You, the voters of Portland, will select most of the members of the new Charter Commission on June 8. The Charter Commission will evaluate the City Charter, looking at opportunities for improvements. The Charter is our constitution, establishing the rules and regulations that guide city governance. The changes recommended by this Commission may be small, they may be large, but they all will have long-term implications for how our city is run, and how we interact with City Hall.
BCNA, Deering Center Neighborhood Association, and Friends of Woodfords Corner will co-sponsor a "meet the candidates" virtual meeting on May 19, from 7 to 8 p.m., with the candidates from District 4. Here is the link to participate in that meeting. Friends of Woodfords Corner will also be live-streaming the District 4 Charter Commission Candidates Forum, 7-8 pm on Wednesday, May 19th, on their Facebook page.
BCNA and adjacent neighborhood associations will also send a questionnaire to each of the "at large" candidates, and we will share their responses with you. Several other neighborhood associations have organized a virtual Candidates Forum for the 11 at-large candidates, on May 18, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. The link for that session is here.
The Portland Press Herald provided brief biographies of all of the candidates for the Charter Commission in its edition of April 5, 2021 available here.
Other groups, such as Equity in Portland Schools, are also compiling information on the candidates.
This is important, so make a plan to vote on June 8!!