwest districts. He said the area has improved since the city expanded overnight shelter and enforced its public camping ban, while cautioning that problems remain. Zimmerman wants to protect neighborhood livability programs from budget cuts and encourage construction of more housing, saying the lack of new homes has made the Northwest District unaffordable for many younger residents.

The candidates’ chosen locations put neighborhood conditions at the center of the races, but their policy prescriptions differ: some emphasize enforcement and basic services, while others focus on tenant protections, public investment, corporate taxes or environmental safeguards. Voters in Districts 3 and 4 will decide which approaches shape the next City Council.