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Two members of the Portland City Council representing East Portland, Candace Avalos and Jamie Dunphy, are seeking money from the council for a $1.2 million build-out of a District 1 office in the Gateway neighborhood.
They began asking their colleagues on the City Council to contribute money for offices in the brand-new Nick Fish Building last month after declining fellow District 1 Councilor Loretta Smith’s offer to join them in her office lease within the Nick Fish.
“I believe we can all work out of one space that is built out,” Smith wrote to Dunphy in a March 21 email. “Please join us and let’s share an all-District 1 office and take the financial burden off everyone.”
At the time, Dunphy appeared to be open to the idea, saying he was “shocked” by the build-out cost estimate and wanted a plan that “we can defend with a straight face.” But that changed at some point.
So far, Avalos and Dunphy have received pledges from Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney, Vice President Tiffany Koyama Lane, and Councilor Dan Ryan. “No offices declined to donate, and some may be willing to donate in the future if needed,” says Avalos’ chief of staff, Jamey Evenstar.
Evenstar says that initially, all three of the District 1 councilors toured the Nick Fish together, but that “after that tour, Councilor Smith chose to independently lease the part of the building that was complete, and Councilors Avalos and Dunphy then pursued building out the rest of the available space.”
Evenstar adds Dunphy and Avalos have “communicated that they would not be willing to pay much more than they already raised, which is around $875,000.”
Avalos tells WW Smith’s offer to share her office was never “logistically feasible.”
“While Councilor Smith has since suggested we could join her, that offer wasn’t ever logistically feasible and was not rooted in prior collaboration,” Avalos said. “In reality, her unilateral decision to lease that space—without coordination—eliminated the possibility of a shared office and forced us to explore building out the remaining unfinished space."
Smith declined to respond to Avalos’ remarks.
The city’s Facilities Team in early 2024 warned that they were having trouble finding appropriate spaces in District 1 for council offices—a problem that was not shared by the three other districts.
Even if the build-out goes forward, a city spokesperson said it would likely be a year before Avalos and Dunphy could move in.
This story has been updated with additional comments and correspondence.