What does "Good Government" mean?

We need to raise the bar for accountability and transparency in City Hall to begin the long process of restoring trust between Portlanders and city leaders. Marnie will work to bring sunlight to our local government. 

“Publicity is justly commended as a remedy for social and industrial diseases. Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman.”  - the late US Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis

To start, we have to make sure that fees, taxes, and program costs deliver real value for taxpayers. And we’ve got to keep close watch on those rising costs.

For example, Portland Water Bureau’s Bull Run water treatment plant’s budget is $1.8 billion. This is Portland’s largest ever capital construction project. When the project was approved by the city council in 2017, the budget was just $500 million. Moving forward, we need to plan for budgeting and closely auditing what we're spending our precious taxpayer's money on.

We must maintain and repair city assets instead of kicking the can down the road again & again. Portland Parks and Recreation has a $615 million backlog of deferred maintenance and repairs. Portland Bureau of Transportation has a $3.5 billion maintenance obligation. The new community police oversight board deserves our support - it should have immediate, automatic access to unedited Body Worn Camera footage and direct access to all bureau information and records in accordance with state and federal law.

When it comes to fossil fuel corporations, like Zenith Energy, Marnie will lead with truth. The dangers of the oil train traffic and fuels stored on seismically unstable land on the Willamette River must be dealt with as this situation is gravely serious. We must require corporations take action to reduce risks. The City of Portland and Multnomah County need to plan for emergencies including ferry service to evacuate Portlanders in case of human-caused or earthquake-related disasters at the CEI Hub. (Read more about the environmental risks of Zenith here and Marnie's Day One pledges to the Willamette River).