Rational in Portland

Elise Haas is a former television anchor. You may remember her from KOIN 6 News, Portland's local Portland CBS affiliate. Elise is now at Gallatin Public Affairs and is working on a public safety ballot measure called the Safer Portland Initiative, which will provide funds for the hiring, training and support of additional police officers at the Portland Police Bureau ("PPB"). Portla...

Billy Williams was the United States Attorney for the District of Oregon from 2015-2021. Billy is a non-affiliated voter (“NAV”) and is a proponent of open primaries in Oregon.  Billy talks about why he’s a NAV and why he is not registered as an Independent. He explains why he thinks we need open primaries in Oregon. He also talks about Oregon’s status as a sanctuary state and other issues related...

"Hasaan Hates Portland" is a web series created by Mischa Webley , starring Hasaan Thomas. Mischa describes it as, “A dark comedy web series about a black man trying to navigate his way through the whitest - and weirdest - city in America.” A Movie based on the web series is currently in the works and will be filmed in Portland.  You can watch Hasaan Hates Portland on YouTube and Instagr...

Joe Hagedorn began his career as an Oregon lawyer by representing domestic violence victims as an AmeriCorps legal aid attorney. He then practiced as a public defender and, before becoming a referee/pro tem (temporary judge to assist the work of the court), Joe was a lawyer in juvenile court. Joe and his wife Hau have three boys. Joe is running for Judge of the Circuit Court, 4th District, Positio...

Noah Ernst is running for Metro Council . Noah is a lawyer, a former small business owner, a former taxi driver for Radio Cab, and currently serves as both a superintendent and in-house counsel for Radio Cab.  Listen to or watch former Metro Council President Lynn Peterson’s interview about what Metro does and about Metro’s Supportive Housing Services Tax. Lynn appears on this episode with Clackam...

Joanna (Jo) Perini-Abbott is a lawyer and a law school professor running for judge in Multnomah County, Position 5. She is a Professor of Practice and Director of the Center for Advocacy at Lewis and Clark Law School. She has been a practicing litigator since 2010 and represents clients in criminal, civil, and regulatory matters and investigations for Angeli & Calfo. Jo is a mother and the wif...

Hudson Tyler is the Marketing & Communications Manager for the Alzheimer's Association Oregon & SW Washington Chapter .  Janis Jasinsky is a dedicated volunteer and advocate for the Alzheimer’s Association. Janis was a caregiver for her mother, who had Alzheimer’s. Janis provides education and helps people navigate the disease.  Hudson and Janis define Alzheimer’s and Dementia, and tal...

Sgt. Aaron Schmautz is the President of the Portland Police Association (“PPA”), which represents the police officers, sergeants, detectives, criminalists, and PS3s who work for the Portland Police Bureau. The PPA also represents the 911 dispatchers and supervisors who work for the Bureau of Emergency Communication. They are the oldest continuous police union in the United States.  Aaron talks abo...

Betsy Johnson ran for governor of Oregon as an unaffiliated candidate in the 2022 election cycle. She also served in the Oregon Legislature as a Democratic House Representative and later in the Oregon Senate. Betsy met Alan Evans when he came to the Oregon Legislature to talk about homelessness after he started an addiction recovery program called Thugs off Drugs. Alan was homeless for over 25 yea...

Betsy Johnson ran for governor of Oregon as an unaffiliated candidate in the 2022 election cycle. She also served in the Oregon Legislature as a Democratic House Representative and later in the Oregon Senate. Betsy met Alan Evans when he came to the Oregon Legislature to talk about homelessness after he started an addiction recovery program called Thugs off Drugs. Alan was homeless for over 25 yea...

Josh Marquis is the former District Attorney for Clatsop County, Oregon. He is a founding member and on the Board of Directors at the Oregon Criminal Justice Truth Project, He is also the Director of Legal Affairs and Law Enforcement for Animal Wellness Action. Now retired, Josh continues to be an active member of the Oregon State Bar and to advocate for victims' rights. We recorded this episode r...

Dr. Sharon Meieran, MD, has an impressive pedigree. She did her undergraduate work at UC Berkeley; her JD at University of California, Hastings College of Law; and her MD at UCSF School of Medicine. She worked as a lawyer for six years before going to medical school. Dr. Meieran worked as an ER physician from 2013 until recently. She continues to do volunteer street medicine work. She served on th...

Scott Bradley is a pastor at AS IS church and the Executive Director of the HOPE Center PDX in the Rockwood neighborhood in the Gresham-Portland, Oregon area of East Multnomah County. Rockwood is one of the most diverse and one of the most violent neighborhoods in East County, Scott is also a CrossFit competitor and coach at Underground PDX, a gym that he founded in Rockwood. Mario Reyes is a seco...

Lance Orton is the Executive Director of CityTeam Portland, which provides addiction and homelessness services. Lance is a self-described opioid addict who found himself homeless on the streets of Portland. He attained sobriety through CityTeam. Lance says that 76% of CityTeam’s graduates are working and sober. https://www.linkedin.com/in/lance-orton https://www.cityteam.org/give-help/portland htt...

Dan Ryan is a Portland City Councilor for District 2. Dan is the only Portland City Councilor who ran for re-election in the last election cycle. Portland recently restructured its city government and Dan talks about serving under the new city structure, his goals and priorities, what he's learned from his constituents, the things he's excited about in Portland, and more. Our mayor is coming out w...

Dr. Eric Fruits, Ph. D., is an economist who specializes in economics, finance, and statistics. He is an adjunct professor in Economics and Finance at Portland State University and an adjunct scholar at Cascade Policy Institute. He also serves as an expert witness in court cases. Dr. Fruits talks about the Portland Public Schools bond, various local taxes in the Portland area, Trump's tariffs, and...

Jill Souede was the Deputy Chief of Staff for Portland City Councilor Dan Ryan. She has a Master’s in Strategic Communications from the University of Oregon and did her undergraduate work at Portland State University. In this episode, she reveals her experience with the inner workings of Portland City Hall. She also talks about the evolution of Portland that she’s witnessed since childhood, how Po...

Loudaquinn Whatley, known as Juma Blaq, is a rapper, community and civic leader, music producer, videographer, song writer, DJ, sound engineer, husband, and dad of 5. Juma did media and videography for Portland City Council candidate Terrence Hayes. Juma currently serves on Portland’s Focused Intervention Community Oversight Group (FITCOG), which works with the mayor and Portland Police Bureau to...

Jessica Elkan is the Executive Director of Portland's new ambitious project, the James Beard Public Market. Jessica talks about the status of the market, the history of James Beard, when Portland can expect the market to open, the concept behind it, and why this is such an important project for Oregon and for downtown Portland. https://www.jamesbeardpublicmarket.com

Damian Bunting is a black private security guard in Portland, Oregon. Damian talks about learning jujitsu; how he was able to go to college; the mental illness and addiction crises on the streets of Portland; gun rights; his childhood; his parents’ advocacy for Bill Clinton, and more. Thanks to Andy Chandler from the podcast NW Fresh for co-hosting. https://youtube.com/@thesecurityguardchannel?si=...

Hasaan Thomas is the star of the satirical web series, "Hasaan Hates Portland," which was created by his friend, Mischa Webley. Hasaan is also a professional marketing and branding expert. We talk about what it was like to create and film the show; how he comes up with creative branding ideas; what it's like to live as a black man in Portland, Oregon (the whitest big city in America); growing up w...

Laura Curry describes herself as an itinerant artist and consultant. Laura has lived in various large cities throughout the world. She purchased a condominium in the Stadium neighborhood of Portland, Oregon, years ago when she was searching the United States for a pied-à-terre. She identifies as queer and has a daughter who is a person of color. Laura talks about the addiction and mental illness c...

Karen Chirre owns the Stadium Superette convenience store with her husband in the Stadiumhood neighborhood off of West Burnside in Portland. Karen says that her husband is a first generation immigrant who lived in his car in order to save money to realize his dream of owning a convenience store. According to Karen, over 500 people have committed crimes against the Superette in the past four years....

Michael (Mike) Thelin is the founder of Bolted Consulting, which, among other things, helps clients with communication, strategy, and design. He co-created Hot Luck, Austin's culinary and music festival. He also co-founded Feast Portland, which was the largest food festival in the Pacific Northwest. Mike has been a local Portland food writer, and he has appeared on numerous TV shows, including 42...

Artist and graphic designer Autumn Sharp and personal trainer Max Steele are two of the founders of Friends of Couch Park, an organization in Northwest Portland to try to make Couch Park more livable. They talk about drugs, crime, mental illness, and street homelessness in their neighborhood and what they are trying to do about it. Andy Chandler from the Spotify and YouTube show NW Fresh co-hosts....