Gregory Schroeder

What they say they would do

Connects housing, transportation, jobs and natural spaces through long-term planning.

• Attract jobs that let residents work near home.
• Combine housing growth with transportation, parks and neighborhood investment.
• Strengthen youth opportunities.

Our reading

• Systems thinking
• Long-term planning

He emphasizes coordination across housing, transportation, parks and jobs and the twenty-year consequences of development decisions; the statement names no first investment or funding source.

Where they stand

The choices this office faces

Every candidate in this race is asked the same 6 questions. Gregory Schroeder is on record on 6. A question without an answer is a research gap, not a position.

• Keep the Police, Fire and Parks Fee at $15 a month, now that the council can change it by resolution?

  Said: Would not raise the $15 fee or eliminate it without a replacement; prefers moving from the Council-imposed fee to voter-approved funding, with parks considered separately from police and fire.

  Emailed response, response source

• Renew the $1.35 public-safety levy before it expires in 2029, and keep Gresham’s own fire department rather than join a district?

  Said: Open to a regional fire district if an honest cost-benefit analysis shows it makes financial sense without degrading service; would use that and the current levy’s results to set any renewal request.

  Emailed response, response source

• Keep drawing reserves to cover a $10 million general-fund gap, or cut services or raise revenue?

  Said: Says reserves may suit one-time costs but cannot be the long-term answer to a structural deficit; would look first for efficiencies and coordinated projects, and grow the revenue base through economic development.

  Emailed response, response source

• Stay on the new groundwater system and fix the taste and hardness complaints, with water rates rising 5% a year from 2028?

  Said: Would have kept Bull Run as the main source with groundwater as backup; before more rate increases wants an accounting of what they pay for and a systemwide fix for taste and hardness, not home filters.

  Emailed response, response source

• Keep the camping ban with housing-focused outreach, and allow pod shelters only under the new permit code?

  Said: Supports keeping the camping restrictions with housing-focused outreach and services before enforcement; very wary of pod shelters but not categorically opposed, if siting, management and a real path to housing are shown.

  Emailed response, response source

• Go beyond the January 2026 rule-of-law resolution and declare an immigration-enforcement emergency, as residents asked?

  Said: Agrees with the City Attorney that Gresham’s role is limited by state and federal law; opposes a local emergency that would not change the City’s legal authority or conditions on the ground.

  Emailed response, response source

Their answers to our questions

Rent and homes

Said: As a Planning Commissioner, I have supported efforts to remove barriers to housing construction, and I would continue that work by looking for opportunities to reduce unnecessary City fees and streamline the development process so projects can move from conception to completion more quickly. Gresham cannot build its way out of a regional housing shortage by itself, so I also support expanding rehabilitation grants and down-payment assistance while measuring success by increased housing production, more opportunities for homeownership, preservation of existing housing, and fewer Gresham households that are housing-cost burdened.

Received 2026-09-24

Camps, crime and who responds

Said: I favor an individualized approach that combines accountability with a genuine path off the street. I would like Gresham to strengthen partnerships with nonprofits that can engage people experiencing homelessness, identify whether they need temporary shelter, housing assistance, addiction treatment, mental-health care, education or other support, but when appropriate services are available and someone refuses them while continuing to violate camping or other laws, I support enforcement of those laws and the legal consequences that may follow.

Received 2026-09-24

Bills and taxes

Said: My first priority is making sure the City is using the revenue it already receives efficiently and directing it toward core services and community needs; residents should not be asked to pay more simply to compensate for inefficiency. I also want to grow Gresham’s economy by attracting employers, supporting local businesses and encouraging investment because greater economic activity expands the tax base without automatically raising taxes.

Received 2026-09-24

Streets, buses and air

Said: Gresham already has the foundation of an excellent bicycle and pedestrian network, and I would prioritize connecting and improving separated routes such as the Springwater Corridor, Wy’East Way and Gresham-Fairview Trail and strengthening their connections to transit. I do not support expanding conventional on-street bike lanes where bicycles and vehicle traffic share the roadway; wherever practical, I prefer infrastructure that separates bicycles from cars. [...] I want to prioritize filling [sidewalk] gaps, improving safe street crossings, and creating better pedestrian connections between neighborhoods, schools, parks, businesses and transit.

Received 2026-09-24

Public-safety fee

Said: I would not expand the current $15 Police, Fire and Parks Fee, but because it currently provides significant funding for essential services, I would not eliminate it without a replacement. My preference would be to transition away from the Council-imposed fee toward voter-approved funding, with parks considered separately from police and fire so voters can make a clear choice about the level of funding they want for each.

Received 2026-09-24

Levy and fire district

Said: I am open to a regional fire district. Gresham already provides fire services to neighboring communities through service agreements, so before changing that system I would want an honest cost-benefit analysis showing what each community currently contributes and comparing that with a district model, including costs, response times, staffing, service levels, governance and accountability. I would support a district if the analysis demonstrated that it makes financial sense for Gresham without degrading services, and preferably improves them. I would then use those findings, along with the results of the current voter-approved public-safety levy, to determine what funding is actually needed before asking voters to consider any levy renewal.

Received 2026-09-24

General-fund gap

Said: A structural deficit that continues to grow is not sustainable, but I would need a much deeper understanding of the City’s budget and long-term forecasts before saying that the answer is simply cutting services or raising revenue. I would first look for operational efficiencies and opportunities to coordinate projects or funding where work overlaps, while making economic development a priority. Using reserves may be appropriate for one-time costs, but it cannot be the long-term solution to an ongoing structural deficit.

Received 2026-09-24

Groundwater and rates

Said: I support Gresham having a reliable and resilient water supply, although I would have preferred retaining Bull Run as our primary source and developing groundwater as a backup. [...] Many residents, including me, have experienced a noticeable decline in taste and the everyday quality of the water even though it continues to meet drinking-water standards. I do not believe individual households should simply be expected to purchase filtration systems to address a systemwide change in water quality. Before supporting additional rate increases, I want a clear accounting of what those increases are paying for, what obligations remain from the groundwater transition, and what the City can do systemwide to improve taste and hardness.

Received 2026-09-24

Camping and shelters

Said: I support maintaining Gresham’s camping restrictions while continuing housing-focused outreach and offering appropriate services and shelter before enforcement. I remain very wary of pod shelters in our community, although I am not categorically opposed to them. [...] Any proposal in Gresham would need careful scrutiny, particularly regarding its impact on the surrounding neighborhood, and I would want clear evidence that it provides a genuine path toward treatment, employment or stable housing rather than simply creating a more permanent place for homelessness.

Received 2026-09-24

Immigration enforcement

Said: I believe the City Attorney has correctly described Gresham’s limited role. State law restricts the City’s participation in federal immigration enforcement, while the City also cannot interfere with lawful federal enforcement activity. I do not support declaring a local emergency when doing so would not materially change the City’s legal authority or the situation on the ground.

Received 2026-09-24

A question the evidence leaves open

Which infrastructure investment would produce the greatest near-term benefit, and how would it be paid for?