PORTLAND, Ore. — Earlier this month, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler introduced a new proposal to deal with homeless camps — one his office determined would be safe from legal challenges, as the city's current daytime ban on homeless camps remains unenforceable due to an ongoing court case.
This compromise ordinance was supposed to come up for discussion during a Portland City Council meeting this week, perhaps even go to a vote. But a curveball from Commissioner Rene Gonzalez upset those plans, and introduced the possibility that the city will go with a much harsher enforcement regime — one that would also give the mayor authority to unilaterally set homelessness policy.
It's a proposal with extra significance as three sitting members of the current city council, including Gonzalez, hope to be elected mayor when Portland's government undergoes a significant sea change later this year.
With homelessness ordinances hinging on federal court precedent, at least for the time being, Wheeler's original proposal stuck much more closely to the letter of those major court decisions. The ordinance would allow the city to punish homeless people for camping on public property with a maximum fine of $100 or 7 days in jail, but only if there is shelter available and they refuse to accept it.
But if Gonzalez has his way, ordinances governing homeless camps will no longer need city council approval at all. The mayor or a designee would be able to set the rules as they please, taking it on as an executive power, as long as they comply with state and federal law.
Initially, Gonzalez's plan would also have extended the maximum jail sentence for unlawful camping from Wheeler's 7 days to 30 days in jail — and penalties would have become even steeper depending on the outcome of a pending Supreme Court case. However, he walked those steeper penalties back on Friday in hopes of gaining more support on the council.
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Gonzalez will need three votes to pass his ordinance, and it's possible that he'll have the numbers to do it. Aside from Gonzalez's own vote, Commissioner Dan Ryan has indicated that he will likely vote in favor.
Commissioner Mingus Mapps, another mayoral candidate, has said he's still reviewing the plan — setting him up as the potential swing vote.
Mayor Ted Wheeler told Oregon Public Broadcasting that he believes homelessness policy should be decided by council, not a single authority like the mayor's office. But if Gonzalez's proposal were to pass, it would give Wheeler immediate power to craft his own camping rules, perhaps making the idea more attractive.
The last commissioner, also a candidate for mayor, is Carmen Rubio. She's been clear that she'll vote no on Gonzalez's plan, although that was before the commissioner revised it to tone down penalties.
"Commissioner Gonzalez put a different approach on the table that is inhumane and will no doubt be immediately legally challenged," Rubio said in a statement. "It criminalizes homelessness — without an opportunity to choose a path toward treatment — and that's not what Portlanders want."
Portland City Council is expected to discuss the proposals from both Wheeler and Gonzalez next Wednesday.