June Newsletter

Published

July 1, 2026 10:38 am

In this article

Hi everyone,

Happy summer! It was an amazing June spending time in community, and I'm excited to share some of those moments with you, along with some updates from the dais and a few great ways to stay involved with my office and our community.

June in review

Celebrating Juneteenth

The days surrounding Juneteenth this year were full of celebrations honoring Black liberation, resilience, and the kids who build our future. It was an honor to march in the 54th Annual Juneteenth Clara People's Freedom Trails Parade and to attend the Interfaith Black Clergy Prayer Breakfast.

We also had the chance to celebrate the Rosa Parks sign toppers installed up and down Rosa Parks Way. This beautiful artwork, honoring an incredible civil rights activist, was designed by local artist Arvie Smith, and I'm so happy we got to recognize him and his thoughtful work.

This project, a collaboration between Piedmont Neighborhood Association, the Office of Arts and Culture, and the Portland Bureau of Transportation, was 18 years in the making - what a great moment of Portland and District 2 pride to celebrate its fruition!

Finally, just this past weekend, I joined the parade for the 33^rd Annual Good in the Hood Multicultural Food & Music Festival, celebrating the history and culture of our Albina community, supporting local entrepreneurs and strengthening economic opportunity, and building connection across communities. I love to see our neighbors gathering in joy and maintaining this tradition each year!

Happy Pride!

I hope you all had a fabulous pride month. This June, like all months of the year, I celebrated our city's amazing LGBTQIA+ trailblazers, whose activism laid the groundwork for Portland to become a city where queer culture is interwoven into our history, our identity, and the beat of our daily lives.

I am so proud of the work our Council has done so far for the LGBTQIA+ community, and I remain committed to the ongoing effort of making Portland a leader on basic rights and freedoms for us all. To my LGBTQIA+ neighbors, no matter how you identify or where you are in your coming-out journey: my wife and I are proud to walk this walk with you!

It was a privilege to present the Portland Lesbian Choir with a proclamation on behalf of the Mayor this month, recognizing their 40th anniversary and historic role as one of the first lesbian-identified choirs in the United States.

In a moment where our community and our rights are repeatedly called into question by a bigoted federal administration, it is SO important to have these moments of celebration and joy. To recognize a group that has the staying power to see us through the last four decades and the social changes that have pressured our community in different ways was so meaningful. And, they put on a fantastic performance to boot!

Honoring our Sister Cities

It was a pleasure to attend the 2026 Portland Sister Cities Reception, celebrating the cultural exchange, economic partnerships, and educational opportunities made possible through these global relationships. That same afternoon, Council officially created a Sister City relationship between the City of Portland and the City of Lviv, Ukraine.

Sister cities are an important tool for Portland, and for cities generally, in a world of increasing globalization - from the climate crisis to the need for refugee protections, these are not problems we can solve on our own. We need to have partnerships abroad, and that starts with our sister cities.

We capped off an incredible week honoring our visiting dignitaries with a friendly Dragon Boat race at the Portland Rose Festival between Council offices, the Mayor's team, and our Sister City in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Though I didn't participate in the race this year, I was there to cheer my entire team on!

Welcome, Maya

Speaking of my team, Maya Bryant has joined us for the summer as an intern, aiding our constituent services, outreach, and policy work. Maya is a Portland native passionate about engaging in difficult conversations related to politics and social justice in her community -- this is reflected in her current studies as a Politics, Policy, Law and Ethics major and Sociology minor at Willamette University in Salem. She returns for her senior year this fall.

Before joining our office, Maya worked for Oregon State Representative Willy Chotzen during this spring's short session. When she's not busy being a rockstar at City Hall, Maya enjoys working out at a local kettlebell gym, exploring Oregon's lakes and waterfalls, and reading at one of Portland's many coffee shops. We are so happy to have her!

At the dais

Adopting the Budget

On Wednesday, June 17, Portland City Council formally adopted the Fiscal Year 2026-27 budget, which goes into effect today. I offered my reflections on this year's budget process in a previous newsletter - feel free to take a look.

All Things Moda

On June 24, City Council had its first work session regarding the Moda Center to discuss desired outcomes and priorities as negotiations begin. My starting place is good jobs in the arena for Portlanders, neighborhood investments, a clear commitment from the Blazers to stay in Portland for the long haul - with consequences for breaking the lease early - and a commitment to sharing the arena with the many potential users of that space, both large traveling acts and local events.

A couple weeks prior, your City Councilors spent the weekend in parks across the city chatting all things Moda with our neighbors. Thank you to all of the District 2 friends who took the time to talk with me while enjoying the lovely weather at McCoy and Irving Parks - I know chatting with your City Councilor wasn't what you had on the roster for your afternoon! And thank you to everyone who came to these parks with the intention of connecting with me, Councilor Kanal, and Councilor Ryan, as well as with each other, about the different priorities you bring to the conversation. It was great to see Portlanders come in disagreeing and have productive conversations about what direction Council should take.

As many of the Moda Center's systems near end-of-life, it's so important that I know what our community is thinking about if we should upgrade our arena, and if so, how we fund our share of these costs, as well as what we ought to be asking of our tenants. Because this is Portland's arena that we own, I want to hear from you!

Please continue to stay involved in the conversation via my webpage and survey here: Councilor Pirtle-Guiney: Let's Talk About the Moda Center and the Blazers | Portland.gov.

Community events and engagement opportunities

Forest & Washington Park Shuttle

I'm so excited to share that Portland Parks & Recreation has launched the free Forest & Washington Park Shuttle, improving access between these two parks - which are hard to get to because of their locations and limited public transit options - and North, Northeast, and East Portland communities. This is such an affordable, impactful, and family-friendly way to improve access to our city's beautiful parks and the community events that take place there!

The shuttle will operate Fridays and Saturdays until August 22. District 2 shuttle stops are at Peninsula Park Community Center for the Northeast Line, and Charles Jordan Community Center and St. Johns Community Center for the North Line. You can find more information here.

Neighborhood association meetings

In July, I will attend the following neighborhood association meeting(s):

• July 7: Woodlawn Neighborhood Association, 6:30-8:00 p.m.

That's all for now! Please stay tuned for additional engagement opportunities coming up this month. Happy summer, everyone.

In solidarity,