City Council Entrance Interview: Marnie Glickman

Seeks to represent: District 2 (North and Northeast)

Age: 53

Pronouns: She/her

Job: Political organizer and advocate

Fun fact: She has a black belt in martial arts.

“Over the past 30 years, I’ve learned how hard it is to get little and big things done in local government,” Marnie Glickman tells WW.

Glickman first moved to Portland in 1992 after graduating from Georgetown University. She then moved to the Bay Area, where she served on the Miller Creek School District board. (While on the board, she helped lead the movement to change the district’s name to Miller Creek from its former name of Dixie School District, named after the pro-slavery Confederacy.)

She’s been back in Portland for over 17 years and working for political officials and candidates, including U.S. Reps. Darlene Hooley and Elizabeth Furse (both Oregon Democrats), U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.) and Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon. Now she’s hoping to become an elected official herself.

“The change [in City Council] has given more power to the people in Portland, and that’s good,” Glickman says. “City elected officials will be more connected to our constituents. We will be able to deliver more real results so we can earn back the trust of Portlanders.”

Glickman’s campaign has raised $75,000 and received $40,000 in matching funds. She’s been endorsed by Portland Association of Teachers, The Street Trust Action Fund, and Laborers’ Local 483. She’s also been endorsed by former Gov. Kate Brown, former Portland mayors Sam Adams and Tom Potter, and City Commissioner Carmen Rubio.

We spoke to Glickman about her campaign. The conversation has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.

WW: What are your top three priorities if elected?

Marnie Glickman: Good government, affordable housing, public safety—and I have to add a fourth: the Willamette River and climate solutions.

Beyond policing, what measures would you take to improve public safety in Portland neighborhoods?

I’m going to work to expand Portland Street Response to operate 24/7. We have to reduce 911 wait times to below the national average. We’ve got to fill vacant positions in the Bureau of Emergency Communications to do that. Gun violence affects everyone in Portland. I’m a Moms Demand Action volunteer and the only candidate in this race endorsed by Everytown for Gun Safety because I support laws that encourage responsible, safe gun ownership and effective violence prevention programs. Finally, we need a more focused approach to our road fatality crisis because deaths are increasing and those who die in road traffic violence die violently.

How would you support local businesses and foster economic growth in Portland?

We have to continue streamlining our permitting processes and supporting our own local arts and entertainment businesses. Businesses need to know if they are located in Portland, they will have a talented workforce, housing, schools, child care and transportation for their employees and customers. I’m going to be an ambassador for Portland because Portland has a bright future. When you look around at our city and county’s elected officials, some are being the opposite of ambassadors.

What aspects of the city’s current approach to drug use and overdose deaths do you support and what would you change?

I see some improvement when I look at the city as a whole, but it’s not enough. That’s why I support strengthening Portland’s safety net. We need more culturally specific treatment programs, a deflection center, a sobering center, more beds at Hooper Detox Stabilization Center in District 2, and a new behavioral health residential recovery center where people can get short-term assistance until they are housed. We have to expand inpatient care facilities for the significantly mentally ill and accelerate our work to prevent suicides.

Do you support the city staying in the Joint Office of Homeless Services? What’s your plan to address homelessness?

I support staying in the Joint Office of Homeless Services because we can’t afford a petty, messy divorce in the middle of this crisis. We must continue to collaborate with Multnomah County to make real change. My focus on the City Council will be on expanding pathways to house Portlanders making less than $25,000 a year. This is housing for folks with addictions and mental illness who are prevented from working and people who haven’t had the luck or time to get into government-backed housing. We have to fix the problems found by the city and county auditors in the Joint Office, and we need to continue bringing people together from the private sector and the public sector to solve this crisis. Until we do, we need more village-style shelters, motel shelters with wraparound services, day shelters, job training, sanitation and hygiene services. Ground Score Association, Rose Haven and Street Books are programs I respect and want to see flourish.

Which current City Council member do you and your policies most align with?

Carmen Rubio, because of our general approach to finding solutions that benefit all Portlanders.

Would you change the Portland Clean Energy Fund, and if so, how?

The Portland Clean Energy Fund should be preserved and protected. Elected officials need to respect the decisions of Portlanders who voted in 2018 to create PCEF for community benefits as we take action to create climate crisis solutions. PCEF is necessary for the city to reach its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, and a city study estimated it will take more than up to $49 billion to make Portland climate-resilient. The PCEF investment dollars will deliver economic, social and environmental benefits for all Portlanders.

See the other Portland City Council Candidates here!