The Ballot Measure

Measure 26-228 proposes that:

  • Portland’s city council would focus on passing laws and approving budgets, while the mayor would have executive authority over city business, collaborating and delegating responsibilities to a city administrator (source).

  • The Mayor would be the at-large chief executive, budget author, and leader of carrying out council decisions (source).

  • The Mayor would have a tie-breaking vote, but no veto power over council decisions on ordinances and resolutions (source).

  • In many US cities, mayors do not have the power to veto council decisions.

    Only 39.4% of municipalities that responded to a 2018 Municipal Form of Government survey indicated that their chief elected official has the authority to veto measures passed by the city council (source).

    41% of the 100 most populous U.S. cities have no mayoral veto. The largest U.S. city with no mayoral veto is Houston—the fourth largest city in the U.S. with a population of about 2.3 million people (source).

  • Mayors in a majority of U.S. cities (56.1%) have the power to vote on all issues before city council; however, mayors in a third of cities (31.8%) can only vote to break a tie among city council members (source).

  • The chief elected official (mayor) is not a member of city council in 27.7% of cities that responded to ICMA’s municipal form of government survey (source).

A note on citations: Our sources include peer-reviewed academic research, white papers, research from think tanks and universities, public data (such as the U.S. Census or county voter files), news articles, municipal charters and codes, and government websites. In some limited cases, we cite information from advocacy groups.

For simple matters of fact (such as the population of a city) we include a single relevant source. For more complex questions, we cite two or more independent sources.

Sources

City of Portland. (2022). Notice of Measure Election 26-228. (link)

Gloden, J., Kaminsky, M., Martinez, N. & Nikiforova, L. (2022). Population, Council Size, and Mayoral Veto Power in the 100 Largest U.S. Cities. North Star Civic Foundation. (link)

International City/County Management Association. (2019). 2018 Municipal Form of Government Survey - Summary of Survey Results. (link)

Portland Charter Reform Commission. (2022). Progress Report #6. (link)

The City of Portland, Oregon. (2022). Proposed Ballot Measure Regarding the Structure of City Government. (link)

Helpful Information