The first Oregonians to get the state’s new parent leave

Deal After Kaiser Strike

After a three-day strike, more than 75,000 nurses and other workers in Oregon and seven other states now have a tentative agreement with health care giant Kaiser Permanente. Workers had sought better pay and higher staffing. [New York Times]

Affordable-Housing Fail

Residents of an affordable housing complex in Kenton say the conditions there are filthy and unsafe. The 72-unit building called Argyle Gardens was developed by Transition Projects for housing very low-income people, including those who had previously experienced homelessness. “I felt safer when I was living at the shelter,” said Joel Leslie, who has lived there since Argyle Gardens opened in 2020. [Portland Mercury]

• Plus, why it’s so difficult to address Oregon’s housing crisis. [City Cast Portland 🎧]

Oregonians Collect $21M in Paid Leave

The new Paid Leave Oregon program has approved 13,000 Oregonians for up to 12 weeks of paid time off to care for a new child or take care of health or domestic violence issues. Since Sept. 3, the state has paid upwards of $21 million in benefits after the pandemic and Oregon’s outdated computer system delayed the benefits program. [OPB]

Next year in Portland, voters will elect new leaders to be the first to serve under the city’s new form of government.

There will be 12 new city council members, three from each of four geographic districts.

Here’s the latest list of candidates who are already in the race, more than a year before the election, which the Portland Mercury and Willamette Week have been tracking closely.

District 1 (East Portland)

Former policy adviser to the late City Commissioner Nick Fish, Jamie Dunphy currently works as the government relations director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network in Oregon. He is also on the board of the nonprofit MusicPortland.

Deian Salazar serves on the Oregon Commission on Autism (he himself has autism) and is a district leader and precinct committee person for the Multnomah County Democrats. He previously ran for — but did not win — a seat on the David Douglas School Board.

Candace Avalos is the executive director of the social justice nonprofit Verde. She served on the Charter Commission, which shaped the new form of government; she’s one of three candidates that served on the charter commission. She also served on the Citizen Review Committee, charged with police oversight. And she wrote a monthly column for the Oregonian for two years that ended as this campaign began. She ran unsuccessfully for City Council in 2020.

Previously mentioned in the newsletter: Steph Routh, Timur Ender, and David Linn.

District 2 (North and Northeast)

David Burnell, a certified substance abuse counselor, is co-chair of the Government Transition Advisory Committee, which is overseeing the transition to the new form of government. Previously, he co-chaired the Oregon 988 Suicide Hotline initiative.

Joseph Emerson has worked in software development at Nike as well as nonprofits. He was on the Concordia Neighborhood Association board and is currently a volunteer with the nonprofit Portland Forward.

Debbie Kitchin is one of the three candidates who served on the charter commission, which developed this new form of government. With her husband, she owns a home and commercial remodeling business that focuses on sustainability. She is on the board for the Greater Portland Economic Development District. She has previously served on the Portland Business Alliance board (now called the Portland Metro Chamber).

Previously mentioned in the newsletter: Brooklyn Sherman.

District 3 (Southeast)

Previously mentioned in the newsletter: Chris Flanary, Sandeep Bali, Jesse Cornett, Angelita Morillo, Robin Ye, and Daniel DeMelo.

District 4 (West Side)

Sarah Silkie is a Portland Water Bureau engineer and a member of the union Professional & Technical Employees Local 17. She’s attending the Oregon Labor Candidate School.

Previously mentioned in the newsletter: Tony Morse.

Not Running

It’s still an open question whether some high-profile current and former elected officials will join the race. Willamette Week reports that one has officially ruled out an attempt to return to City Hall: former city commissioner Chloe Eudaly. (There’s no word yet on current City Commissioners Rene Gonzalez, Carmen Rubio, and Dan Ryan; Mingus Mapps is running for mayor.)

🥬 Come Thru Market | Monday | 3 - 7 p.m.

It’s the last of the season for the Black and Indigenous farmers and makers market. [Free, Buckman]

🖊️ Daniel Clowes | Monday | 7 p.m.

Clowes will discuss his much-anticipated new graphic novel “Monica,” which was five years in the making and is a multi-layered thriller of a tale. [Free, Pearl]

🎶 Mary Lattimore | Monday | 8 p.m.

The harpist and composer’s new LP “Goodbye, Hotel Arkada,” was inspired by the ephemeral nature of experience and a visit to an old hotel on the island of Hvar in Croatia. [$23.25, Humboldt]

A Mental Health Checklist for the Rainy Season

We’re getting to that point of the year where Portlanders start to batten down the hatches for the seemingly never-ending gray. Former KATU anchor Sheila Hamilton founded BeyondWell, a company and podcast that provide mental health services and training, after her husband died by suicide. We asked Hamilton for her best advice to cope with our gloomy falls and winters.