Councilor Candace Avalos

2026 District 1 Budget Survey Help inform the priorities of Councilor Avalos as she advocates for East Portland's needs in the City's next budget.

By filling out the survey, you’ll also have the opportunity to be entered into a drawing for a $100 grocery gift card.

Find the survey here:

East Portland: you have one week left to make your priorities heard in my District 1 Budget Survey! Your input will inform the policies and programs I’ll fight for in our upcoming budget.

Already submitted a response? Tell your friends and family to fill the survey out, too!

My amendment to fund deportation defense and legal aid didn't pass on Wednesday, but that doesn't mean I'll stop pushing our City to support the frontline organizations working to keep families together.

‘It’s all different without her’: Albany teens grapple with mom’s immigration detainment The January arrest of Maria Trinidad Loya Medina has left her teenage children largely on their own as their dad recovers from a stroke and surgery.

This Oregon mom was the primary caretaker for her husband, who is recovering from a recent stroke. ICE kidnapped her. Now, her two teenage kids are struggling to keep up with school, caring for their dad, and their mother's immigration case.

This is why we need to fund legal aid.

New Preschool for All Data Challenges Idea That Wealthy People Are Fleeing County In the years since 2021, when Multnomah County began collecting its Preschool for All tax, much has been made about the effect the program may be having on county income demographics. County data from...

The county has limited data about who’s paying its Preschool for All tax, which only went into effect in 2021. Still, some seized on a 14% dip in high-income filers between 2021 and ‘22 to suggest the tax drove wealthy ppl away. New data complicates that narrative.

Oregon’s New Path to Inclusionary Housing: Fully Funded and Flexible | Sightline Institute An environmental justice champion led the push to end counterproductive, unfunded mandates.

Yesterday, Oregon's legislature voted to ban underfunded inclusionary zoning from the Portland metro area.

It's a big turnaround, and I hope a path forward for other states too.

www.sightline.org/2026/03/05/o...

Thank you to Historic Parkrose for hosting this discussion, and for all they do to advocate for our community!

This was just one conversation in a longer engagement process, so there will be more opportunities to offer your input about the Parkrose ESD. Your priorities for an ESD are for you to decide, based on our community’s needs here in Parkrose.

Our conversation spoke to a broader vision of public safety that goes beyond emergency response – it's about activating vacant lots, improving lighting, cleaning up our sidewalks and streets – creating communities that feel cared for.

Councilor Avalos smiling with Historic Parkrose Executive Director Hector Marquez.

Charles McGee, Director of Operations at Workplace Change, speaks at the Parkrose ESD Town Hall.

A group of participants at the Parkrose ESD Town Hall.

A City staffer gives a presentation on ESDs.

We heard about public safety concerns and broken windows – but we also heard concerns about the potential of adding to the over policing and criminalization of East Portland communities.

Councilor Avalos stands with representatives of Historic Parkrose, the City of Portland, and Parkrose neighbors at a town hall to discuss the proposed Parkrose Enhanced Services District.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to supporting small businesses and local neighborhood livability. At the Parkrose Enhanced Services District (ESD) Town Hall with Historic Parkrose, we had a rich and nuanced conversation about what an ESD can and should do for Parkrose.

Current year forecast presentation can be found here:

Portland City Council Work Session FY Expenditure Forecast & Spring TAO 03/05/26 YouTube video by eGov PDX

Good afternoon, Portland! We have another work session today - this one is on the FY 25-26 Expenditure Forecast & Spring Technical Adjustment Ordinance (TAO). If TAO sounds familiar, it's because we just debated the Fall TAO a couple months ago to address a different budget shortfall.

Tune in:

For those of you following on with the unbudgeted housing funds work session, we have been talking in reference to a one-pager* that mine and @councilormorillo.bsky.social offices developed ahead of this session. Here's that link.

* it's two sided

Annual Deadly Traffic Crash Report Portland Bureau of Transportation continually reviews deadly traffic crashes in Portland, analyzing trends and then building this report each winter to look back at the previous year. Understanding th...

Read the full Portland 2025 Deadly Traffic Crash Report here:

Traffic safety has been one of the top priorities so far in my District 1 budget survey, and it will be one of my top issues to address as we work on the next budget.

This drop of deaths doesn't fix the fact that we still have many of the City's high crash corridors and intersections. It doesn't fix the fact that many of our neighbors don't feel safe walking the block because of the lack of sidewalks.

It's encouraging that traffic deaths have fallen significantly in East Portland - after four years of having the highest traffic deaths out of all the districts.

We still have a lot of work to do to achieve Vision Zero.

To see work session documents:

Portland City Council Work Session-Unbudgeted Housing Funds 3/05/26 YouTube video by eGov PDX

Good morning, Portland! Today, Council will be looking at the $106 million in unbudgeted housing funds to better understand where these dollars can be invested and where councilors are aligned on priorities. I’ll be guiding the discussion at today’s work session.

Tune in:

Councilor Avalos poses for a picture with another event participant.

Councilor Avalos poses for a picture with another event participant.

Top: Group photo of participants. Bottom: Councilor Avalos speaking on the panel.

I spoke about what inspired me to get involved in politics, the importance of Black voices and Black leaders, and some of my accomplishments – like leading the unanimous passage of the Protect Portland Initiative.

Councilor Avalos poses for a photo with attendees at a Coalition of Black Trade Unionists Black History Month event in February.

Black history is labor history! Thank you to the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists for inviting me to participate in an engaging conversation for Black History Month.

Yes, it can be amended later. Actually, we're about start thinking about a new Climate Investment Plan (CIP). The CIP (which is where the Strategic Priorities live) is a 5-year plan that guides PCEF's investments. The current plan was approved in 2023, by the previous City Council.

We discussed their IH proposal at multiple council and H&H Committee meetings and I helped convene stakeholder groups to hammer out some of the details that the Portland Housing Bureau had concerns about.

It wasn't the easiest path, but that's what it takes for policy to become law!

The Inclusionary Housing bill is headed to the Governor's desk!

Congratulations to @senkhanhpham.bsky.social and @sightline.org for all their hard work and willingness to collaborate with the City on their bill💜

RSVP here:

Poster sharing City Club event. On March 10th, from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm, join D1 Councilors at the IRCO Sokhom Tauch Community Center (10323 NE Glisan St, Portland, OR 97220) for a free, moderated discussion hosted by City Club of Portland!

East Portland! Next Tuesday, your D1 councilors will be sitting down for a conversation hosted by City Club of Portland. Join us for a free, engaging event where you'll get to know your East Portland representatives better.

Tomorrow morning:

Tune in to our March 5 work session to better understand Council's priorities for the unbudgeted housing funds: