City Council Interview: Luke Zak

Trying to represent: District 3 (Southeast and Northeast Portland)

Age: 32

Pronouns: He/him

Function: Full-time candidate

Fun fact: He has been organizing quadball competitions, formerly known as quidditch, for 14 years.

This is Luke Zak’s first run for office, but not his first time knocking on doors. As a young volunteer, he campaigned to overturn the ban on same-sex marriage in his home state of Minnesota, and drafted Raphael Warnock in Georgia’s 2021 U.S. Senate runoff election. Zak earned an MBA from the University of Oregon and worked for the Salem and Tualatin Valley tourism offices. As a full-time candidate, he was eligible to match public funds. This is what he would do in the office.

Why are you running for office?

The new city government structure was the catalyst for my consideration of running for office. Having an expanded council that we elect through multi-winner voting provided Portlanders with a unique opportunity to elect a diverse and representative council that will set the course for the city’s next chapter. For me, that meant the opportunity for a new candidate with transferable skills like me to get elected and add value to the city without building political experience or support.

What are your top three priorities if elected?

Housing, community safety and transportation. These issues are all intrinsically linked. We must take immediate action to house people and provide access to treatment, and work toward a system with a full continuum of care available when needed, with shelters and addiction services. In District 3, road safety is also an incredible concern. I would proactively work with the City on low-traffic streets, bicycle and pedestrian safety infrastructure, and an improved transportation experience with increased speed, frequency, reliability, and reach and fewer barriers to use, such as safety issues, costs, and inconvenience.

How would you promote economic growth in Portland?

To promote economic growth in Portland, we must ensure that our city is an affordable, vibrant and overall desirable place to live, work, play and visit. That means dramatically increasing our housing production, including zoning reforms and public-private partnerships that will attract outside capital investment into the city. That means continued placemaking and activating community spaces in the city, from waterfront festivals to Sunday Parkways. That means providing financial and regulatory support to small businesses, helping local stores thrive and breathing new life into vacant and underutilized storefronts. The possibilities go on and on.

The city of Portland will face budget cuts next year. Where would you make cuts in the current city budget? Designate a specific program, desk, or place.

To be clear, the new city council will inherit the 2024-2025 budget that has already been approved. In preparation for the new form of government, the city has reorganized its bureaus and offices into six core service areas to operate more efficiently and effectively. Rather than preemptively making cuts to program areas, I would recommend that the City take a data-driven approach in evaluating the recent organizational realignment to identify target areas that could be further consolidated or streamlined when budgeting for the 2025-2026 fiscal year.

Where is the city currently wasting money, or using money in a way that you believe is inefficient or unnecessary? Where is the swelling?

Our old committee system had many layoffs. The move to house all permits under one roof is a great example of reducing these inefficiencies in a way that has a tangible positive impact on the city. By moving the offices away from council members, hiring a professional city manager and organizing operations across the six service areas, the systems can be further streamlined and operational efficiency improved, while consolidating overlapping roles and responsibilities.

What is the Joint Office of Homeless Services doing wrong, and what do you think are things that can right the ship?

Despite opponents often having the loudest voice in the room, the Joint Office of Homeless Services has recently shown success, including rehousing more than 5,000 people in the last fiscal year. Looking ahead, as the incumbent council reviews its agreement with the province, there needs to be greater clarity on the jurisdiction’s roles and responsibilities so we can be agile and adjust course if objectives are not met.

Is Multnomah County’s tax rate (including taxes on PCEF, Preschool for All, and Supportive Housing Services) too high or at an appropriate level? If it is too high, what do you plan to do about it?

I don’t believe the tax rate in Multnomah County is too high. It’s worth keeping in mind that the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund is a corporate tax that Portlanders don’t pay into. Additionally, Preschool for All is a provincial tax and Supportive Housing Services is a metro tax, both progressive marginal taxes that only affect high-income earners. Revenue from these taxes provides funding for critically important initiatives that address child education, our homelessness crisis, and climate justice.

What is the first policy document you would submit to the city council?

As a new council, we must rise up and meet the moment of our homelessness and addiction crises. We must aggressively increase shelter capacity and variety, including expanding temporary alternative shelters and safe retirement villages, to meet the needs of our unsheltered neighbors and to match the scale of the emergency. We also need a database of real-time beds available across the network of city, county, and nonprofit shelters. Additionally, as the deflection center opens, we must ensure it is ready to provide treatment and expedite the return of our 24-hour sobering center.

Beyond policing, what actions would you take to improve public safety in Portland neighborhoods, and where would you get the money to do so?

To improve public safety, we must optimize our entire emergency response network. We need to reduce response times to 911 calls, which starts with having our dispatchers fully staffed. We must also ensure that our non-violent behavioral and medical health response teams, the Portland Street Response and Community Health Assess and Treat programs, have the continued funding to operate citywide, 24 hours a day to be able to operate. The expanded 24/7 service would not only siphon calls from armed law enforcement so they can be dispatched where they are needed most, but it would also open additional revenue streams for Medicaid.

What experience can you point to and do you think would make you a wise policymaker on the city council?

For the past three years I have worked in destination management organizations, working with local government, small businesses, non-profits and community organizations to promote the region. Previously, I worked for five years in the field of environmental compliance, with a focus on EPA and HUD safety regulations. I also received my MBA from the University of Oregon. With my professional and educational background, I am prepared to be a strategic and collaborative leader on the council who understands policy work, complex budgeting, navigating regulations and working collaboratively on solutions.