Ranked Choice Voting Candidate Training

Portland United for Change hosted an in-person training for all Portland City Council candidates on August 16, 2024. You can watch a video of the recording here and download the slide deck.

You may be curious… What happens next?

A change like this does not happen with a flip of a switch, but rest assured the wheels are turning. The transition to a new form of government must be done thoughtfully and carefully and it will take multiple years to fully implement the will of the voters. Change is already underway and will be complete by the beginning of 2025.

See below for the new city government timeline, adapted from the City of Portland’s website, portland.gov/transition:

  • November 9, 2022 – The City of Portland launched the transition, including a brand new website to keep track of the changes: www.portland.gov/transition.

  • November 9 to December 1, 2022 – Applications open for Independent District Commission. Mayor will nominate and City Council will approve 13 members.

    December 1 to January 31, 2023 – Applications open for Salary Commission. Mayor will nominate and City Council will approve 5 members.

  • January to February 12, 2023 – Applications open for Government Transition Advisory Committee. Mayor will nominate and City Council will approve 15 members.

  • January 2023 – Hiring of city transition staff.

  • January 25, 2023 – District Commission is seated. Meet the 13 members here.

  • March 8, 2023 – Salary Commission is seated. Meet the 5 members here.

  • March 22, 2023 – Government Transition Advisory Committee is seated. Meet the 15 members here.

  • April 19, 2023 – City Council adopts new elections system to implement ranked choice voting.

  • Between February to August 2023 – District Commission hosts public hearings, to help draw City Council district lines. The city engages in voter education about ranked choice voting and the new changes. View the City’s Transition-related events here.

  • By August 1, 2023 – Salary Commission sets elected officials’ salaries.

  • By September 2023 – District Commission approves a final map of City Council district lines.

  • November 2024 – First election using ranked choice voting within four districts (all City Council seats plus Mayor & City Auditor open and elected at the same time*).

  • January 2025 – Elected officials enter the new mayor-council form of government and work to hire a city administrator.

  • March 2025 – Transition Advisory Committee completes work (unless the Mayor or Council determines work is completed at earlier date or should be extended).

*In future election cycles, half of City Council will be elected during U.S. presidential elections, and the other half will be elected during congressional midterms/Oregon gubernatorial elections. The districts where voter turnout is historically lowest will elect their City Council representatives during U.S. presidential elections to take advantage of higher voter turnout.

Meet the Trainer

Sean Dugar is an organizer, advocate, and champion of democracy. He has worked for and consulted with organizations like the NAACP, FairVote, Common Cause, More Equitable Democracy, MapLight, and numerous issue and candidate campaigns. In 2021, with Rank the Vote NYC, Sean led an outreach and organizing campaign that reached 1.5 million New Yorkers, mobilized a coalition of over 750 organizations, conducted 600-plus educational events, trained 450 candidates and campaigns, and knocked on 55,000 doors. 

Sean has worked on or managed over a dozen local, state, and federal campaigns, including serving as Political Director for California Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s bid for the US Senate. He is also a founding member of the New Leaders Council (NLC) helping to create their structure and curriculum, and co-founder and the first Chair of the California Young Democrats Black Caucus where he grew the organization to multiple chapters and more than 5,000 members in a year. Sean has crisscrossed the nation providing his voice and two decades of experience as a voter, campaign consultant, and all-around supporter of reforms like ranked choice voting.

This page will be updated periodically. Please refer to The City of Portland for official updates and additional information on the transition.