On His Last Day Overseeing the Water Bureau, City Commissioner Mingus Mapps Pushes Out Its Director

Gabe Solmer was the first woman ever to lead the bureau.

Portland Commisioner Mingus Mapps takes a break from the heat at Buckman Elementary in Portland. (Blake Benard)
By Sophie Peel

On June 28, his last day overseeing the Portland Water Bureau, City Commissioner Mingus Mapps placed the bureau’s director on administrative leave.

The next business day, July 1, Mapps relinquished control of the bureau to Mayor Ted Wheeler in preparation for a new form of government.

Gabe Solmer was placed on administrative leave last week while she and the city negotiate a severance agreement, several sources familiar with the matter tell WW.

It’s not clear why the city is parting ways with Solmer, and Mapps’ office declined to comment on her impending departure. A spokesman for Mapps, Andrew Baker, says the deputy director of the bureau, Edward Campbell, is serving as acting director for the duration of Solmer’s leave.

Solmer has been with the Water Bureau for eight years, starting in communications and then moving to the deputy director position, and was appointed director in 2020. Solmer was the first woman ever to lead the bureau.

Solmer says that serving as director of the water bureau “has been my highest professional honor.”

“I have the utmost respect for the work the people of the bureau do to serve excellent water,” Solmer said in a text. “The outpouring of support I’ve received today is a testament to the culture of dedication, kindness and helpfulness I’ve been privileged to witness and foster in my time at Water.”

The Water Bureau’s budget last year was $1.2 billion, constituting just around 17% of the city’s overall annual budget.


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