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The Portland Fire Fighters Association endorsed a ballot initiative Tuesday that would reroute 25% of the city’s climate tax, called the Portland Clean Energy Fund, to fund the hiring of about 400 additional police officers.
Backers of the initiative have less than a month to gather the 40,437 signatures—9% of all registered voters in the city—required to get the initiative on the November 2026 ballot. The filing deadline is July 2.
The initiative would require a ratio of at least two police officers per every 1,000 Portland residents, up from the city’s current ratio of about 1.2 officers per 1,000 residents. The national average is 2.4 per 1,000.
“Portland Fire Fighters see firsthand what happens when emergency services are stretched too thin,” Isaac MacLennan, president of the firefighters union, said at a press event on Tuesday. “When communities lack the public safety resources they need, the consequences extend beyond emergency response. Businesses struggle, residents feel less safe, and neighborhoods suffer. This initiative is about ensuring Portland has the staffing necessary to respond when people call for help.”
PCEF, which imposes a 1% sales tax on large retailers in Portland to provide funding for climate-resilient infrastructure, has been tapped many times before by city officials as they’ve sought to shore up holes in the budget. In 2024, the Portland City Council rerouted some excess PCEF revenues to shore up budget deficits in bureaus with climate-adjacent projects. And Mayor Keith Wilson is currently pushing the council to use PCEF funds to help renovate Moda Center, which multiple councilors have expressed doubts about. (On June 10, councilors rejected multiple amendments that would have used future interest generated by PCEF to restore some of the public safety and parks jobs Wilson plans to cut to balance the city’s budget.)
Using PCEF revenues to hire police officers would also be fiercely opposed.
Backers of the initiative argue that because PCEF revenues have far outpaced initial projections made when Portlanders passed the tax in 2018 it’s only reasonable that some of the excess money go to public safety.
The Portland Mercury has reported that canvassers for the initiative have been trained to recite talking points that emphasize shortening 911 response times and hiring officers from diverse backgrounds. Neither of those things appear in the initiative’s text. At least one canvasser has filed an ethics complaint with the state, according to the Mercury.
The initiative’s biggest backers are Jeff Swickard, the auto dealer who purchased the U.S. Bancorp Tower, or “Big Pink,” in July 2025, and the Portland Police Association, the union representing Portland’s sworn police officers. Swickard’s management company has given $250,000 to the political action committee behind the initiative. PPA has given $243,532.89.
Tim Boyle, the president and CEO of Columbia Sportswear, has given $100,000. Western Pacific Building Materials Inc., BMW of Portland (which is owned by Swickard), and Gee Automotive Holdings have each given $25,000.
The PAC has raised just under $750,000 in total as of publication.
