An expanded response to this week's Portland Mercury Blogtown question to candidates:
What is Portland's most pressing problem, and what do you plan to do about it?

For many Portlanders, the benefits of living here far outweigh the problems. Our city's natural beauty, progressive outlook, and friendly neighbors make it easy to overlook the rising material and social costs of living here.

The real wealth of Portland is in all that we do together, for each other and with each other.

Portlanders see daily evidence of a caring community. That shared value tends to make us disregard some of our problems, but they are no less real.

The most pressing issue is the gap between people who are doing well, and those who are not. This is the result of lack of prioritization of attention and funding to address inequities that cause many of our problems. Portland's shortage of affordable housing, lack of jobs with good benefits, lingering social prejudices and localized criminal activity all result from allocation of resources in patterns that benefit the few at the expense of the rest.

* Some neighborhoods are given expensive fixed-route transportation upgrades while others lack even basic pavement and sidewalks.

* Developers make deals behind closed doors, while citizen involvement in planning projects takes years and is often ignored.

We are public-spirited people, and we don't complain much or loudly when asked to suffer for the good of the whole city. But it's not fair.

If elected, I will make decisions that prioritize giving more choices to people who currently have fewer options.

* I will focus on providing core urban services in all neighborhoods. Expensive improvements for some neighborhoods should not be made at the expense of basic neccesities in others.

* I will work to protect and promote good jobs, for example keeping industrial/employment zoning in the Central Eastside, and pressing for fair employment practices in all corporations doing business with the City.

* I will seek to preserve affordable single family homes during rezoning projects -- as I did during the St Johns/Lombard plan while I was on the Planning Commission.

* I will focus attention on Portland Police Bureau hiring practices, so good new officers are accepted and trained faster to fill vacant positions. Public safety depends on having enough staff for every shift in every precinct.

* I will advocate for preferential awarding of City contracts to companies offering health care insurance to all their employees.

Better prioritization of resources of time and money would help solve problems in:

Affordable housing/mix of housing types
Environmental justice
Respect for communities/neighborhoods
Distribution of urban services including streets, sidewalks, parks
Open spaces throughout the city
Investment in mass transit
Climate for small businesses
Distribution of employment opportunities
Incentives to businesses to provide jobs, benefits
Addressing gentrification

and a host of other issues.

Everyone should share in our city's benefits and amenities. We will improve the entire city by focusing on neglected areas and providing basic levels of infrastructure, safety, and services to all neighborhoods and all citizens.

I also note that the answer for Portland's most pressing problem is different for each citizen. When the sewer backs up into the basement, that becomes the biggest issue. When a friend is killed in a bike-truck crash, little else is important. I am looking forward to discussions at house parties all over the city in the coming months, listening to citizens' opinions on which problems are most pressing, and considering ideas for solutions.

As a City Commissioner, I will respond to every citizen's concerns with the skills learned over 25 years in nursing - certainly knowing how to triage attention to fix the most urgent issues, while also understanding that minor problems can become major if left unattended.

Portland can become more healthy as a whole by taking care of the parts that are hurting.