Measure 26-217 passed in Portland last November with over 80% of the vote!

Candidates to serve on the board are currently being chosen.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this movement and in this campaign. Portland will now have one of the most advanced police accountability systems found anywhere in the country.

WHY IT MATTERS

Policing in Portland is broken.

It has been for decades.

Too many lives have been taken or irreparably damaged.

Measure 26-217 will give every Portlander a voice in shaping what policing in Portland will look like moving forward.

Leaders in Portland’s Black community have been asking for this change for more than 30 years. And the time is now. To honor their voices. To hold police accountable to the people they serve.

Your YES vote created the most progressive Real Police Accountability system in the country. More than that, Measure 26-217 ensures that this system can only be changed by the will of the voters.

The status quo is simply unacceptable. Currently, the Portland police investigate themselves. It’s no surprise they never find wrongdoing. It’s time for the people who protect and serve to be accountable to the people — with citizen oversight, and consequences for bad actors.

WHAT IT DOES

By voting YES on Measure 26-217, you joined countless Portlanders, Black leaders, and local organizations in building a new beginning. One that will instate Real Police Accountability by:

• Creating a structure for true community oversight of the Portland police.

• Enshrining these values into Portland’s constitution (its City Charter), where this new framework will guide police-oversight for generations.

• Allowing many of the specifics to be worked out through a community-driven process that will take place across 2021.

• Establishing an oversight board that’s truly independent from the Portland Police Bureau (PPB), and from City Council.

• Giving sufficient resources and power to conduct meaningful investigations (including the power to subpoena and compel officer testimony).

• Empowering this board with the legal authority to produce enforceable actions, such as policy changes and officer discipline, up to and including termination.

Now is the time. Join us. Together, we can make history a thing of the past.