In the final weeks as the city of Portland’s top administrator, Mike Jordan sat down with a slate of TV reporters, print journalists, and radio hosts to talk about the first year of the city’s new form of government.
It’s a year that’s been marked by drama at City Hall on a number of levels: Budget woes brought increasing division between the legislative and administrative branches; Mayor Keith Wilson rushed to open 1,500 shelter beds, sometimes with sloppy results; and the city waited in limbo as the state fought with President Trump in court over the deployment of National Guard troops to Portland.
Jordan was tapped first by former Mayor Ted Wheeler in 2023 to help transition the government after voters remade city government at the ballot box the year prior, and then was asked to stay on board for an additional year by Mayor Keith Wilson. He sat down with WW for an interview this month. He discussed the turbulent first year of the new government, his reflections on what it will take for the council and the administration to get along, and his recommendations—and warnings—for the council and the mayor in the new year…