PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler has shuffled bureau assignments for the city’s five commissioners, pulling some commissioners from longtime posts and giving Portland’s newest commissioner a challenging workload.
In Portland, the mayor can change bureau assignments for the four elected commissioners and himself. Wheeler announced the bureau reassignments on Wednesday.
The mayor said he chose the new bureau assignments for 2018 so each commissioner has bureaus that are connected.
“Whether it’s improving planning and permitting, enhancing public safety, or maintaining critical infrastructure, the idea is to group like bureaus together under a single commissioner to better align work in important subject areas,” Wheeler said.
Wheeler retained control of several key city bureaus, including police, housing, and development services.
Last year, Wheeler notably took the Bureau of Emergency Communication from commissioner Amanda Fritz, after a damning 911 report.
This year, he took Portland Parks and Recreation from Fritz, who was first assigned the bureau under former mayor Charlie Hales in 2013. The department’s director Mike Abbate resigned in May 2018.
Commissioner Nick Fish will take over the parks department. He will no longer lead the Portland Water Bureau as Wheeler gave that bureau to Fritz.
Portland’s newest commissioner, Chloe Eudaly, was given the challenging task of leading the Portland Bureau of Transportation.
Commissioner Dan Saltzman, who will retire in December, previously oversaw the transportation bureau. Saltzman will lead the bureau of emergency communications, emergency management and fire and rescue through the end of the year.
Saltzman will be replaced by one of two city council candidates facing off in the November general election: Jo Ann Hardesty or Loretta Smith.
Full list of bureau assignments:
MAYOR TED WHEELER
- Portland Police Bureau
- Portland Housing Bureau
- Bureau of Planning and Sustainability
- Prosper Portland
- Bureau of Development Services
- City Budget Office
- City Attorney
- Government Relations
- Office of Management & Finance
- Office of Community Technology
- Liaison Responsibilities
- Travel Portland
- Regional Disaster Preparedness Organization – Policy Committee (with Commissioner Saltzman)
- Home Forward
- A Home For Everyone (with Commissioner Eudaly)
- Visitor Development Fund Board (VDF Board)
- Local Public Safety Coordinating Council (with Commissioner Saltzman)
- Mt. Hood Cable Regulatory Commission
- Portland Community Media
- Human Rights Commission (with Commissioner Fritz)
- League of Oregon Cities (with Commissioner Fritz)
- Portland Children’s Levy (with Commissioner Saltzman)
- Royal Rosarians
- Portland Commission on Disability (with Commissioner Fritz)
COMMISSIONER EUDALY
- Office Community & Civic Life
- Portland Bureau of Transportation
Liaison Responsibilities
- A Home for Everyone (with Mayor Wheeler)
- Regional Arts & Culture Council
- Portland’5 Centers for the Arts
- Public Involvement Advisory Committee
- New Portlanders Policy Council
- Metro Policy Advisory Committee (MPAC)
- Multnomah County Animal Control
- Multnomah Youth Commission
- Portland Streetcar, Inc.
- Portland Mall Management, Inc.
- Portland Aerial Tram Board
- Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation (JPACT)
COMMISSIONER FISH
- Bureau of Environmental Services
- Portland Parks & Recreation
Liaison Responsibilities
- Office of Film & Video
- Venture Portland
- Metropolitan Exposition and Recreation Commission (MERC)
- Elders in Action
- Portland Utility Board (PUB)
- Portland Parks Foundation
- Portland Parks Board
- Pioneer Courthouse Square
COMMISSIONER FRITZ
- Portland Water Bureau
- Bureau of Hydroelectric Power
- Office of Equity and Human Rights
Liaison Responsibilities
- League of Oregon Cities (with Mayor Wheeler)
- Metro Policy Advisory Committee (MPAC)
- Fair & Moral Claims Committee
- Portland Utility Board (PUB)
- Human Rights Commission (with Mayor Wheeler)
- Visitor Development Fund Board (VDF Board)
- Rose Festival Foundation
- Portland Commission on Disability (with Mayor Wheeler)
- Oversight Responsibilities
- Open & Accountable Elections program
COMMISSIONER SALTZMAN
- Portland Fire & Rescue
- Portland Bureau of Emergency Management
- Bureau of Emergency Communications
- Fire & Police Disability & Retirement
Oversight Responsibilities
- Portland Children’s Levy (with Mayor Wheeler)
- The Gateway Center
Liaison Responsibilities
- BOEC User Board
- Local Public Safety Coordinating Council (with Mayor Wheeler)
- Regional Disaster Preparedness Organization – Policy Committee (with Mayor Wheeler)
- Fair & Moral Claims Committee