PORTLAND, Ore. — A trio of Portland commissioners are backing away from a controversial plan to end the city's participation in the Joint Office of Homeless Services with Multnomah County. Commissioner Dan Ryan's office announced Wednesday that he and commissioners Mingus Mapps and Rene Gonzalez have pulled the termination ordinance from this week's council agenda.
Ryan's office said the move was intended to allow the new mayor and city council to make their own decision or renegotiate the agreement next year. The current commissioners' terms all expire at the end of the year; Tuesday's election will send an all-new roster of elected officials to city hall in January as part of Portland's government overhaul.
The Joint Office is run by Multnomah County but receives about $30 million per year in funding from the city through an intergovernmental agreement. Multiple city commissioners have previously expressed frustration with the county's performance and pushed for the city to reconsider the agreement.
Gonzalez, Mapps and Ryan began the current withdrawal push in mid-October, directing the city attorney to draw up an ordinance to end the partnership after a required 90-day notice period. The ordinance was originally scheduled to come back for a council vote on Thursday.
The withdrawal push came just over three months after the city and county signed an updated agreement that laid out new benchmarks for the county's performance. Mapps, Ryan and Gonzalez argued that the county was failing to fully hit the milestones, but the proposal drew criticism from Mayor Ted Wheeler and fellow Commissioner Carmen Rubio, with Wheeler arguing that it was too soon to for the city to pull out after signing the renewal agreement over the summer.
Homeless service providers also harshly criticized the proposed withdrawal, and Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson called it "disappointing" and "a stunt."
Gonzalez, Mapps and Rubio are all running for mayor, and Ryan is running for a seat on the new city council. Initial election results Tuesday night showed Ryan among the three leading candidates in his district's council race, while Gonzalez, Mapps and Rubio were all trailing behind political outsider Keith Wilson in the mayoral race.
Ballot counting is still in progress and none of those results are final. The next major update to the vote tally is expected Wednesday evening.
