Nearly two decades before he was elected to the Portland City Council, Mitch Green had his sights set on a different career: Hot dog vendor.
Green was studying economics at Portland State University at the time, and eager to start a business. So when he saw a hot dog cart for sale on Craigslist for $1,200, he didn’t hesitate. But, despite purchasing the cart, his plan to open a hot dog stand (named “Greenies Weenies”) on a Northwest Portland sidewalk was cut short when he learned he needed permission from the adjacent property owner to operate — and they wouldn’t give it.
“I thought it was pretty absurd,” Green, now a city councilor representing Portland’s westside and some inner Southeast neighborhoods. “But that was a roadblock I couldn’t get over.”…