Simone Rede — Candidate for City Auditor
Candidate statement:
As a public watchdog who follows government auditing standards that require me to be independent from the areas I review, I can’t take policy positions or advocate for them. But I can examine areas that matter to our communities and highlight ways to improve them in audit reports. My audit of Portland’s climate justice approach offers an example of a recent audit I’ve pursued of the City that overlaps with 350PDX policy priorities. The February 2026 Climate Justice audit examined how the City prioritized and coordinated its climate work. The audit found that centralized authority and defined coordination structures would help the City follow through on its climate commitments. And, a realistic funding plan could help overcome the challenge of addressing competing priorities. These changes would provide clearer direction to bureaus and help to better prioritize and coordinate climate work. The audit also examined whether the City considered the impacts of climate change on the community and how the City integrated community involvement into its climate work. Developing a climate adaptation strategy would help the City more effectively address community impacts, while increased transparency could help build trust with external partners to help ensure climate actions are implemented. Guidance from a community engagement strategy could also help achieve climate goals. The audit recommended that City leadership provide clearer direction to ensure the City follows through on its climate commitments. It also recommended that City leadership work in collaboration with the Sustainability and Climate Commission to more effectively address community climate impacts and build trust with external groups.
