Less than 24 hours after Portlanders overhauled the way we elect leaders and run our city government, I stood behind a podium and officially launched the biggest transformation in our city’s history—speaking to TV cameras, reporters, my staff, and our community.

Proposed by the Portland Charter Commission, Measure 26-228 gave us two years to expand our city council with district representation, prepare for ranked-choice elections, and transition to a new form of government with a mayor and city administrator to oversee operations. The clock started ticking at that press conference. Charter commission members handed me a baton to mark the end of their big job and the beginning of mine, as the administrator responsible for implementing voters’ direction.

“This baton and the transition it represents is both an honor and a lifetime’s worth of challenge for me and the staff here at the city of Portland,” I said into the microphone. “My team is prepared to take it on with intention and integrity, and maybe more important, with urgency.”

Today, half a year into Portland’s new form of government, we have learned a lot. And we’re still learning. Although your challenges and changes probably look different from Portland’s, I am sure you too are navigating major shifts in our economy, workforce, and culture. Here are three things we’ve learned that might help you, too.

1. Communicate Early, Often, and Effectively

Transforming Portland’s government is all about building trust with our community and employees, which hinges on effective communication.

One of the biggest priorities was mobilizing a proactive strategy and team to shift doubt into optimism. We quickly established a communications group that would not only inform people about charter reform, but build communications approaches that serve Portland in our new form of government.

From the beginning, our team focused on consistent, easy-to-understand, and visual communications that would prepare employees, Portlanders, and candidates to trust in the November 2024 election. Our strategy centered on four key approaches:

• Build internal organization and alignment.
• Showcase and present our work simply, visually, and meaningfully.
• Build proactive, results-oriented communications.
• Establish a reputation and track record worth following.

An early win was our monthly e-newsletter. Short, conversational blurbs drove readers to longer stories on the project website, helping double readership over two years. We analyzed open rates, click rates, and website traffic, continually improving our reach and engagement.

We also pursued a streamlined and proactive media relations strategy. While inbound media inquiries were a constant, hiring a full-time media relations manager gave us capacity for proactive outreach. This meant managing external messaging for all aspects of the project, pitching stories, coaching interview prospects, and working with broadcast reporters and national reporters to position top spokespeople.

Other tactics included new external and internal e-newsletters, a web-based media relations monitoring tool, web and social content, paid media, imagery and animation—and even a comic book. We were committed to keeping Portlanders’ attention as they wondered, in the words of our comic book protagonist, “Are we finally getting that new government we voted for?”

2. Community Is the Main Character

Portland’s city government revamp was shaped by and for our community, with the community-led charter commission engaging Portlanders from a variety of neighborhoods, lived experiences, and backgrounds.

To deliver on the changes that were ultimately approved by voters, we needed to continue inviting our community to the table. Every Portlander—whether they supported charter reform or not—had a vested interest in the success of this transition. Three advisory bodies ran deep, months-long community engagement activities to meet their assigned goals: The Independent District Commission needed to assess and recommend boundaries for geographic voting districts. The Salary Commission, consisting of human resources professionals, needed to research and recommend salary ranges for incoming elected officials. These commissions will reconvene with new members on a set timeframe.

The broadest advisory body, the Government Transition Advisory Committee, led community outreach on all aspects of the transition over 18 months. This committee was tasked with engaging the public about the charter amendments and providing strategic, research-based advice to city leaders. Over the course of 75 public meetings and 140 presentations to community groups, their work helped answer questions and build positive conversations about the new form of government.

Building on community feedback that shaped charter reform, budget was dedicated to an innovative, community-led strategy to support nonpartisan voter education. Managed by a nonprofit partner, a grant program selected community organizations to educate hard-to-reach voters.

That investment made a tangible difference. In an exit poll of 1,600 Portland voters, 85% said they were aware of ranked-choice voting prior to the election and 91% reported understanding how to fill out their ballot. Polling indicates those who had heard about ranked-choice voting were much more likely to understand their ballot—affirming the importance of active voter education campaigns.

According to similar surveys across the nation, Portland voters were well-informed compared to other jurisdictions implementing ranked-choice voting. However, voters of color reported lower awareness (73%) and understanding (86%) than the population overall, reinforcing the need to continue our focus on comprehensive and equitable voter education.

3. Change Takes Time (and Flexibility)

In July 2024, we launched a new organizational structure and named a leadership team to centralize governance and test Portland’s new model in the months leading up to our first ranked-choice election. I was named interim city administer, and deputy city administrators were selected to oversee new “service areas”—groupings of bureaus with related missions.

Managing change required consistent and frequent communication to employees and Portlanders to help them understand how the new form of government would operate.

In November 2024, voters considered a record 118 candidates to elect a mayor, auditor, and expanded 12-member city council—three councilors representing each of four geographic districts. The most diverse group of elected leaders in Portland’s history celebrated this milestone at an historic swearing-in ceremony and attended multiple onboarding sessions to prepare for their new roles.

At their first formal meeting in January, city councilors began the process of establishing another Portland first: legislative committees. Over the past several months, those committees have developed policy and shaped budgets for topics such as transportation and infrastructure, public safety, and arts and economy. They have immersed themselves in the most pressing issues facing Portland, from curbing unsheltered homelessness to sparking our local economy.

Going in, we knew our civic transformation provided a starting point, not a panacea. We’ve experienced plenty of growing pains, from figuring out how the executive and legislative branches work together to set agendas, to developing and approving Portland’s first budget in this new form of government. We’re also fine-tuning our organizational structure, reducing the number of service areas, and centralizing core services such as communications, engagement, human resources, and technology.

Portland’s evolution will continue, even as I prepare to retire this winter. As I wind down four decades of public service, Mayor Keith Wilson is getting ready to launch a national recruitment for Portland’s next city administrator.

My final assignment is simple: hand off the keys to a new city government that runs well, knows how to adapt, and builds toward a bright future.

Visit portland.gov/transition to learn more about Portland’s government transition. To follow Portland’s journey, visit portland.gov/hello and subscribe to our digital newsletter, the Rose City Connection.

MICHAEL JORDAN, Portland’s first city administrator, is preparing to retire after four decades in public service, including stints with city, county, regional, and state governments. From 2022 to 2024, he served as the executive who oversaw Portland’s voter-approved charter transition.