BELINDA RAY, CITY COUNCIL

Thank you.

To everyone who helped with my re-election campaign and to everyone who has offered me support over the last three years: a heartfelt thank you! And one last plea.

I'm 99.9% certain I've cleaned up all of my campaign signs, but if you see any floating around out there, please let me know—or just go ahead and recycle them for me. :-)

About Belinda

A native Mainer, Belinda was born in Damariscotta, grew up in Newcastle, attended college in Orono, and moved to the Portland area in 1992. She has lived in the East Bayside neighborhood of Portland since 2004, and in 2006, she helped to found the East Bayside Neighborhood Organization (EBNO).

For EBNO, Belinda served sequentially as Vice President, President, and finally Community Organizer.

In 2015, Belinda was elected to represent District One on the Portland City Council.

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Notable First Term Accomplishments

Helping to preserve Fort Sumner Park
Advocating for a new emergency shelter facility
Expanding emergency shelter zoning in the city
Helping plan and implement short and long-term solutions to quality of life issues in Bayside
Advocating for the Oxford Street Shelter to adopt a 24-hour service model
Updating the City’s Noise Ordinance (in progress)
Facilitating listening sessions around zoning on Munjoy Hill
Passing zoning regulations that balance preservation and development
Helping draft and pass Portland’s Pesticide Ordinance
Incentivizing the development of workforce housing on the east end
Increasing the number of spaces in the Islander Parking Zone
Implementing Short Term Rental regulations
Updating the Golf Cart Ordinanace
Presenting an amendment to preserve programs at the India Street Public Health Clinic
Advancing Housing First initiatives regionally
Introducing a charter amendment to increase transparency in campaign finance reporting*

* This was on the November ballot, and it passed by a large margin. That means in 2019 all municipal candidates in Portland will have to file an additional campaign finance report 42-days before the election. More details here.

Boards & Commissions

METRO Board (Vice President 2016-present)
GPCOG Executive Committee (1st Vice President, 2017-present)
GPCOG Metro Regional Coalition (2017-present)
Parks Commission (2016-2017)
Portland Public Library Board of Trustees (Jan 2018-present)
Finance Committee (2016)
Housing Committee (2016)
Health & Human Services and Public Safety Committee (2016-present; Chair 2017-present)
Sustainability & Transportation Committee (2017-present)
East Bayside Brownfields Planning Advisory Committee (Co-Chair, 2016-2017)
Buildings for our Future Advisory Committee (Jan 2018-present)
Transit West Task Force (2017-2018)
GPCOG Regional Voice Committee (2018-present)

As your District One City Councilor, I work to keep Portland livable, walkable, bikeable, and accessible for everyone, and I strive to act in accordance with the guiding principles below at all times.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

CIVILITY

Everyone deserves respect and should be greeted with kindness. All parties need to be listened to thoughtfully and with an open mind. Maintaining an overall tone of civility is essential to accomplishing the work required to maintain—and improve—Portland's quality of life for all.

INTEGRITY

Words are powerful and must be chosen with care. In order to maintain personal integrity, city councilors must speak and act deliberately and with conviction. They must also speak honestly and often with their constituents; resist the allure of power, money, or easy answers; and be willing to do the hard work required to make thoughtful decisions.

ACCOUNTABILITY

We all must must take responsibility for our actions and choices. This is especially important for public officials. Passing the buck, blaming others, or claiming ignorance is unacceptable. City councilors have a responsibility to educate themselves about the issues facing Portland and to remain accountable to the people they represent.