Skip to main content
In a unanimous 5-0 vote Tuesday, Portland’s Metro Council appointed Juan Carlos González to fill former Council President Lynn Peterson’s seat as Metro Council President through the end of 2026.
The decision is no surprise. Voters elected González to a four-year term as president in the May 2026 primary, and the appointment means he will effectively initiate his presidency six months early.
Metro handles oversees an eclectic range of services and institutions around greater Portland. It oversees regional land use planning, collects and disperses tax revenue, and manages recycling and natural areas, along with the Oregon Convention Center, Portland’s Center for the Arts, Portland Expo Center and the Oregon Zoo. Peterson, the former president, resigned in March to become Lake Oswego’s city manager.
González, 33, has since 2018 represented the Metro Council’s District 4, which covers northern and western Washington County. His appointment to lead the council leaves a vacancy, and councillors now begin the process of appointing a new councilor for District 4 through the end of the year. (Mike Palacios, chief of staff to state Sen. Wlnsvey Campos (D-Aloha), is set to represent the district beginning in 2027 after narrowly defeating Alex Pham in the May election.)
“I’m honored and humbled to begin this work as Metro Council President and get our region on a track we can all be proud of,” González said in a written statement. “We have to show Oregonians we are capable of making this region affordable and prosperous for all our residents.”
González is the council’s fifth president under its current governance structure.
He also works as the chief strategy officer for Centro Cultural, a nonprofit aimed at assisting communities in Washington County with economic self-sufficiency and civic engagement.
