After hours of deadlock, debate and deepening signs of discord, the Portland City Council elected its next president Wednesday.
Councilor Jamie Dunphy, an east Portland representative and member of the council’s progressive caucus, secured the post in a 13th round of voting that occurred across three separate days.
Four additional councilors — Elana Pirtle-Guiney, who served as council president last year, Sameer Kanal, Steve Novick and Loretta Smith — had also vied for the role but could not muster a majority of support.
Kanal, a fellow progressive caucus member, added Dunphy’s name to the list of nominees after securing six votes in 11 consecutive rounds. Pirtle-Guiney subsequently cast the first and only vote for Dunphy in the 12th round.
Portland Council President Jamie Dunphy. Sean Meagher/The Oregonian
“This is not something that I have been seeking and is not something I am excited about,” said Dunphy, as deliberations that began seven days ago and neared a 12th and final hour Wednesday afternoon. “But if the only way out of an entrenched 6-6 stalemate is for me to step into this role, then I’m willing, not happy, but willing to do this in service of this institution.”
Dunphy’s election caps a chaotic week at City Hall in which council factions remained deadlocked over their preferred picks, refused to budge and ratcheted up attacks on colleagues.
It also puts a representative and champion of a historically neglected part of Portland, one that is also the city’s poorest and most racially diverse, as the most powerful figure on the council, with special agenda-setting functions.
Yet Dunphy made it clear that he intended to disperse some his duties across the legislative body, and would even “invite my sharpest critics to be advisors.”
“I will use this role to distribute power not consolidate it,” he said. “To build systems that treat each of us the same and protect this council as an equitable body for our colleagues and our constituents. I really don’t want this to be a yearly ritual of hardened battle lines. This has hurt my heart.”
After Dunphy assumed the role of council president, the body nominated and approved Councilor Olivia Clark, who represents the city’s westside and a portion of Southeast Portland, as council vice president in an 11-0 vote. Smith declined to support Clark’s candidacy.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
