Energy to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee made a significant step forward by voting to refer a key resolution on Zenith Energy to the full Council for further deliberation. The resolution, numbered 2025-070, was put forward on March 10, by Councilors Mitch Green, Angelita Morillo, Jamie Dunphy, and Tiffany Koyama Lane. According to the City of Portland official website, the motion will be considered at the Council Meeting scheduled for Wednesday, March 19.
Council Vice President and Chair of the Governance Committee, Koyama Lane, voiced concerns about the implications of power dynamics in local governance, highlighting the barriers to participation faced by community members. "I share my constituents' questions and concerns about power, and who has access to play a role in our City government," Koyama Lane said. She pointed out the need to address fundamental questions regarding who can, and who cannot directly intervene in City business.
Fellow Councilor and co-author Morillo expressed gratitude towards environmental advocates, acknowledging their influence on City Council's engagement with the issue. In a nod to the community's role, Morillo commented, "I just want to say a big thanks to the advocates who have pushed us as City Councilors to really dig into this issue." Special acknowledgement was given to Dunphy, a non-committee member, who showed his support by donning red, reflecting solidarity with the many environmental advocates present in the Council Chambers.
Before putting the motion to a vote, Councilor Green offered a perspective on the long-term ramifications of the committee's decisions, stressing the responsibility to the future inhabitants of the city. "The decisions we make today are going to affect the generations that live here tomorrow and their children as well. We owe it to our city to get it right," Green explained. The Motion to recommend 2025-070 to the full Council, with a recommendation for adoption, was moved by Green and seconded by Koyama Lane, with council members casting their votes in favor except for Smith and Clark, who were absent.
