Council · Position 4 candidate · City of Gresham · November 3, 2026
Gregory Schroeder
Infrastructure program manager and planning commissioner.
Photo: Candidate-submitted photo · 2026 Multnomah voters’ pamphlet
In their words
Said: Gresham is a community that has helped me grow, build a career, continue my education, and find opportunities to serve.
Pamphlet p. 43
Candidate statement · November 2026 edition; extracted September 21, 2026
Multnomah County voters’ pamphlet · PDF page 43 ↗Verbatim opening of the candidate's own statement; publication by the county does not verify the claims. The heading “CREATING OPPORTUNITY FOR GRESHAM FAMILIES” is skipped.
The verbatim opening of their voters’ pamphlet statement, the same rule for every candidate. We chose nothing.
What they say they would do
Our summary of their platform, in our wordsConnects 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
Our interpretation, not their wordsHe 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
Rent and homes
Housing with planning- What
- Said: Provide housing choices while investing in safe neighborhoods, transportation, parks, recreation and natural spaces; thoughtful planning can accommodate growth while protecting what makes Gresham desirable.
- How
- Said: Cut unnecessary City fees and streamline development review so projects finish sooner, and expand rehabilitation grants and down-payment assistance.
- Measured by
- Said: More housing built, more homeownership, existing housing preserved, and fewer Gresham households burdened by housing costs.
Camps, crime and who responds
Services, then enforcement- What
- Said: Favors an individualized approach: nonprofit partners engage people living outside and match them to shelter, housing help, addiction treatment, mental-health care or education; when services are available and refused while camping or other laws are broken, supports enforcement.
- How
- Said: Stronger partnerships with nonprofits that assess whether each person needs shelter, housing help, addiction treatment, mental-health care or education, with enforcement when offered services are refused.
- Measured by
- Not in their sources
Your bills and taxes
Efficiency, then growth- What
- Said: Would first make sure the City uses existing revenue efficiently for core services before asking residents to pay more, and grow the tax base by attracting employers, supporting local businesses and encouraging investment.
- How
- Not in their sources
- Measured by
- Not in their sources
Streets, buses and air
Plan twenty years out- What
- Said: Housing, transportation, jobs, parks, infrastructure and the environment are interconnected; growth should come with investment in transportation, parks, recreation and natural spaces, judged by how today’s choices shape Gresham twenty years from now.
- How
- Said: Connect separated routes such as the Springwater Corridor, Wy’East Way and Gresham-Fairview Trail to transit, fill sidewalk gaps and improve crossings; no new shared on-street bike lanes.
- Measured by
- Not in their sources
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.
On recordKeep 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A question the evidence leaves open
Which infrastructure investment would produce the greatest near-term benefit, and how would it be paid for?
Sources (2)
- Multnomah County voters’ pamphlet · PDF page 43Candidate statement · November 2026 edition; reviewed September 18, 2026Written by the candidate or campaign. Publication by the county does not verify the claims.
- Schroeder · emailed response to the Lab’s questionsCandidate statement · Received September 24, 2026Written by the candidate in reply to the Lab’s questions and kept on file; excerpts appear on his brief. Receipt does not verify the claims.
