PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The estimated cost of an international trip that several Portland leaders embarked on to learn more about housing has been revealed.
The latest piece in the “Hey Portland!” column from District 1 Councilor Candace Avalos was penned by Chief of Staff Jamey Evenstar, who defended the office’s decision to travel to Vienna, Austria’s capital, which “serves as the gold standard for housing models that create stable long-term housing and build community wealth and livability.”
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The Oregonian/OregonLive was first to report that Avalos, along with fellow District 1 Councilor Jamie Dunphy and District 3 Councilor Mitch Green, were traveling for an overseas housing junket in September. A community partner organized the trip as part of an “educational curriculum” developed in response to a resolution that directed city leaders to study social housing models, according to Evenstar.
Avalos, chair of Portland City Council’s Homelessness and Housing Committee, served as co-sponsor for the policy that was unanimously approved in April. In addition to Vienna, the resolution also directed leaders to study housing in Seattle and Alabama’s Montgomery County…