Candace Avalos — Candidate for City Council, District 1
Endorsed: Shade Equity Platform
Candidate statement:
The impacts of environmental injustice are increasing and strongly felt across East Portland. For decades the neglect and disinvestment have created urban heat islands; poor air quality; less tree canopy, green spaces, and parks; and a lack of infrastructure to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. The threat of deadly heat waves and wildfires gets worse each year and our communities need urgent solutions to strengthen our resilience and recovery. As the Executive Director of Verde, I’ve led a community-based organization that has actively saved lives installing cooling devices for seniors and vulnerable households in Portland. When voters approved the Portland Clean Energy Fund in 2018, we created an unprecedented opportunity to correct these historic injustices for communities on the frontlines of climate change. As a vocal environmental justice leader I have helped steer these critical dollars into our communities, and will bring that advocacy on behalf of East Portland directly to City Hall.
Healthy environments lead to healthy communities: East Portland has struggled for far too long with a lack of tree canopy, heat waves, poor air quality, and more. We need to make sure we use our land and our resources to combat climate change — not exacerbate it. And East Portlanders need to be a part of the solution. Environmentally vulnerable frontline communities need to have front row leadership in decision making about our future — that’s environmental justice.
Energy efficiency is the new frontier in the fight against climate change: Portland has set a goal to be carbon-neutral by 2050, and heating and cooling buildings are one of the top contributors of climate change. At the same time, people are dying in heat waves, ice storms and other extreme weather events more than ever before. We need green heating and cooling infrastructure that keeps our neighbors safe in an increasingly severe climate — while creating opportunities for the renewable-energy transition we need.
Protect and maximize the Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF): PCEF, which was approved by voters in 2018, was a historic investment designed by and for frontline communities. Portland voters overwhelmingly agreed on the need and the approach so we need to safeguard these funds and ensure their efficiency. As the Executive Director of Verde, I’ve seen firsthand how PCEF has helped create green jobs and green infrastructure in my communities. And I’ve also seen the ways in which PCEF needs to more deeply invest in capacity building. I will work to ensure PCEF is effective at providing funding for organizations to build the capacity they need to access this critical pathway to green infrastructure — and to help build the heat pumps, home retrofits, community solar systems, and more that East Portland needs.
Will you ensure the Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF) remains climate-focused in line with what voters intended?
Yes