Why should popular, valuable Portland initiatives wither away from a lack of funding when there’s a city treasure trove available to bail them out? That appeared to be the question on Commissioner Carmen Rubio’s mind when she offered Portland Street Response (PSR) a life raft in the form of $3 million from the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund (PCEF) earlier this week. But clean energy fund advocates are hesitant about using money from the.
The future is uncertain for Portland Street Response, a program currently providing assistance citywide to people experiencing mental health and behavioral health crises.
The mayor has ordered public safety bureaus to find ways to better balance their budgets. One idea being floated: cut $3M from a mobile mental health crisis team.
As the city’s Small Donor Elections funding dwindles during a pivotal election year, campaigns face greater pressure to court donors City Commissioner Rene Gonzalez has jumped out to a sizable fundraising advantage over fellow commissioners Mingus Mapps and Carmen Rubio in the race for Portland mayor. The mayoral candidate currently has more than double the funds of his opponents. Gonzalez, who announced his candidacy in December, has already raised around $92,000, —with the vast majority.