reflective representation

“Reflective representation” is the idea that members of a government should match (or reflect) the demographics of the community they serve. Over the last two decades, Portlanders have most often been represented by a white (88%) and male (77%) City Commission. The majority of elected leaders came from the West side of the city or inner Northeast neighborhoods. In the last few years, more women and people of color were elected.

Achieving more reflective representation for people of color, women, and voters living in East and North Portland were goals of the 2022 Charter Review Commission.

tracking this goal:

One year of new City Council members may provide a meaningful change for voters in those districts, but it won’t be enough to establish trends or identify the root causes. Several years of data will be needed to accurately assess the impact of the new system of elections on reflective representation. Learn more about the kinds of data we’re using, and how to include it in responsible analysis.

About these dashboards: Explore this rich data set by adjusting filters, hovering over graphs and charts to see more data details, and clicking to isolate specific data criteria.

Learn more: Scroll to the bottom of this page to dive deeper into the stories the data tells.

Notes on this data: (1) Before 2024, Portlanders elected City government officials at-large, not in districts. This map shows approximately where at-large City Commissioners lived while in office. (2) Race and gender identity for elected leaders is not officially tracked. We draw on news sources where available to confirm race and gender information, but recognize that these sources may not identify individuals as they would identify themselves.

Download data: Coming Soon

getting into the data and trends

background

One of Portland Charter Commission’s desired outcomes is a “Reflective Government” with “Councilors who look like the community they represent.” The Charter Commission members envisioned a future for Portland in which “elected officials reflect our diverse communities and the community they represent.” 

what are indicators of success?

  1. Descriptive Demographic Representation
    We measure the share of women and people of color elected to Portland City Council relative to the share of women and people of color in Portland. We also track the share of Council members who reside in Portland’s four geographic districts to gauge regional representation.

  2. Public Opinion Research - Coming Soon
    If a plurality of Portlanders felt confident that their experience, values, and interests were represented by City Council, Portland would be closer to reaching this goal. In 2024, Oregon Values and Beliefs Center asked voters in a statistically weighted survey: “Is there currently someone on The Portland City Council who you feel represents you and your interest?”

about the data

Units of Measure: (1) Race, gender of council members (2) Race, gender of Portlanders (3) Council member primary residences relative to Portland’s four geographic districts.

Period of Time: 2001-2023

Definition: (1) We compare the percent of City Council members of various identities in each “seat term” to the percent of the Portland voting age population who shares those identities. (2) We also measure the distribution of council member residences across Portland’s four geographic districts.

Note: We measure representation in “seat terms.” A “seat term” is a two year period for each seat that tracks with the election cycle (while council members are elected for 4 year-terms, their elections are staggered, meaning that every two years the overall composition of City Council may shift). An individual serving 4 “seat terms”(who was elected 2 times) therefore had 4 units of representation, not 1 (or 2).

Sources: (1) Portland City Elections Results, (2) Portland City Voting District Demographic Profiles, (3) American Community Survey (ACS), (4) Oregon Values and Beliefs Center. Note: Race and gender identity for elected leaders is not officially tracked. We draw on news sources where available to confirm race and gender information, but recognize that these sources may not identify individuals as they would identify themselves.

Types of Data: Elections data, Census data, and public opinion data.

Geography: Portland, OR

good to know

  • “Descriptive representation,” or how much elected officials share demographics with the communities they represent, is only one measure of representation. It can correlate with but does not necessarily indicate substantive representation, which is when elected officials are aligned with the views and policy objectives of their constituents. This is why public opinion research, that asks Portlanders if they feel represented, is so important.

  • The American Community Survey, which we use to estimate demographics of Portlanders, is exploring asking more comprehensive questions about sex and gender to include genders that do not fit into the binary of “male” or female” – but it does not currently do so. In the future, we hope to measure representation of more diverse genders and identities on Portland City Council as data become available.

other resources

Rose City Reform published new research on the race and gender of 2024 Mayoral candidates:

“The 2024 mayoral candidate pool is predominantly male, with men comprising over 75% of the candidates.”

“While white candidates comprise over 60% of the mayoral candidate pool, only two of the five top contenders identify as white.”

And 2024 City Council Candidates:

“Less than a third of all council candidates are women, while two candidates identify as non-binary, and one candidate is transgender.”

“The racial composition of the candidate pool more closely mirrors Portland’s population than its gender composition. About 69% of the candidates are white, compared to 72% of Portland’s population”

what the data shows

  • White men are historically overrepresented on Portland’s City Council. People of color and women are underrepresented. Over the past 20 years, the proportion of people of color on Portland’s City Council was 60% lower than it would have been had Council member demographics mirrored those of Portlanders. The proportion of women on City Council was nearly 50% lower than it would have been had Council demographics mirrored those of Portlanders.

    Over the last few years, more diverse candidates have been elected.

  • People of color are 31% of the population in Portland, and would have earned 17 of the 55 seat-terms between 2001 and 2023 if the councilors descriptively reflected the city’s racial makeup. Instead, people of color held only 7 seat-terms.  

    Similarly, if city council membership mirrored general population demographics, women would have held 28 of the 55 seat terms between 2003 and 2023. Instead, women only held 13 terms—about half of what would be expected.

  • Portland communities in Southwest and Northeast Portland have had more direct representation than those in Southeast and outer East Portland (2000 - 2024). Since 2000, residents living East of 50th or North of Fremont have rarely had an elected official that lived in their neighborhood. Only 10% (6 out of 60) City council "seat terms" were held by individuals who lived in District 1.

community connections

Effective leadership development efforts can increase the number of women, people of color, and low income people who seek out public office.

Oregon’s Futures Lab, for example, is a local non profit whose mission is supporting leaders of color entering public office and governing effectively.This work includes investments in recruitment, candidate training, and ongoing training and support for people of color once they are elected.

Other local examples are Emerge Oregon, which recruits and trains women to run for office at all levels, and the Oregon Labor Candidate School, which equips union members and labor allies with tools to run for office. In 2024, eight City Council candidates came through the Labor Candidate School training.

Explore Portlanders’ opinions about representation and City Council characteristics, from Oregon Values and Beliefs Center’s May/June 2024 Survey: