As a moderate voter in Portland’s District 3, I was surprised and saddened to hear of Councilor Tae Chong’s decision not to seek reelection in November. I do, however, understand his frustration at the way things are going with regard to the governance of the city of Portland. I fear the City Council will lose its lone voice of moderation.

I couldn’t agree more with his thoughts about the Green New Deal actually impeding multifamily apartment housing development in Portland. The Green New Deal winds up hurting low- and moderate-income families in our city, the very group of people it purports to help. I don’t see why a developer would want to build a multifamily apartment building in Portland. Developers can build a condo and get a market rate of return, instead of having to go in front of a rent control board every time the city raises taxes and the owner needs to raise rents to cover the cost. Why bother?

I believe Councilor Chong is correct on the other point he cites for not running – trying to govern our city through a continuous stream of referendum questions on Portland ballots. With referendum questions, there is no public input or debate and the City Council is potentially hamstrung for five years to change a referendum result that may result in unintended detrimental consequences for the city.

Portland was fortunate to have Councilor Chong’s input during the past three years. It will be Portland’s loss when his current term ends.

Samuel Rosenthal
Portland

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