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The Portland City Council adopted a new committee structure in February after a year’s worth of complaints from councilors that the prior model of eight committees was unsustainable.
The new structure has just five committees: Community and Public Safety, City Life, Housing and Permitting, Public Works, and a group known as the Committee of the Whole. The slimmed-down structure, councilors hope, will allow councilors to stay abreast of policies and discussions in each of the five committees, even if they don’t have a seat on them; councilors complained that was impossible with eight committees.
Council President Jamie Dunphy proposed the structure as one of his first charges as president in 2026, and though some of his colleagues were unhappy with pieces of his proposal, the policy passed by an 8-3 vote.
The new structure means there will be four committees with five members and a fifth committee with all 12 members, chaired by Councilor Sameer Kanal. That’s the Committee of the Whole.
Some councilors worried that the Committee of the Whole, rather than help resolve discussions that make it out of committees but are then entirely rehashed during full council meetings, would actually cause more problems.
That committee is tasked with discussing finance, governance, labor issues and executive appointments, among other topics. Both finance and governance in the new form of government—both of which had dedicated committees in the previous structure—have at times proven to be contentious and unwieldy subjects.
“The subject matter assigned to the Committee of the Whole is incredibly broad,” said Councilor Elana Pirtle-Guiney. “I worry it will become a drag on our time instead of a way to use our time more efficiently.”
Other councilors, including Councilor Mitch Green, worried that the loss of a dedicated climate committee would mean less council attention on climate issues. “I can tell you that that work must continue,” Green said. “Any committee I’m a part of, I’m going to make sure that we’re working for our climate to the extent that it works through these committees.”
Councilors Loretta Smith, Dan Ryan and Eric Zimmerman voted against the new structure. Councilor Angelita Morillo was absent, and therefore cast no vote.
