The Portland City Council is a 12-member legislative body that makes the city’s laws and sets its budget, with three councilors elected from each of four geographic districts. It has operated in this form since January 1, 2025, when Portland switched from a century-old commission government to a mayor-council system.1Portland.gov. Transition Overview Under the current charter, the council writes ordinances and approves spending while the mayor runs the bureaus and administers the laws the council passes.
Who Sits on the Council
Portland is divided into Districts 1 through 4, and each district elects three councilors, for 12 seats in total.2Portland.gov. Portland City Charter Article 1 The Council – Section 2-102 That is a sharp expansion from the old five-member commission and means every resident has three councilors to contact about neighborhood concerns.
To run, a candidate must be a U.S. citizen and Oregon resident, a registered voter in the district they seek to represent, and must have lived in that district for at least one year before the election. A seat becomes immediately vacant if a sitting councilor moves out of the district or otherwise loses those qualifications.3Portland.gov. Portland City Charter Article 2 Elective Offices – Section 2-202
Ranked-Choice Elections
Council races use a multi-winner ranked-choice system. Voters rank candidates in order of preference instead of picking one. Any candidate who clears 25 percent of the vote in a counting round wins a seat, and surplus votes above that threshold transfer to those voters’ next-ranked choices. When no one crosses the threshold in a round, the last-place candidate is eliminated and their ballots shift to the next choice. Rounds continue until three winners emerge in each district.4Portland.gov. Frequently Asked Questions – New Election Methods
Terms and Staggering
Councilors serve four-year terms with no limit on how many terms they can hold.5Portland.gov. Frequently Asked Questions – City Council Elections To avoid replacing the whole council at once, the 2024 election gave Districts 1 and 2 full four-year terms while Districts 3 and 4 got abbreviated two-year terms. The District 3 and 4 seats returned to the ballot in 2026 for regular four-year terms, so half the council is on the ballot every two years going forward.6Portland.gov. Frequently Asked Questions – Districts
What the Council Does
The charter vests all legislative and quasi-judicial authority in the council.7Portland.gov. Portland City Charter Article 1 The Council – Section 2-104 In practice, the council passes ordinances on everything from zoning and business licensing to public safety funding, and it holds the power to appropriate money, raise revenue, and approve the city’s annual budget.8Portland.gov. Portland City Charter Section 2-105 Continuation of Specific Powers
Ordinances normally get two readings at separate council meetings before taking effect. An emergency ordinance takes effect immediately on passage rather than after the standard 30-day period, but it needs at least nine of the 12 councilors to vote yes.9Portland.gov. Council Actions – Section 3.02.030 That high threshold keeps a bare majority from bypassing normal public review.
The Budget
The annual budget is the council’s biggest piece of legislation. The mayor’s office, working with the City Budget Office and city departments, develops a proposed budget. The council then convenes as a Budget Committee to review, amend, and reshape the proposal through pre-filed amendments and public testimony.10Portland.gov. Approval of the FY 2026-27 Budget for the City of Portland For fiscal year 2026–27, councilors filed more than 40 amendments to the mayor’s proposal during Budget Committee hearings in May 2026, and the council ultimately approved an $8.5 billion budget that closed a shortfall of over $160 million.11Portland.gov. City Budget Office After the committee approves a version, it goes to the Tax Supervising and Conservation Commission for review before returning to the full council for final adoption.
Standing Committees
Most detailed policy work happens in five standing committees before anything reaches the full council:12Portland.gov. Policy Committees
- Finance and Governance handles budget oversight, internal operations, and review of executive appointments.
- Community and Public Safety covers law enforcement, emergency response, violence prevention, and crisis intervention.
- Housing and Permitting handles zoning, land use, housing investments, shelter programs, and homeless services.
- Public Works covers transportation, water and sewer utilities, parks, urban forestry, and superfund cleanup.
- City Life covers economic development, arts and culture, labor protections, climate policy, and recreational programming.
Meetings and the Council President
The council meets on the first, second, fourth, and fifth Wednesdays of each month at 9:30 a.m., with an evening session on the third Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. for residents who work during the day.13Portland.gov. Council Calendar and Meeting Information The councilors pick a president and vice president from among themselves. The president runs meetings, works with the city auditor to set agendas, assigns items to committees, and signs approved legislation.14Portland.gov. Frequently Asked Questions – Future City Council It isn’t a higher-ranking policy role, but controlling the agenda gives the president real influence over what the council takes up and when.
Where the Council Stops and the Mayor Begins
The charter draws a hard line between legislative and executive power. The council makes laws and sets the budget; the mayor runs the bureaus and executes those laws, with authority to organize departments and move employees between them.15Portland.gov. Portland City Charter Section 2-101 Municipal Powers Allocation16Portland.gov. Portland City Charter Article 3 Executive and Administrative Powers The council is explicitly barred from exercising executive powers granted to the mayor,7Portland.gov. Portland City Charter Article 1 The Council – Section 2-104 which means a councilor who wants to change how a bureau operates has to pass an ordinance, not direct the staff.
One point that catches people off guard: the mayor has no veto. The mayor is not a council member and does not regularly vote on council matters. The only time the mayor votes is to break a tie on a non-emergency ordinance.17Portland.gov. Frequently Asked Questions – New Roles and Responsibilities The back-and-forth veto dynamics common in other large cities don’t apply here, and a council vote stands on its own.
How To Weigh In
Residents can give verbal testimony on resolutions, public hearings, and the first reading of ordinances. Testimony is not accepted on second readings or on presentations.18Portland.gov. Register for Testimony or Submit Written Testimony to Council Speakers normally get three minutes, though the presiding officer can adjust the time for a given item.19Portland.gov. Engage With Council
Registering To Testify
You register in advance through the online form on Portland.gov or by calling 311 (503-823-4000). The form asks for your name or organization, email, phone number, and council district. Registration for virtual testimony closes one hour before the meeting starts.18Portland.gov. Register for Testimony or Submit Written Testimony to Council You can appear in person or remotely by Zoom or phone, and after registering you’ll get an email with instructions and an optional Zoom link. When called on, state your name for the record. Anyone testifying as a lobbyist must also declare which lobbying entity they represent.
Translation, interpretation, or other accommodations should be requested at least five days before the meeting through the online accommodation form or by calling 503-823-4000.
Written Comments
If you can’t attend or prefer to put it in writing, you submit through the same online portal used for verbal testimony registration. You can upload up to three files (PDF, JPG, or PNG, 10 MB limit). Written testimony enters the public record if received before the council votes on the item, but it isn’t read aloud. Email submissions are not accepted. For general feedback unrelated to a specific agenda item, use the “Contact an Elected Official” form on Portland.gov, or mail written comments to the Council Clerk at 1221 SW 4th Avenue, Room 130, Portland, OR 97204.18Portland.gov. Register for Testimony or Submit Written Testimony to Council19Portland.gov. Engage With Council