Portland Police Chief Bob Day says he no longer has confidence in Councilor Mitch Green’s ability to evaluate the police bureau fairly after old social-media posts resurfaced in which Green harshly criticized officers and policing. The dispute puts a personal clash between the chief and a council member into Portland’s newly divided government structure, where the council sets policy while other city officials manage bureaus day to day.
The posts, dating from 2020 and 2021, were reported by OregonLive and Willamette Week. Green confirmed that the posts were authentic. He attributed them to the turmoil surrounding the pandemic, George Floyd’s killing and Portland’s racial-justice protests, and said he would not describe police that way now while continuing to support the possibility of a future without police, according to OregonLive.
Day said Green’s past statements suggested an agenda that compromised his judgment on police policy. Portland Police Association President Aaron Schmautz called for Green’s resignation, while the Portland Firefighters’ Association executive board also asked him to step down, OregonLive reported. Council Vice President Olivia Clark and Portland Firefighters’ Association President Isaac McLennan likewise criticized Green and called for his resignation. Green has not resigned, and the reporting does not establish whether the council will take any formal action against him.
What the council can—and cannot—directly control
Under Portland’s post-2024 government model, the City Council develops laws and policies and engages with constituents, while the mayor and city administrator oversee bureaus’ day-to-day operations, according to the City of Portland. The police chief leads the bureau. That division means Green’s views could matter in legislation, budgeting and oversight without giving him direct command over officers or daily police operations.
The dispute comes as the bureau faces operational constraints. More recent bureau data, current as of Sept. 16, 2026, lists 317 officers assigned to patrol across three precincts and estimates that 57 patrol officers are working across the city at a given time; the bureau cautions that the estimate is not the number immediately available for a new call. Those figures describe operational constraints, but they do not resolve the political disagreement over how policing should be overseen.
A continuing argument over accountability
Portland’s disagreement over policing also predates Green’s resurfaced posts. In November 2023, the City Council unanimously authorized work on a proposed community-led police accountability system, according to a city announcement. The city later appointed a 21-person volunteer Community Board for Police Accountability in 2025 as part of a planned transition in its oversight system, the city’s Independent Police Review reported in its 2025 annual report. Those reforms concern the design of accountability institutions; they do not determine whether Green’s old statements should disqualify him from office.
The political consequences will be tested in the District 4 election, where Green is seeking reelection. Portland held its first ranked-choice election for mayor, auditor and City Council in November 2024, according to the Multnomah County Elections Division. The current controversy therefore reaches beyond the relationship between one councilor and one police chief: it gives voters a dispute over policing policy, elected oversight and the boundaries of acceptable public advocacy to weigh under the city’s new electoral and governing systems.
