Carmen Rubio Vows To Defund Parking Police If Elected Mayor

Portland’s next mayor will not get a vote on the newfangled city council, but they will still have an important leadership role in the municipal government. Current council member Carmen Rubio is a leading candidate for the position, with a vocal base of supporters who admire her progressive platform and relevant political experience. ⁣
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Her time on city council has been largely productive. She headed an overhaul of the city’s clean energy fund and developed Portland’s first ever Housing Production Strategy after a state mandate. If she gets elected mayor on Tuesday, she, with the help of fellow policy wonks on her team, has her eye on a new fix for what she sees as a key municipal inefficiency. ⁣
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“Carmen is passionate about taking a gentler and more holistic approach to parking enforcement. She favors slashing the budget of the parking police and redistributing the funds to a variety of ancillary organizations such as Portland Street Parking Response, ” explained campaign spokesperson Jessie Stark. “In lieu of parking tickets, PSPR uses a network of doctors, mental health specialists and social workers to address the root causes of illegal parking. She also favors a citizens review board for parking police and an examination on restorative parking justice. Inch by inch, meter by meter, we can solve this.“⁣
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The transition to a new form of government will be fraught with adversity, but Rubio’s supporters are betting that the new structure will produce the best results with her at the helm.