Willamette Week: Fall 2026 Endorsements Measure 26-267 No

The only measure on Portland ballots this November promises to give residents a greater voice in how the city spends its $803 million general fund budget. It would do it via a mechanism called “participatory budgeting,” by which Portlanders would suggest ideas for how to spend an amount equivalent to 2% of the city’s general fund (roughly $16 million annually) and then vote on which proposals to implement each year.

The backers of the measure, largely aligned with the left flank of the Portland City Council, promise that the program would wrest a sliver of the budget away from fat cats and their lobbyists and place it instead in the hands of frustrated working stiffs. We have our doubts this would actually happen.

Read the rest at wweek.com.