Portland is way too expensive. I will fight to lower costs and make life easier.

My name is Jeremy Beausoleil Smith.

I’m running for Portland City Council in 2026 to represent working families, protect our local waterways, and help build a vibrant downtown that works for everyone.

This campaign is for every Portlander who believes in the dignity of their neighbors and that the government’s job is to make our lives better. We should be preparing for the Portland of 2050 by investing in a strong social safety net while being a responsible steward of the taxpayer dollar.

I am a spouse, parent, and Capital Projects Manager at Portland State University. Portland is my home and it’s worth fighting for.

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Care

Portland is facing overlapping crises of housing, addiction, mental health, and environmental neglect. 

A city that allows people to live on the streets is failing its most basic responsibility. A city where the cost of rent has surpassed the minimum wage is no longer livable. These conditions are not inevitable and we must uphold housing as a human right.

Justice

Democracy only works when people are safe, housed, and healthy. True public safety means stable housing, access to treatment, and neighborhoods where working families can thrive. 

To defend our democracy, we must rapidly expand treatment infrastructure, strengthen street outreach, and fight the environmental injustices that harm working-class Portlanders first.

Sustainability

Climate Change is the defining issue of our generation. Portland must address the contamination of our waterways and .

We must continue investing in public transit, pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, and urban green spaces so every Portlander can move freely and live in a healthy environment.

Affordability

Working Class Portlanders cannot afford to live in our city. I will fight to curb skyrocketing rent, utility bills, and taxes on those who are stretched thin in these tumultuous economic conditions.

I will fight to build a Portland that everyone can afford to live in.

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Photo by Richard Hedrick
Photo by Lexi Laginess
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Create the Ross Island Ecological Park

Every summer, the Ross Island Lagoon develops toxic algae blooms that make parts of the Willamette River unsafe for swimming and dangerous for wildlife and pets. These blooms threaten Sellwood docks, beaches downstream, and public access to one of Portland’s most important natural resources. These conditions are preventable.

By placing the Ross Islands into the care of Portland Parks & Recreation as a protected ecological reserve — similar to the management model used at Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge — Portland can address two crises at once: restoring river health and preventing the spread of toxic algae blooms throughout the river corridor.

This proposal would establish the Ross Island Ecological Park as a world-class public ecological reserve in the center of the city while preventing private industrial interests from continuing to use the lagoon as a dumping site for contaminated material connected to the Portland Harbor Superfund area. The plan calls for transitioning ownership of Ross Island from Ross Island Sand & Gravel into public stewardship in order to prioritize ecological restoration, habitat protection, and safe public river access over industrial dumping practices. This effort could also become part of a broader public land strategy that reinvests in underutilized land and expands access to parks, riverfronts, and ecological spaces for Portland residents.

Read about Oregon State University’s channel study and proposed interventions to reduce annual toxic algae blooms here.

Preventing Algae Blooms

Portlanders have repeatedly supported tax measures intended to address the intertwined crises of houselessness, addiction, and mental health. Yet many residents, especially small business owners and workers in Chinatown and the downtown core, are still asking a fair question: where is the money going, and why has the crisis not meaningfully improved?

In neighborhoods like Chinatown, businesses are increasingly forced to hire private security to protect customers, employees, and storefronts from the visible impacts of untreated addiction and behavioral health crises. Portlanders want solutions that are compassionate, effective, and accountable.

Portland Street Response has already proven to be one of the city’s most effective tools for reducing unnecessary police involvement while connecting people in crisis to care. I support fully funding and expanding Portland Street Response so they have the staffing, transportation capacity, and treatment partnerships necessary to respond effectively across the city.

Portland Street Response should be able to transport individuals directly to designated shelters, stabilization centers, treatment providers, and recovery-focused facilities where people can receive immediate support instead of cycling endlessly between the street, emergency rooms, and jail.

I also support establishing a dedicated safehouse and crisis care hub in Old Town Chinatown to provide consistent access to services for people experiencing houselessness and addiction. Meeting people where they are, in partnership with organizations already serving the community, would help stabilize the neighborhood while supporting long-term recovery, public safety, and economic revitalization.

Addressing these crises requires both emergency response and long-term prevention. Additional priorities include expanding preschool access, strengthening family support systems, increasing addiction recovery resources, and investing in upstream mental health care before people reach crisis points.

Portlanders deserve a system that is transparent, humane, and effective. They deserve visible results for both vulnerable residents and the broader community, along with confidence that public dollars are being used responsibly and strategically.

 
Portland Street Response

Portlanders deserve to get where they need to be, when they need to be there. A robust transportation system is vital for a healthy city and we need to invest in mass transit, cyclist, and pedestrian infrastructure. We can increase safety on bus and MAX lines through investments in programs like the successful Portland Streetcar Ambassador Program.

For Profit, investor owned utilities are rapidly increasing the electric bills of Working Portlanders to subsidize the needs of Data Center and Artificial Intelligence’s power needs. We must create a Democratically Governed, Municipalized Power Grid that is transparent and accountable to ratepayers.

Create a Renters’ Bill of Rights

Renters need relief immediately. I will fight to ban rent hikes when Code Violations Exist, require 6 months notice for rent increases, protect children and educators from evictions during the school year, prevent evictions during extreme weather events, establish a right to counsel in Eviction Court and demand that local rent control be allowed throughout Oregon. Read the full Renters’ Bill of Rights below.

Renters' Bill of Rights

Working Portlanders deserve more. A job is how people support their families and build stability in their lives. When workers can be fired without explanation, that stability disappears overnight. Just Cause protections recognize that employment is not disposable. I will fight for workplace protections so Portlanders can lead secure, sustainable, and happy lives.

Portlanders deserve a say in how their tax funds are spent. Participatory Budgeting empowers historically marginalized Portlanders to decide what projects get funded. When more Portlanders are invited to participate in the Democratic Process, we come up with better ideas that benefit all of us.

From Portland to Palestine I will fight against Human Rights Violations carried out by the Federal Government. Whether it is ICE terrorizing Portlanders or US military interventions across the globe, these acts of violence always come at the expense of our schools, infrastructure, and healthcare. I will cut ties with our sister city in Israel, ensure our Sanctuary City laws are enforced, and look for ways to divest the city budget from the US military.

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We cannot depend on the Federal Government, so we will depend on each other.

Our campaign believes the government’s job is to make your life easier. We will fight to put power back in the hands of the people.

Let's build the future of Portland together.

I am a husband, a parent, and a Project Manager at Portland State University. I believe city government should prepare Portland for 2050 by investing in a strong social safety net while being a responsible steward of taxpayer dollars. 

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Campaign Pledges

Portland Street Response

I commit that if elected I will prioritize, introduce budget amendments, and vote in favor of full funding for expanded 24/7 citywide Portland Street Response coverage in every budget cycle.

No Police Money

We can create a safer Portland without expanding our police force. I pledge not to take contributions from police unions or associations, not to seek their endorsement, and to publicly reject their independent expenditures.

Patients Over Profits

I pledge to put patients over profits and not take contributions from the executives, lobbyists, and PACs affiliated with the corporate health care industry, including private insurers, pharma corporations, and private hospitals who are organizing to take over our health care system.

No Fossil Fuel Money

I pledge to not take contributions from oil, gas, and coal industry executives, lobbyists, or PACs and instead prioritize the health of our families, climate, and democracy over fossil fuel profits. I am not for sale and neither is the health of Portlanders.